MODL: A Modular Ontology Design Library
This addresses the problem of interoperability and reusability in FAIR data practices for ontology developers, but it is incremental as it builds on existing pattern-based approaches.
The paper tackles the high upfront cost of developing pattern-based, modular ontologies by introducing MODL, a curated library of well-documented ontology design patterns drawn from interdisciplinary use-cases, resulting in a resource that facilitates reuse and awareness of existing patterns.
Pattern-based, modular ontologies have several beneficial properties that lend themselves to FAIR data practices, especially as it pertains to Interoperability and Reusability. However, developing such ontologies has a high upfront cost, e.g. reusing a pattern is predicated upon being aware of its existence in the first place. Thus, to help overcome these barriers, we have developed MODL: a modular ontology design library. MODL is a curated collection of well-documented ontology design patterns, drawn from a wide variety of interdisciplinary use-cases. In this paper we present MODL as a resource, discuss its use, and provide some examples of its contents.