Abstract
This discussion paper explores how institutions create and integrate Wikidata identifier properties as a sustainable strategy for enriching cultural heritage metadata, focusing on the experiences of Bildindex der Kunst und Architektur (Germany), and Swedish GLAM projects led by Wikimedia Sweden. It examines the methodological, technical, and epistemic challenges that arise when reconciling heterogeneous heritage datasets with Wikidata’s open, community-driven ontology.
Through the lens of reconciliation workflows using OpenRefine, the paper analyses how data cleaning, contextual matching, clustering, and schema alignment support the alignment of local documentation systems with global knowledge infrastructures. Special attention is given to the Wikidata property “Bildindex der Kunst und Architektur PID” (P12754).
The paper argues that constraint violations, duplication, and ambiguity are not failures but diagnostic signals that reveal how local curatorial logic interacts with Wikidata’s global ontology. It further highlights round-tripping practices – exporting data to Wikidata, community enrichment, and institutional re-ingestion – as key mechanisms for sustainable, collaborative data stewardship.
By framing metadata curation as an iterative, participatory process, the paper situates Wikidata as both a tool and a gateway: a shared platform where institutions and volunteers jointly build a transparent, linked ecosystem for cultural heritage data. Ultimately, it calls for flexible authority governance and institutional engagement to transform isolated data silos into interconnected, living knowledge networks.