arXiv subjects

Arcangelo Massari

Publications and source records attributed to Arcangelo Massari.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Ask the Curator: Demonstrating Expert-Driven RDF Data Curation with HERITRACE

HERITRACE is an open-source Web application for curating RDF data held in triplestores, with provenance and change tracking recorded in RDF as well. It is agnostic to the data model: a technician configures it for a collection by writing SHACL shapes and YAML display rules, after which domain experts edit the data through generated forms, and every change becomes a provenance snapshot that can be inspected and restored. This paper traces the path from configuration to curation on a documented case of bibliographic ambiguity: two unrelated articles that PubMed records under the same DOI. We show how a technician prepares a small OpenCitations Meta subset for curation and how a curator acts on duplicate suggestions to merge two articles, inadvertently confirms a further merge despite conflicting metadata, reverts the mistake through the Time Machine, and corrects the DOI after verification against Crossref.

cs.DL↗

arXiv2026

Enhancing RAMOSE, a framework for implementing REST APIs and semantic-actionable outputs over data sources

Scholarly infrastructures increasingly expose their data through REST APIs that follow shared specifications, such as the Scientific Knowledge Graph - Interoperability Framework (SKG-IF), which defines a common data model, exchange format, and REST API for research information. Implementing such specifications over existing data sources, however, requires a development effort that many open infrastructures cannot afford. RAMOSE, the RESTful API Manager Over SPARQL Endpoints, is an open-source Python framework that reduces this effort by turning a declarative configuration file into a documented REST API over RDF triplestores. This article presents its second major version, which extends the tool with nine new requirements. The new features include query orchestration across multiple SPARQL endpoints and non-RDF sources, with joins across their results; pluggable output formats and request parameters; pagination and caching; OpenAPI export; and write operations, with authentication both of API consumers and towards protected endpoints. A built-in module packages the format and filters that SKG-IF prescribes, letting a provider expose a compliant endpoint only through configuration. A functional comparison with nine similar tools, grounded in reproducible tests, shows that only RAMOSE joins RDF and non-RDF results on arbitrary keys within one API operation. RAMOSE serves the OpenCitations REST APIs, which peaked at almost 38 million monthly requests between May 2025 and May 2026, and has been adopted by the GRAPHIA project to onboard data sources into its SKG-IF-based federation.

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arXiv2026

HERITRACE: a domain-agnostic framework for SHACL-driven RDF curation with provenance and change tracking

HERITRACE is an open-source web application that enables users without Semantic Web expertise to curate RDF data through form-based interfaces with automatic provenance documentation and change tracking in RDF. It uses SHACL for data model definition and form generation, connects to existing SPARQL-accessible stores without data migration, and records every modification as a provenance snapshot that can be browsed and restored. HERITRACE is domain-agnostic and its configuration is layered: a minimal deployment only connects to a SPARQL store, while SHACL shapes and YAML display rules refine the data model and presentation, and IRIs are minted automatically by default or through a Python class for institution-specific schemes. This paper describes the software architecture and provides the first empirical evaluation. HERITRACE is deployed in production for the ParaText project, where classical philologists curate bibliographic data about ancient Greek exegetical traditions, and is planned as the editing interface for OpenCitations and as the curation layer for the Social Sciences and Humanities Citation Index within the GRAPHIA Horizon Europe project. Since it operates on any SPARQL-accessible store without data migration, its adoption potential extends to any domain maintaining RDF data. HERITRACE is publicly available on GitHub under the ISC license, archived on Zenodo and Software Heritage Archive, and documented for deployment with a pre-built Docker image.

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arXiv2026

Time travel for knowledge graphs: live queries over RDF change histories

Performing time-traversal queries on RDF datasets remains unsupported in the most extensive knowledge graphs. Existing solutions either require offline ingestion, which prevents concurrent querying and updating, or operate live but with limited query coverage or triplestore dependency. This article presents the Time Agnostic Library, a Python library for performing temporal SPARQL queries live on any SPARQL-compliant triplestore, supporting all six temporal retrieval needs identified in the literature and concurrent updates. The methodology builds on the OpenCitations Data Model (OCDM), which records provenance using the Provenance Ontology (PROV-O) and SPARQL UPDATE operations. The library supports version materialization, single-version and cross-version structured queries, delta materialization, and single-delta and cross-delta structured queries over multi-triple patterns. Evaluation on the BEAR-B benchmark shows sub-linear scaling in both execution time and memory consumption as the number of versions increases. While preprocessing-based systems such as OSTRICH achieve faster query times, they require offline ingestion and cannot handle concurrent data updates. Against R43ples, the closest live system in architecture, the Time Agnostic Library is faster across all query types.

cs.DB↗

arXiv2026

OpenCitations Meta

OpenCitations Meta is a new database for open bibliographic metadata of scholarly publications involved in the citations indexed by the OpenCitations infrastructure, adhering to Open Science principles and published under a CC0 license to promote maximum reuse. It presently incorporates bibliographic metadata for publications recorded in Crossref, DataCite and PubMed, making it the largest bibliographic metadata source using Semantic Web technologies. It assigns new globally persistent identifiers (PIDs), known as OpenCitations Meta Identifiers (OMIDs) to all bibliographic resources, enabling it both to disambiguate publications described using different external PIDS (e.g., a DOI in Crossref and a PMID in PubMed), and to handle citations involving publications lacking external PIDs. By hosting bibliographic metadata internally, OpenCitations Meta eliminates its former reliance on API calls to external resources and thus enhances performance in response to user queries. Its automated data curation, following the OpenCitations Data Model, includes deduplication, error correction, metadata enrichment and full provenance tracking, ensuring transparency and traceability of data and bolstering confidence in data integrity, a feature unparalleled in other bibliographic databases. Its commitment to Semantic Web standards ensures superior interoperability compared to other machine-readable formats, with availability via a SPARQL endpoint, REST APIs and data dumps.

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arXiv2025

HERITRACE in action: the ParaText project as a case study for semantic data management in Classical Philology

HERITRACE is a semantic data editor designed for cultural heritage institutions, addressing the gap between complex Semantic Web technologies and domain expert needs. ParaText Bibliographical Database, a specialized bibliographical database for ancient Greek exegesis, demonstrates HERITRACE's capabilities in Classical Philology. This paper examines how HERITRACE enables non-technical scholars to manage complex semantic data through SHACL-based form generation and validation, while ensuring comprehensive provenance tracking and change management via an OpenCitations Data Model adaptation.

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arXiv2025

Representing provenance and track changes of cultural heritage metadata in RDF: a survey of existing approaches

In the realm of Digital Humanities, the management of cultural heritage metadata is pivotal for ensuring data trustworthiness. Provenance information - contextual metadata detailing the origin and history of data - plays a crucial role in this process. However, tracking provenance and changes in metadata using the Resource Description Framework (RDF) presents significant challenges due to the limitations of foundational Semantic Web technologies. This article offers a comprehensive review of existing models and approaches for representing provenance and tracking changes in RDF, with a specific focus on cultural heritage metadata. It examines W3C standard proposals such as RDF Reification and n-ary relations, along with various alternative systems. Through an in-depth analysis, the study identifies Named Graphs, RDF*, the Provenance Ontology (PROV-O), Dublin Core (DC), Conjectural Graphs, and the OpenCitations Data Model (OCDM) as the most effective solutions. These models are evaluated based on their compliance with RDF standards, scalability, and applicability across different domains. The findings underscore the importance of selecting the appropriate model to ensure robust and reliable management of provenance in RDF datasets, thereby contributing to the ongoing discourse on provenance representation in the Digital Humanities.

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arXiv2025

HERITRACE: A User-Friendly Semantic Data Editor with Change Tracking and Provenance Management for Cultural Heritage Institutions

HERITRACE is a data editor designed for galleries, libraries, archives and museums, aimed at simplifying data curation while enabling non-technical domain experts to manage data intuitively without losing its semantic integrity. While the semantic nature of RDF can pose a barrier to data curation due to its complexity, HERITRACE conceals this intricacy while preserving the advantages of semantic representation. The system natively supports provenance management and change tracking, ensuring transparency and accountability throughout the curation process. Although HERITRACE functions effectively out of the box, it offers a straightforward customization interface for technical staff, enabling adaptation to the specific data model required by a given collection. Current applications include the ParaText project, and its adoption is already planned for OpenCitations. Future developments will focus on integrating the RDF Mapping Language (RML) to enhance compatibility with non-RDF data formats, further expanding its applicability in digital heritage management.

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arXiv2025

A Proposal for a FAIR Management of 3D Data in Cultural Heritage: The Aldrovandi Digital Twin Case

In this article we analyse 3D models of cultural heritage with the aim of answering three main questions: what processes can be put in place to create a FAIR-by-design digital twin of a temporary exhibition? What are the main challenges in applying FAIR principles to 3D data in cultural heritage studies and how are they different from other types of data (e.g. images) from a data management perspective? We begin with a comprehensive literature review touching on: FAIR principles applied to cultural heritage data; representation models; both Object Provenance Information (OPI) and Metadata Record Provenance Information (MRPI), respectively meant as, on the one hand, the detailed history and origin of an object, and - on the other hand - the detailed history and origin of the metadata itself, which describes the primary object (whether physical or digital); 3D models as cultural heritage research data and their creation, selection, publication, archival and preservation. We then describe the process of creating the Aldrovandi Digital Twin, by collecting, storing and modelling data about cultural heritage objects and processes. We detail the many steps from the acquisition of the Digital Cultural Heritage Objects (DCHO), through to the upload of the optimised DCHO onto a web-based framework (ATON), with a focus on open technologies and standards for interoperability and preservation. Using the FAIR Principles for Heritage Library, Archive and Museum Collections [1] as a framework, we look in detail at how the Digital Twin implements FAIR principles at the object and metadata level. We then describe the main challenges we encountered and we summarise what seem to be the peculiarities of 3D cultural heritage data and the possible directions for further research in this field.

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arXiv2024

HERITRACE: Tracing Evolution and Bridging Data for Streamlined Curatorial Work in the GLAM Domain

HERITRACE is a semantic data management system tailored for the GLAM sector. It is engineered to streamline data curation for non-technical users while also offering an efficient administrative interface for technical staff. The paper compares HERITRACE with other established platforms such as OmekaS, Semantic MediaWiki, Research Space, and CLEF, emphasizing its advantages in user friendliness, provenance management, change tracking, customization capabilities, and data integration. The system leverages SHACL for data modeling and employs the OpenCitations Data Model (OCDM) for provenance and change tracking, ensuring a harmonious blend of advanced technical features and user accessibility. Future developments include the integration of a robust authentication system and the expansion of data compatibility via the RDF Mapping Language (RML), enhancing HERITRACE's utility in digital heritage management.

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arXiv2023

Saving temporary exhibitions in virtual environments: the Digital Renaissance of Ulisse Aldrovandi -- acquisition and digitisation of cultural heritage objects

As per the objectives of Project CHANGES, particularly its thematic sub-project on the use of virtual technologies for museums and art collections, our goal was to obtain a digital twin of the temporary exhibition on Ulisse Aldrovandi called "The Other Renaissance", and make it accessible to users online. After a preliminary study of the exhibition, focussing on acquisition constraints and related solutions, we proceeded with the digital twin creation by acquiring, processing, modelling, optimising, exporting, and metadating the exhibition. We made hybrid use of two acquisition techniques to create new digital cultural heritage objects and environments, and we used open technologies, formats, and protocols to make available the final digital product. Here, we describe the process of collecting and curating bibliographical exhibition (meta)data and the beginning of the digital twin creation to foster its findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability. The creation of the digital twin is currently ongoing.

cs.GR↗

arXiv2023

A Prototype for a Controlled and Valid RDF Data Production Using SHACL

The paper introduces a tool prototype that combines SHACL's capabilities with ad-hoc validation functions to create a controlled and user-friendly form interface for producing valid RDF data. The proposed tool is developed within the context of the OpenCitations Data Model (OCDM) use case. The paper discusses the current status of the tool, outlines the future steps required for achieving full functionality, and explores the potential applications and benefits of the tool.

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arXiv2022

Enabling Portability and Reusability of Open Science Infrastructures

This paper presents a methodology for designing a containerized and distributed open science infrastructure to simplify its reusability, replicability, and portability in different environments. The methodology is depicted in a step-by-step schema based on four main phases: (1) Analysis, (2) Design, (3) Definition, and (4) Managing and provisioning. We accompany the description of each step with existing technologies and concrete examples of application.

cs.DC↗

arXiv2022

How to structure citations data and bibliographic metadata in the OpenCitations accepted format

The OpenCitations organization is working on ingesting citation data and bibliographic metadata directly provided by the community (e.g., scholars and publishers). The aim is to improve the general coverage of open citations, which is still far from being complete, and use the provided metadata to enrich the characterization of the citing and cited entities. This paper illustrates how the citation data and bibliographic metadata should be structured to comply with the OpenCitations accepted format.

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arXiv2022

Identifying and correcting invalid citations due to DOI errors in Crossref data

This work aims to identify classes of DOI mistakes by analysing the open bibliographic metadata available in Crossref, highlighting which publishers were responsible for such mistakes and how many of these incorrect DOIs could be corrected through automatic processes. By using a list of invalid cited DOIs gathered by OpenCitations while processing the OpenCitations Index of Crossref open DOI-to-DOI citations (COCI) in the past two years, we retrieved the citations in the January 2021 Crossref dump to such invalid DOIs. We processed these citations by keeping track of their validity and the publishers responsible for uploading the related citation data in Crossref. Finally, we identified patterns of factual errors in the invalid DOIs and the regular expressions needed to catch and correct them. The outcomes of this research show that only a few publishers were responsible for and/or affected by the majority of invalid citations. We extended the taxonomy of DOI name errors proposed in past studies and defined more elaborated regular expressions that can clean a higher number of mistakes in invalid DOIs than prior approaches. The data gathered in our study can enable investigating possible reasons for DOI mistakes from a qualitative point of view, helping publishers identify the problems underlying their production of invalid citation data. Also, the DOI cleaning mechanism we present could be integrated into the existing process (e.g. in COCI) to add citations by automatically correcting a wrong DOI. This study was run strictly following Open Science principles, and, as such, our research outcomes are fully reproducible.

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