International Journal of Metadata, Semantics and Ontologies (4 papers in press)

Regular Issues

• Knowledge Graph-enabled Research. Participatory Modelling, Collecting, Analysing, and Retracing of High School Essays in Educational History.  
  by Julian Hocker, Christoph Schindler, Marc Rittberger, Marco Lorenz, Joachim Scholz, Tobias Weller, York Sure-Vetter 
  Abstract: This paper presents a knowledge graph that supports research in the community of historians of education and describes high school essays for the subject of German. Unlike established knowledge graphs that focus scholarly publications, the one presented focuses on the concrete needs of research practice and is used for interlinking historical sources like school essays, legal documents of laws, and heterogeneous types of publications for a certain period. The implementation of the knowledge graph allows researchers to analyse and retrace their work, engage in remote collaboration, and a combination of close and distant reading of texts. The explicit interlinking of sources and entities can be seen as a scholarly value chain, which can be retraced while doing research or used as an open science instrument for the research community and has been designed through a participatory approach of heterogeneous stakeholders.
  Keywords: digital humanities; knowledge graphs; open science; history of education.
  
  
• Ontology development of the therapeutic potential of ethnobotanical plants in Malaysia  
  by Siti Habsah Sh Zahari, Ahmad Zam Hariro Samsudin, Mohammad Afiq Mohamed Sopie, Mohd Nazir Ahmad, Zaharudin Ibrahim, Nurul Syfa' Mohd Tokiran 
  Abstract: Preserving the cultural heritage of traditional ethnic medicine in Malaysia holds significant importance in the realm of knowledge. Herbal medicinal knowledge, especially ethnomedicinal plants, has been passed down through informal practices and self-experiences. This knowledge is often found in an unstructured format and scattered across various data sources, making it difficult for users or practitioners to find relevant information. The ontological approach is widely regarded as suitable for solving the problem due to its ability to maintain the semantic knowledge embedded within the data. Ontology is a technological framework employed within the semantic web context to represent and structure a specific subject of knowledge effectively. This study aims to create a comprehensive ontology that explores the therapeutic potential of ethnomedicinal plants in Malaysia, focusing on their consumption by indigenous ethnic groups and integrating traditional medicinal knowledge with modern scientific findings to evaluate their safety and efficacy. Ontology editor Prot?g? and Apache Jena Fuseki Server were employed to construct and evaluate the ontology. The ontology developed has effectively addressed a majority of inquiries, as demonstrated by the implementation of prototype testing.
  Keywords: knowledge representation; ontology development; ethnobotanical plants.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJMSO.2025.10081103
   
  
• Metadata-driven table union search: leveraging semantics for restricted access data integration  
  by Margherita Martorana, Tobias Kuhn, Jacco Van Ossenbruggen 
  Abstract: Over the past decade, the Table Union Search (TUS) task has aimed to identify unionable tables within data lakes to enhance data integration, reuse, and discovery. While numerous solutions and approaches have been introduced, they primarily rely on open data, making them not applicable to restricted access data, such as medical records or government statistics, due to privacy concerns. Restricted data can still be shared through metadata, which ensures confidentiality while supporting data reuse. This paper explores how TUS can be computed on restricted access data using metadata alone. We propose a method that achieves 81% accuracy in unionability and outperforms existing benchmarks in precision and recall. Our results highlight the potential of metadata-driven approaches for integrating restricted data, facilitating secure data discovery in privacy-sensitive domains. This aligns with the FAIR principles, by ensuring data is Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable while preserving confidentiality.
  Keywords: metadata; table union search; semantics; restricted access data; data integration.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJMSO.2026.10081243
   
  
• Public libraries partners in powering the renewable knowledge base for more inclusive communities  
  by Ioana Cornelia Cristina Crihana, Emmanouel Garoufallou 
  Abstract: Public libraries are evolving from traditional institutions into dynamic knowledge ecosystems shaped by technological innovation and changing community needs. This paper examines their conceptual and operational repositioning as activators of renewable knowledge: knowledge assets that can be continuously updated, reused, recombined and transformed. Metadata, semantic standards and inclusive digital practices provide the infrastructure for their discoverability, interoperability, accessibility and preservation. The study investigates professional interest in identifying renewable knowledge assets and integrating them into technology-enabled library services, using questionnaires and structured interviews with librarians in Romania and Europe. The analysis is complemented by a use case developed within the Horizon project SHIFT: Metamorphosis of Cultural Heritage into augmented hypermedia resources for increased accessibility and inclusion, illustrating how technologies can support the accessibility, preservation and creative reinterpretation of cultural heritage for vulnerable users. The findings highlight the transformative potential of public libraries in fostering smart, connected, participatory and inclusive knowledge communities.
  Keywords: renewable knowledge; metadata; public libraries; knowledge ecosystem; knowledge assets; co-creation; digital heritage; community development; text-to-speech; style transfer; library use case; inclusive services.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJMSO.2026.10081406