Using the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting

by Cole, Timothy W.

• ISBN13: 9781591582809
• ISBN10: 1591582806
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-06-30
• Publisher: Libraries Unltd Inc

Summary

Online scholarly publishing is revolutionizing scholarly communication, and the Open Archives Initiative (OAI) is among those protocols leading the way in the transformation process. OAI enables access to Web-accessible material by harvesting (or collecting) the metadata descriptions of the records in an archive so that services can be built using metadata from many archives. Through a series of case studies, Cole and Foulonneau guide the reader through the process of conceiving, implementing and maintaining an OAI-compliant repository. Its applicability to both institutional archives and discipline based aggregators are covered, with equal attention paid to the technical and organizational aspects of creating and maintaining such repositories.

Table of Contents

Illustrations	p. ix
Preface	p. xiii
Introduction and Context	p. 1
Definition and Origins of OAI-PMH	p. 3
Scope of OAI-PMH	p. 4
Purpose of OAI-PMH	p. 6
OAI-PMH Antecedents	p. 8
OAI Open Days and Protocol Revision History	p. 12
OAI-PMH-What It Is Not	p. 14
How the Rest of This Book Is Organized	p. 17
Questions and Topics for Discussion	p. 18
Notes	p. 18
References	p. 19
Underlying Technologies and the Technical Development of OAI-PMH	p. 21
OAI-PMH Reliance on Existing Standards	p. 22
Keeping It Technically Simple	p. 35
Questions and Topics for Discussion	p. 38
Suggestions for Exercises	p. 39
Notes	p. 39
References	p. 39
Context for OAI-PMH: ePrints, Institutional Repositories, and Open Access	p. 41
The Traditional Scholarly Communications Process	p. 41
ePrint Archives	p. 43
From ePrints to Institutional Repositories	p. 46
Open Access Journals	p. 50
The State of Open Access at the End of 2006	p. 55
OAI-PMH Is Not Just for Open Access	p. 56
Open Access Technical Implementations	p. 57
Questions and Topics for Discussion	p. 59
Suggestions for Exercises	p. 59
Notes	p. 60
References	p. 60
Protocol Implementation	p. 63
Technical Details of the Protocol	p. 65
Key Concepts, Terms, and Definitions	p. 65
Verbs and Arguments Used in OAI-PMH Requests	p. 70
OAI-PMH Syntax and Response Semantics	p. 74
OAI-PMH Approach to Error Handling	p. 77
OAI-PMH State Management and Transaction Flow Control	p. 79
Questions and Topics for Discussion	p. 82
Suggestions for Exercises	p. 82
Notes	p. 83
References	p. 83
Implementing an OAI Data Provider	p. 85
Adding Support for OAI-PMH to Existing Infrastructure	p. 85
Recommended Guidelines for Repository Implementers	p. 89
Common Implementation Scenarios	p. 93
Common Issues and Challenges for Data Providers	p. 102
Questions and Topics for Discussion	p. 105
Suggestions for Exercises	p. 106
Notes	p. 106
References	p. 106
Sharable Metadata: Creating and Using	p. 109
Creating Metadata to Share	p. 111
The Dublin Core Metadata Formats	p. 113
Other Metadata Formats Used with OAI-PMH	p. 121
Practical Considerations When Sharing Metadata	p. 128
Questions and Topics for Discussion	p. 133
Suggestions for Exercises	p. 133
Notes	p. 134
References	p. 135
Post-Harvest Metadata Normalization and Augmentation	p. 137
The Metadata Aggregation as a Collection	p. 138
Normalizing Metadata	p. 141
Augmenting Metadata	p. 148
Collaboration Between Data and Service Provider	p. 154
Questions and Topics for Discussion	p. 156
Suggestions for Exercises	p. 157
Notes	p. 157
References	p. 158
Using Aggregated Metadata to Build Digital Library Services	p. 161
Supporting the Needs of Digital Library Users	p. 162
Heterogeneity of Cross-Collection Metadata Aggregations	p. 168
From Metadata to Resources	p. 173
Questions and Topics for Discussion	p. 179
Suggestions for Exercises	p. 180
Notes	p. 180
References	p. 180
Concluding Thoughts	p. 185
A Summary of Essential Lessons Learned	p. 187
Needs Going Forward	p. 190
What Next?	p. 192
Questions and Topics for Discussion	p. 195
Notes	p. 196
References	p. 197
Index	p. 199
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