Developing a Spanish-language Homosaurus: Using Multi-language Linked Data to Enhance LGBTQ+ Resource Discoverability

The Homosaurus: An International LGBTQ+ Linked Data Vocabulary, is applying for an NEH grant with the two-tiered goal of developing a multi-language linked data platform and creating and implementing a Spanish-language version of the Homosaurus vocabulary. Designed to supplement broad subject term vocabularies such as the Library of Congress Subject Headings, the Homosaurus (available at www.homosaurus.org) facilitates dramatically improved access to LGBTQ+ resources in cultural heritage institutions (e.g., libraries, archives, and museums). This project will involve a three year collaboration with three partners––the Arizona Queer Archives, the San Francisco Public Library’s James C. Hormel LGBTQIA+ Center, and the Chicano Studies Research Center at the University of California, Los Angeles. These three partners represent a range of contexts in which the English version of the Homosaurus is already being used––a non-profit archival collection, a public library, and a university-based library and archive. All three partners have significant LGBTQ+ collections that would greatly benefit from the addition of Spanish metadata. While our project is focused on LGBTQ+ resources, which are in dire need of improved discoverability, the potential implications and uptake of this work for linked open data and multi-language discovery systems are considerable. This grant will function as a pilot where we develop a multi-language back-end architecture, a procedure for translation and community partnerships, and an implementation strategy that we will use for additional languages in the future.