{"id":"linked-art/api/shared-digital-links","relativePath":"linked-art/api/shared-digital-links.md","title":"Linked Art API: Shared Digital Links","markdown":"# Linked Art API: Shared Digital Links\n\n**Last refreshed:** 2026-07-06\n\nSource: [Digital Links shared structure](https://linked.art/api/1.0/shared/digital/), part of Linked Art API 1.0, published under [CC BY 4.0](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is a project summary; the upstream page is authoritative.\n\n## Purpose\n\nDigital links embed the minimum useful description of external digital resources inside the record for the entity they depict or describe. They are used for images, web pages, and other digital content without requiring every linked resource to be fetched as a separate top-level record.\n\nThis is a nested shared structure: the first level is an embedded `VisualItem` or `LinguisticObject`, and that embedded work points to one or more embedded `DigitalObject` structures.\n\n## Embedded Work Shape\n\nAn embedded work includes:\n\n- `type`: required. Must be `VisualItem` or `LinguisticObject`.\n- `id`: optional URI for the work.\n- `_complete`: optional completeness signal. If an `id` URI has richer dereferenceable information, `_complete: false` must be present.\n- `_label`, `classified_as`, `identified_by`, `referred_to_by`: optional descriptive structures.\n- `digitally_shown_by`: required when `type` is `VisualItem`; points to embedded `DigitalObject` structures.\n- `digitally_carried_by`: required when `type` is `LinguisticObject`; points to embedded `DigitalObject` structures.\n- `language`: optional and only for `LinguisticObject`.\n\nExactly one of `digitally_shown_by` or `digitally_carried_by` must be present, according to the embedded work class.\n\n## Embedded Digital Object Shape\n\nAn embedded digital object includes:\n\n- `type`: required. Must be `DigitalObject`.\n- `id`: optional URI for the digital object.\n- `_complete`: optional completeness signal. If an `id` URI has richer dereferenceable information, `_complete: false` must be present.\n- `_label`, `classified_as`, `identified_by`, `referred_to_by`: optional descriptive structures.\n- `access_point`: optional list of direct retrieval URLs. Each access point has required `id` and `type: DigitalObject`.\n- `digitally_available_via`: optional digital service structures.\n- `format`: optional media type, such as `image/jpeg`.\n- `conforms_to`: optional references to external specifications, with `type: InformationObject`.\n\n## Common Incoming Relationships\n\n- `representation`: used when the embedded work is a `VisualItem`.\n- `subject_of`: used when the embedded work is a `LinguisticObject`.\n\n## Meta Museum Notes\n\nMeta Museum already preserves digital link semantics through `representation[]`, `subject_of[]`, `access_point[]`, `format`, `conforms_to`, `digitally_shown_by`, `digitally_carried_by`, and digital service coverage. Existing code paths intentionally keep image content, textual content, digital carrier, access URL, and physical object identity separate; a web page URL or image URL is not treated as the canonical identity of the described artwork.\n\n## Test Ideas\n\n- Preserve `representation[]` as embedded `VisualItem` with `digitally_shown_by[]`.\n- Preserve `subject_of[]` as embedded `LinguisticObject` with `language[]` and `digitally_carried_by[]`.\n- Preserve embedded `DigitalObject.access_point[]` with `id` and `type: DigitalObject`.\n- Preserve `format`, `conforms_to`, and `digitally_available_via` when supplied.\n- Add dereferenceable embedded work and digital-object IDs with richer detail available and verify `_complete: false`.\n","sections":[{"level":2,"heading":"Purpose","anchor":"purpose"},{"level":2,"heading":"Embedded Work Shape","anchor":"embedded-work-shape"},{"level":2,"heading":"Embedded Digital Object Shape","anchor":"embedded-digital-object-shape"},{"level":2,"heading":"Common Incoming Relationships","anchor":"common-incoming-relationships"},{"level":2,"heading":"Meta Museum Notes","anchor":"meta-museum-notes"},{"level":2,"heading":"Test Ideas","anchor":"test-ideas"}],"html":"<h1 id=\"linked-art-api-shared-digital-links\">Linked Art API: Shared Digital Links</h1>\n<p><strong>Last refreshed:</strong> 2026-07-06</p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https://linked.art/api/1.0/shared/digital/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"doc-link\">Digital Links shared structure</a>, part of Linked Art API 1.0, published under <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"doc-link\">CC BY 4.0</a>. This is a project summary; the upstream page is authoritative.</p>\n<h2 id=\"purpose\">Purpose</h2>\n<p>Digital links embed the minimum useful description of external digital resources inside the record for the entity they depict or describe. They are used for images, web pages, and other digital content without requiring every linked resource to be fetched as a separate top-level record.</p>\n<p>This is a nested shared structure: the first level is an embedded `VisualItem` or `LinguisticObject`, and that embedded work points to one or more embedded `DigitalObject` structures.</p>\n<h2 id=\"embedded-work-shape\">Embedded Work Shape</h2>\n<p>An embedded work includes:</p>\n<ul><li>`type`: required. Must be `VisualItem` or `LinguisticObject`.</li><li>`id`: optional URI for the work.</li><li>`_complete`: optional completeness signal. If an `id` URI has richer dereferenceable information, `_complete: false` must be present.</li><li>`_label`, `classified_as`, `identified_by`, `referred_to_by`: optional descriptive structures.</li><li>`digitally_shown_by`: required when `type` is `VisualItem`; points to embedded `DigitalObject` structures.</li><li>`digitally_carried_by`: required when `type` is `LinguisticObject`; points to embedded `DigitalObject` structures.</li><li>`language`: optional and only for `LinguisticObject`.</li></ul>\n<p>Exactly one of `digitally_shown_by` or `digitally_carried_by` must be present, according to the embedded work class.</p>\n<h2 id=\"embedded-digital-object-shape\">Embedded Digital Object Shape</h2>\n<p>An embedded digital object includes:</p>\n<ul><li>`type`: required. Must be `DigitalObject`.</li><li>`id`: optional URI for the digital object.</li><li>`_complete`: optional completeness signal. If an `id` URI has richer dereferenceable information, `_complete: false` must be present.</li><li>`_label`, `classified_as`, `identified_by`, `referred_to_by`: optional descriptive structures.</li><li>`access_point`: optional list of direct retrieval URLs. Each access point has required `id` and `type: DigitalObject`.</li><li>`digitally_available_via`: optional digital service structures.</li><li>`format`: optional media type, such as `image/jpeg`.</li><li>`conforms_to`: optional references to external specifications, with `type: InformationObject`.</li></ul>\n<h2 id=\"common-incoming-relationships\">Common Incoming Relationships</h2>\n<ul><li>`representation`: used when the embedded work is a `VisualItem`.</li><li>`subject_of`: used when the embedded work is a `LinguisticObject`.</li></ul>\n<h2 id=\"meta-museum-notes\">Meta Museum Notes</h2>\n<p>Meta Museum already preserves digital link semantics through `representation[]`, `subject_of[]`, `access_point[]`, `format`, `conforms_to`, `digitally_shown_by`, `digitally_carried_by`, and digital service coverage. Existing code paths intentionally keep image content, textual content, digital carrier, access URL, and physical object identity separate; a web page URL or image URL is not treated as the canonical identity of the described artwork.</p>\n<h2 id=\"test-ideas\">Test Ideas</h2>\n<ul><li>Preserve `representation[]` as embedded `VisualItem` with `digitally_shown_by[]`.</li><li>Preserve `subject_of[]` as embedded `LinguisticObject` with `language[]` and `digitally_carried_by[]`.</li><li>Preserve embedded `DigitalObject.access_point[]` with `id` and `type: DigitalObject`.</li><li>Preserve `format`, `conforms_to`, and `digitally_available_via` when supplied.</li><li>Add dereferenceable embedded work and digital-object IDs with richer detail available and verify `_complete: false`.</li></ul>","updatedAt":"2026-07-06T00:00:00.000Z","checksum":"aa747ae005bf3ca7ee7feeeaf9b4ba255f1c1c9570a0d1fe8a7735ef914390b2","checksumPrefix":"aa747ae005bf","anchorCount":6,"lineCount":56,"rawUrl":"/api/docs/content?path=linked-art%2Fapi%2Fshared-digital-links.md","htmlUrl":"/docs?doc=linked-art%2Fapi%2Fshared-digital-links.md","apiUrl":"/api/docs/content?path=linked-art%2Fapi%2Fshared-digital-links.md"}