.. _user_guide_overview:

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User Guide Overview
===================

Welcome to the JudaicaLink User Guide! This guide will help you navigate and effectively use the different features and resources available within JudaicaLink.

What is JudaicaLink?
====================
JudaicaLink is a Linked Open Data project dedicated to Jewish studies, providing structured and interconnected knowledge about Jewish history, culture, and scholarship. It integrates multiple datasets, making them easily accessible through a knowledge graph, entity-based searches, and a SPARQL endpoint.

Key Features
============

1. Search Functionality
-----------------------

JudaicaLink offers multiple ways to search and explore data:

* *Knowledge Graph Search*: Search for persons, places, institutions, and other entities in structured data.
* *Full-Text Search in Compact Memory*: Query historical Jewish newspapers and documents.
* *Entity Extraction Search*: Find entities automatically identified within historical texts using NLP.

2. SPARQL Endpoint
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For advanced users, JudaicaLink provides a *SPARQL query interface* , enabling custom queries against the structured knowledge graph.

* \🔗 *Access the SPARQL endpoint:*  `https://data.judaicalink.org/sparql.html <https://data.judaicalink.org/sparql.html>`_.
* Learn how to construct SPARQL queries in the `SPARQL Guide <advanced_topic_sparql_guide>`_.

3. Linked Open Data (LOD) Integration
-------------------------------------

JudaicaLink integrates with major Linked Data resources such as *GND, Wikidata, DBpedia, VIAF, and Geonames*, allowing enriched and interconnected research.

4. Dataset Exploration
----------------------

* Browse available datasets via `https://data.judaicalink.org <https://data.judaicalink.org>`_.
* Understand how datasets are structured in the `Dataset Guide <datasets>`.

5. Entity Pages
---------------

* JudaicaLink provides *Entity Pages*, which aggregate information from multiple sources about an entity.
* See examples of entity pages at: `https://data.judaicalink.org/data/html/ <https://data.judaicalink.org/data/html/>`_.

How to Use This Guide
======================

This guide is divided into several sections to help users get started with JudaicaLink:

1. :ref:`Getting Started <getting_started>` – A step-by-step guide to accessing JudaicaLink.
2. :ref:`Search Guide <user_guide_search_guide>` – Instructions on how to use the different search methods.
3. :ref:`SPARQL Guide <advanced_topics_sparql_guide>` – How to construct SPARQL queries.
4. :ref:`Dataset Guide <datasets>` – Information about the datasets available.
5. :ref:`Content Negotiation <user_guide_content_negotiation>` – Learn how to retrieve data in different formats.
6. :ref:`FAQs <faq>` – Answers to common questions.

Who Can Use JudaicaLink?
=========================

JudaicaLink is designed for:

* *Researchers & Historians*  looking for structured Jewish studies data.
* *Librarians & Archivists*  managing bibliographic and archival data.
* *Developers & Data Scientists*  integrating JudaicaLink data into applications.
* *General Users*  interested in exploring Jewish history and culture.

Next Steps
==========

* Start with :ref:`Getting Started <getting_started>`.
* If you need help, visit the :ref:`FAQs <faq>` or contact us at `https://labs.judaicalink.org/contact/ <https://labs.judaicalink.org/contact/>`_.