The knowledge organization of DBpedia: a case study Cristina Pattuelli and Sara Rubinow School of Information and Library Science, Pratt Institute, New York, New York, USA Abstract Purpose – This paper investigates the semantic structure underlying DBpedia, one of the largest and most heavily used datasets in the current Linked Open Data (LOD) landscape. The analysis attempts to shed light on this new type of knowledge organization tool. Design/methodology/approach – The research followed a case study methodology to analyze DBpedia using the domain of jazz as the application scenario. Findings – The study reveals an evolving knowledge organization tool where different descriptive and classification approaches are employed concurrently. The semantic constructs employed in the DBpedia knowledge base vary significantly in terms of their degree of formalization, stability, cohesiveness and consistency. As such, they challenge the tolerance threshold for data quality and the traditional notion of authority control. Research limitations/implications – The analysis is conducted on a limited portion of a large knowledge base. Initial findings provide a basis for further research and study. Practical implications – Revealing the knowledge organization underlying DBpedia increases the understanding of its power, its limitations and its implications for the new semantic context provided by LOD. Having an understanding of the range of entities and properties available enables LOD users to formulate queries with higher precision. Originality/value – This study is the first conducted from the perspective of the knowledge organization community. Keywords DBpedia, Linked open data, Semantic web Paper type Case study 1. Introduction Linked Data extends the traditional web by providing an open and unifying framework for the discovery, integration, and reuse of data. It has the potential to realize the vision of the Semantic Web by promoting interoperability through the interlinking of well-defined machine-readable data. One of the strengths of the Linked Data initiative lies in its technical infrastructure, which is based on a simple set of principles and open standards. These standards include the Uniform Resource Identifier (URI), which serves as the global identifier mechanism, and the Resource Description Framework (RDF), which acts as the model for expressing data in a common format (Berners-Lee, 2009). This lightweight framework is key to lowering the barriers to Semantic Web adoption. The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0022-0418.htm The work presented herein was supported in part by an Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) and Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) Library and Information Science Research Grant. JDOC 69,6 762 Received 2 October 2012 Revised 7 November 2012 Accepted 18 November 2012 Journal of Documentation Vol. 69 No. 6, 2013 pp. 762-772 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0022-0418 DOI 10.1108/JD-07-2012-0084