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Wikidata as a Reconciliation Anchor: Curating Data for Long-Term Preservation Cover

Wikidata as a Reconciliation Anchor: Curating Data for Long-Term Preservation

Open Access
|Feb 2026

Abstract

To remain useful, data destined for long-term preservation requires careful metadata curation, enrichment and interlinking with existing Linked Open Data, such as authority files. At the Austrian Centre for Digital Humanities’ digital repository, ARCHE, Wikidata has proven a reliable anchor for finding and identifying missing identifiers for all types of named entities and a valuable source for controlled vocabulary collation. This article presents case studies from ARCHE and three of its aggregators – Kulturpool, CLARIN, and ARIADNE – that harvest metadata from ARCHE and include Wikidata in their post-processing workflows. The case studies highlight the advantages of using Wikidata and reflect on weaknesses and when and how data curators can correct, enrich, or add to Wikidata, thereby strengthening repository practice and contributing back to the open community.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/johd.450 | Journal eISSN: 2059-481X
Language: English
Submitted on: Oct 31, 2025
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Accepted on: Dec 3, 2025
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Published on: Feb 12, 2026
Published by: Ubiquity Press
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 1 issue per year

© 2026 Martina Trognitz, Rachel Alyson Mandell, Seta Štuhec, Julian Palacz, published by Ubiquity Press
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.