New RDA working group on Alignment of Multilingual Vocabularies in the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) - kick off meeting

This session will act as a kick-off meeting for the ‘Alignment of multilingual vocabularies in the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH)’ Working Group (WG).

The proposed WG, which is in its early planning stages and availing of support from the RDA TIGER project, intends to address challenges concerning the interoperability multilingual nature of SSH controlled vocabularies.

Controlled vocabularies are a major discovery tool in the digital environment and this is true also for the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH). However, while such vocabularies would seem one of the most appropriate tools to ensure a high visibility of the SSH research outputs, the availability, usage, and interoperability of controlled vocabularies remains very heterogeneous. They remain for the most part disconnected from one another, differing not only in scope, but in methodology, accessibility, and level of standardization. From this first set of observations derives the necessity to at least harmonize their discoverability level within the SSH and beyond.

The Working Group plans to address these issues by providing collectively approved recommendations for creating, extending, updating, and aligning multilingual vocabularies in the SSH. The objective of this RDA WG, currently co-chaired by OPERAS RI, the coordinator of TRIPLE, is to focus on a part of the SSHOC vocabulary roadmap and to collect from a broader community both insights and feedback about a methodology for the alignment of controlled vocabularies in many languages.

We invite all those with an interest in the above areas to join this session. In advance of the session, participants are also invited to review and to contribute to the WG’s draft Case Statement - defining the group’s charter, value proposition, and engagement with other initiatives in the area. Please also add your name/details to the table at the bottom of the document if you wish to join the Working Group.

REGISTER FOR THE SESSION HERE: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMlfuqqrj8oEtESyqjEPSuztSwIqPyMswZE