About

The Shared Authority Data File for Luxembourg's Cultural and Scientific Heritage (LUDAP) is a shared authority database designed for the creation, use, and management of authority data by the State institutions in Luxembourg responsible for the preservation of cultural heritage.

The standardised and structured authority data constitutes unique, reliable, and interoperable reference information. LUDAP offers ways to discover information about the people who have contributed to Luxembourg's cultural and scientific heritage.

LUDAP's main objective is to facilitate research by providing harmonized entry points to the collections held by the various cultural institutions. In its initial phase, the shared file focuses on creating authority records for deceased individuals, gradually expanding its scope to include other entities. The participating cultural heritage institutions have gathered, merged, and validated information relating to individuals and will in the future add significant communities and places of Luxembourg's history. Only validated records are published on the LUDAP public website.

An internal database contains other records awaiting validation. The available records present a comprehensive set of authoritative information: the accepted form of a person's name, its variants, key dates and places of their life (birth and death), their gender, occupations and activities, as well as standardized identifiers linking to other European and international databases. Each record also includes a unique internal LUDAP identifier and, where applicable, contextual notes to enhance understanding of the data.

It is important to note that, in this initial phase, LUDAP is specifically focused on the category of deceased persons. At this stage, you will not find detailed information on:

• Living persons: the current scope is limited to deceased persons.
• Groups or organizations: Information on communities will be introduced in a later phase, planned for 2026.
• Places: An expansion of the project to include places is also planned for a later date, around 2027.

LUDAP is a rapidly growing resource, and its scope will expand over time to encompass a broader range of knowledge relevant to Luxembourg's heritage. We are actively working on adding new entries and categories after rigorous quality checks.

Affiliated institutes

LUDAP is governed by the LUDAP cooperation. This collaboration originated from the Luxembourg Network of Expertise on Digital Cultural Heritage. The cooperation includes the following members:

The work is overseen by a governance committee composed of representatives from each institution. LUDAP has an editorial committee responsible for adding and validating records, as well as a technical committee responsible for ensuring compatibility and data exchange between the LUDAP platform and member institutions. The day-to-day management of LUDAP is handled by a coordination office and a data manager.

The authority file is developed with the assistance of IP Squared, Digitaal Werktuig, and TenTwentyFour. We thank Micelio, WESO, and Professional.wiki for their previous technical contributions.

Contact

Your comments, questions, and requests for information regarding the public LUDAP are welcome. Please feel free to contact us at info@ludap.lu:

• For any general questions regarding the LUDAP project, its objectives, or the information presented on this website
• To submit a request for modification or to report an error on the platform
• Become an institutional member of LUDAP (open to Luxembourg institutions)

We hope to hear from you and collaborate with you to make LUDAP a valuable resource for Luxembourg's cultural and scientific heritage.