Welcome to the Open Data Wagon Project

Project Abstract

Though public libraries have shared internal data, such as circulation data, publicly via open data portals, bookmobile data sharing has been limited. Sponsored by the Washington State Library, and using data from North Central Regional Library as a pilot case, the Open Data Wagon project researched, collected, and then published library bookmobile data openly on data.wa.gov, along with a standard, reusable template. Because bookmobile operations can be expensive, this project sought to encourage information sharing among libraries, expand funding opportunities for mobile services programs by supplying additional data, and heighten library mobile services program visibility.

Open Data Wagon, an MLIS Capstone

At the Information School at the University of Washington, candidates for a master in library and information science (MLIS) create and deliver a Capstone project for a sponsor, as a graduation requirement. As open data and access services enthusiasts, this project merged both interests and allowed us to work on a new area for open library data. It also served to expand the library open data collection of our sponsor, the Washington State Library.