A Network of Places

Cultural heritage and linked open data as infrastructure.

About the project

A Network of Places is a research and development project funded by the Swedish National Heritage Board (Riksantikvarieämbetet), running until spring of 2026. Several cultural institutions are collaborating with Wikimedia Sverige to improve the searchability and accessibility of digital cultural heritage by structuring, enriching, and linking heritage data to linked open data.

Participating institutions

The project is led by ArkDes in collaboration with the National Museum of Science and Technology ↗ (Tekniska museet), Wikimedia Sverige ↗, and the Swedish National Heritage Board’s archives ↗  (Riksantikvarieämbetets Antikvarisk-topografiska arkiv). Until spring 2025, Nationalmuseum ↗ was also part of the collaboration.

Aims and methods

The goal is to develop a method that enables researchers, other users, and machines to explore and analyze cultural heritage data with high precision and reliability, based on geographic information. The project investigates how linked geodata can support new forms of data-driven research across institutional boundaries.

Challenges in today’s digital cultural heritage landscape

It is often difficult for users to find information on a specific topic, even when knowledge exists across multiple institutions. Although much of the data is digitally accessible, it can be hard to locate due to fragmentation. The project explores how existing data—specifically information about collections—can be made more accessible by connecting it to geographical data. The aim is to give users better opportunities to discover relevant information on a subject.

An example: a church in Dalarna

Imagine searching for information about a church in Dalarna. By connecting data from different institutions to geographic information, it becomes easier to find relevant drawings, objects, artworks, or texts—even if they are stored in separate collections and not directly linked. In this way, the location becomes a shared key that improves searchability across institutional boundaries.

Documenting a method

A key objective of the project is to document the methodology used, to inspire and guide other cultural institutions in making their heritage data more accessible. This makes it easier to understand what has been documented and preserved—and to analyze and reuse information across collections.

Buildings as connection points

The project team works with the geographic data found in each institution’s collection management system, with a focus on buildings. By using buildings with geographic coordinates as connection points, collection data can be linked through their shared locations.

A shared vocabulary

To support this work, the project is developing an authority vocabulary—a shared and structured list of approved terms and concepts, in this case related to buildings. This ensures consistent and standardized language, both within the project and for other institutions that wish to apply the vocabulary to their own data. A shared terminology facilitates collaboration, data sharing, and reuse across institutional boundaries.