Add links from Wikidata to entries in the Australian Dictionary of Biography

add-wikidata-links-to-adb.user.js

// ==UserScript==
// @name        Add Wikidata links to ADB
// @namespace   wraggelabs.com/add-wikidata-links-to-adb
// @match       https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/*
// @version     1.2
// @author      Tim Sherratt
// @description 25/08/2025, 10:39:27
// @grant       GM.xmlHttpRequest
// @connect     query.wikidata.org
// ==/UserScript==


function addWikidataLinks(query) {
  // Query the Wikidata SPARQL service
  const endpointUrl = 'https://query.wikidata.org/sparql';
  const fullUrl = endpointUrl + '?query=' + encodeURIComponent(query);
  const headers = { 'Accept': 'application/sparql-results+json' };
  GM.xmlHttpRequest({
      method: 'GET',
      url: fullUrl,
      headers: headers,
      onload: function(response) {
        const data = JSON.parse(response.responseText);
        const bindings = data.results.bindings;
        if (bindings.length > 0) {
          // Add a new heading to the life summary
          let lifeSummary = document.querySelector("div.lifeSummary");
          let heading = document.createElement("h5");
          heading.textContent = "Related links from WikiData";
          lifeSummary.appendChild(heading);
          // Create a list to contain the links
          let linkList = document.createElement("ul");
          for (let link of bindings) {
            // Add the links to the list (ignoring the ADB link)
            if (link.propertyLabel.value != "Australian Dictionary of Biography ID") {
              let linkItem = document.createElement("li");
              linkItem.innerHTML = '<a href="' + link.url.value + '">' + link.propertyLabel.value.replace(" ID", "") + '</a>';
              linkList.appendChild(linkItem);
            }
          }
          // Add the list of links to the life summary
          lifeSummary.appendChild(linkList);
        }

      }
  });
}

// Get the ADB id from the url
const adb_id = window.location.href.match(/\/biography\/([a-zA-Z0-9\-]+)\/?/)[1];

// This query gets all the Australian external identifiers that are linked to the person who has this ADB id.
const query = `SELECT DISTINCT ?property ?propertyLabel ?value ?url where {
      ?item p:P1907 ?statement.
      ?statement (ps:P1907) "${adb_id}".
      ?item ?wdt ?value.
      ?property wikibase:directClaim ?wdt;
          wikibase:propertyType wikibase:ExternalId;
          wdt:P17 wd:Q408.
      OPTIONAL { ?property wdt:P1630 ?formatter }
      BIND(uri(REPLACE(?formatter,"\\\\\$1",?value)) as ?url)
  SERVICE wikibase:label {bd:serviceParam wikibase:language "[AUTO LANGUAGE],en" .}
}`;

addWikidataLinks(query);

This userscript enriches entries in the Australian Dictionary of Biography by adding links to other biographical resources obtained from WikiData.

A section from the record for Margaret Baskerville showing the results of the userscript.

It makes use of WikiData's SPARQL Query Service to request details of any Australian external identifiers attached to a person's record. Not everyone in the ADB is currently represented in WikiData, so some entries might have no added links.

Installation

1. Add a userscript manager to your browser, for example TamperMonkey or ViolentMonkey.
2. Click on the 'Raw' button in the header of the code box above. The userscript manager will then ask you if you really want to install it.
3. Click install!