Advancing the Interoperability of the GLAM+ and Cultural Tourism Sectors through KOS: Perspectives and Challenges

Abstract

: The possibilities and challenges of knowledge organization systems (KOS) to collaborate in the interconnec- tion between the cultural heritage sector–galleries, libraries, archives, museums, publishers… (GLAM+)–and the increasingly important cultural tourism industry are explored, and a model for framing their interaction is proposed. Due to the diversity of KOS implied in GLAM+, this project is to be treated as an interoperability problem, thought a strong user-oriented purpose is also needed, based on a careful assessment of tourists’ segmentation and their needs. The main components of the model are five: the real phenomena that form up the potential world of interest, the universe of potential sources, a web taxonomy, a domain thesaurus and an interoperability hub. The St James’ Way is used as a source of examples. It is concluded that thesauri based on ISO 25964 offer a great potential for the simple, flexible, dynamic and distributed interconnection between the institutions of memory (GLAM+, research institutions in digital humanities and social sciences, transpar- ency portals…) and the growing demand from the tourist sector for a more personalized and contextualized experience that can make a difference in an increasingly competitive international market.