Census IDs are Now Wiki­data External Identifiers

29. Juni 2024

In the Census data­base, many records are asso­ciated with unique Census IDs: not only Antique Monu­ments and Post­clas­sical Works, but also Images, Loca­tions, Periods, Styles, Persons, and Biblio­gra­phic Records.

While Census IDs have long been used by rese­ar­chers as a means of refe­ren­cing the Census data­base, now more than ever Census IDs are being used as a means of linking Census data to other data­sets. One way that is now being deve­loped is to asso­ciate Census IDs with records in Wiki­data. Census IDs have recently become Wiki­data external iden­ti­fiers, which means that any Wiki­data entity can be linked to a corre­spon­ding Census ID, just as it is linked to other autho­ri­ta­tive resources. For example, Hadrian’s Pantheon in Rome is iden­ti­fied in Wiki­data an an entity with the unique iden­ti­fi­ca­tion number Q99309. Inside Wiki­data, the Pantheon is also linked to the unique iden­ti­fiers of other external data­sets, such as a VIAF ID, GND ID, Grove Art ID, Plei­ades ID, and now Census ID.

Wiki­data can thus serve as a point of inter­ch­ange between data­sets, as a place where data­sets that point to the same Wiki­data property can speak to each other. Expan­ding the presence of Census IDs in Wiki­data will allow other autho­ri­ties to match their iden­ti­fiers with Census IDs and ther­e­fore to expand the possi­bi­lity of linking the Census with other resources.

Census IDs are described in Wiki­data here.

To find records in the Census data­base using Census IDs, go to the data­base and insert Census ID numbers directly in the search bar, making sure to include the hashtag before the Census ID number (i.e. #150770 for the Pantheon).

We would like to extend our thanks to Dr. Klaus Werner of the Biblio­theca Hertziana for helping with this process.