GeoLOD: A Spatial Linked Data Catalog and Recommender

Abstract

The increasing availability of linked data poses new challenges for the identification and retrieval of the most appropriate data sources that meet user needs. Recent dataset catalogs and recommenders provide advanced methods that facilitate linked data search, but none exploits the spatial characteristics of datasets. In this paper, we present GeoLOD, a web catalog of spatial datasets and classes and a recommender for spatial datasets and classes possibly relevant for link discovery processes. GeoLOD Catalog parses, maintains and generates metadata about datasets and classes provided by SPARQL endpoints that contain georeferenced point instances. It offers text and map-based search functionality and dataset descriptions in GeoVoID, a spatial dataset metadata template that extends VoID. GeoLOD Recommender pre-computes and maintains, for all identified spatial classes in the Web of Data (WoD), ranked lists of classes relevant for link discovery. In addition, the on-the-fly Recommender allows users to define an uncatalogued SPARQL endpoint, a GeoJSON or a Shapefile and get class recommendations in real time. Furthermore, generated recommendations can be automatically exported in SILK and LIMES configuration files in order to be used for a link discovery task. In the results, we provide statistics about the status and potential connectivity of spatial datasets in the WoD, we assess the applicability of the recommender, and we present the outcome of a system usability study. GeoLOD is the first catalog that targets both linked data experts and geographic information systems professionals, exploits geographical characteristics of datasets and provides an exhaustive list of WoD spatial datasets and classes along with class recommendations for link discovery.