Cognitive-Based Visualization of Semantically Structured Cultural Heritage Data

We present preliminary findings regarding the increasing use of InfoVis tools and semantically structured data by cultural heritage institutions. This sector faces a number of challenges in developing best practices for publishing Linked Data, including the presentation of their digital cultural heritage collections and the visualization of their multidimensional hidden histories. We suggest that, as these institutions’ interest in Semantic Web technologies grows and associated applications are more widely adopted, the need to provide InfoVis tools for efficient overview and exploration of cultural data increases. We postulate that changes in the paradigms for interaction with cultural datasets are also needed, with more focus on users’ needs and cognitive processes. We suggest that by taking into account human information processes, better cognitive support can be introduced via InfoVis tools for Linked Data, thus reducing the cognitive load experienced by users.