KediNOM

KediNOM is a modular, open-source data standard and software ecosystem designed to manage nominal metadata and provenance for nomadic objects and portable media. The project aims to enable interoperable description, tracking, and exchange of information across devices, platforms, and institutions, using the NOM framework.

Origins: KediNOM emerged from collaborations among librarians, researchers, and software developers in 2019–2020, led by the Kedi Foundation and contributing institutions. It was conceived to describe dynamic, context-shifting items such as artworks, field samples, and portable sensors.

Design and architecture: The core consists of an ontology describing entities, attributes, relationships, and events. Extensions cover media, provenance, location, and access rights. Data is encoded in JSON-LD and served via REST APIs; a lightweight peer-to-peer protocol supports offline synchronization and conflict resolution. The project emphasizes openness and community governance.

Applications: Museums, universities, and field researchers use KediNOM to maintain consistent heritage metadata, track movements of objects, and annotate digital media used in exhibitions. The framework supports multilingual labels, version history, and audit trails.

Reception and impact: Since its release, KediNOM has been adopted by several institutions and nonprofit projects. It is praised for interoperability and extensibility but some critics point to governance questions and a learning curve.

See also: Metadata standards, Ontologies, Open-source software.