Abstract
<jats:p>Introduction: researchers of the Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences have been compiling a card index of toponyms from Karelia and adjacent regions since 1970. This index contains over 300,000 toponyms in the Russian, Karelian, and Vepsian languages. The process of digitizing the paper-based card index and adding new field research materials has been ongoing for more than 20 years. The Toponymy of Karelia (TopKar) geoinformation online system has been developed. The number of toponymic resources is growing, making it necessary to standardize data and connect them into a unified network. In various fields (such as library science and bioinformatics), the Wikidata database serves as a unifying link. Let’s demonstrate this network integration using 11 toponymic databases, including TopKar. Let’s identify the unique features of toponymic databases to enable their inclusion in the linked data. Objective: to present modern toponymic databases; to identify their features that ensure inclusion in the existing unified network of the linked data. Research materials: modern online toponymic databases. Results and novelty of the research: the experience of developing the Toponymy of Karelia system and linking it with other online resources is described. The difficulties are explained, and key points are outlined that facilitate the inclusion of toponymic databases into the linked data. Global toponymic databases (GeoNames, GNIS, GNS, TGN) and regional databases (TopKar, Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica, Place names in Norwegian polar areas, Järviwiki, Latvian toponymic names database, Lower Sorbian place name, and Monasticon Hibernicum) are reviewed. New developing toponymic databases will be more successfully included in the linked data if the identified features of databases are considered.</jats:p>