Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting

The Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH) is a framework that facilitates the sharing and harvesting of metadata between repositories and service providers. It enables repositories, known as Data Providers, to expose their metadata in a structured format, allowing Service Providers to harvest this metadata for creating value-added services. OAI-PMH operates through a set of six HTTP-based requests, or "verbs," which manage the harvesting process.

DSpace includes tools that allow content delivery through standard protocols such as OAI-PMH. This capability enables the dissemination of content via a scalable web portal or through harvesting systems, facilitating interoperability and wider access to repository content.

Prosentient Systems will set up OAI for you, implementing the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH) in DSpace to enable efficient sharing and harvesting of metadata from your repository.   

The OAI-PMH server in DSpace is enabled by default. However, we can configure it in your local.cfg file:

# Enable (true) or disable (false) OAI-PMH server
oai.enabled = true

# Path where the OAI-PMH server is available
oai.path = oai

After making these changes, restart your Servlet Container (usually Tomcat) to apply the configurationhttps://wiki.lyrasis.org/display/DSDOC7x/OAI.

2. Testing the OAI-PMH Server
You can test the OAI-PMH server by sending a request to:

[dspace.server.url]/[oai.path]/request?verb=Identify

For example:

https://docs.prosentient.com.au/prosentientserver/oai/request?verb=Identify

The response should be an XML file with a link to an XSLT stylesheet that renders HTML in your browserhttps://wiki.lyrasis.org/display/DSDOC7x/OAI.

What Are Metadata Crosswalks?

Metadata crosswalks are mappings between two metadata schemas. In DSpace, crosswalks use XSLT (Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations) files to transform internal metadata into external standards (e.g., Dublin Core, MODS, MARCXML). This ensures that metadata aligns with the requirements of external services like Trove.

Role of Crosswalks in DSpace

1. Facilitating Metadata Harvesting
   • DSpace repositories use OAI-PMH for metadata harvesting.
   • Trove requires metadata to be in a specific format, such as Dublin Core (DC).
   • Crosswalks map DSpace’s internal metadata to a simplified DC format that Trove can interpret and harvest.
2. Improving Metadata Quality
   • Crosswalks allow you to customize how metadata fields map between schemas, ensuring higher quality and consistency.
   • For example, a field like dc.contributor.author in DSpace can be mapped to creator in Trove’s preferred schema.
3. Supporting Custom Requirements
   • Crosswalks enable repositories to meet unique requirements of aggregators like Trove.
   • Trove may expect specific elements such as dc.date.available or additional qualifiers like dc.subject.anzsrc-for (Australia/New Zealand Standard Research Classification - Fields of Research).