DSPACEfor Digital Repositories:

One Platform, Two Stories

Once upon a time…

…there were two libraries…

Willamette University

Oregon State University

…with two digital repositories.

Academic Commons

ScholarsArchive@OSU

Institutional Repositories: A DefinitionBroadly defined, an Institutional Repository is a service that …• Collects digital content produced by an institution• Provides a variety of access levels to content• Preserves content over time• Supports stable, reliable Web access over

time• Enables discovery of content by various

audiences• Integrates with other services (external

repositories, authoring tools, web sites)

Let’s see…Should we go with XMLUI or JSPUI?

OSUL's First Collections

WU First CollectionsUndergraduate theses

(currently 1500 and growing)

Moveable Type (1993-2003)

Technical Considerations• More complex to install and

support than some options; easier than others• Easier: CONTENTdm• More complicated: Fedora

• Out-of –the-box interface that is modestly customizable and XML user interface that is highly customizable given the right skill set (css, xslt)

• Support for a growing number of protocols (OAI-PMH, SWORD, Dublin Core, METS, MODS, SRW/U)

Technical Considerations (continued)• Handle service provides stable URLs that do

not change if the resource is renamed or relocated

• Monitoring of file integrity, item provenance, repository history

• File format registry• Robust authorization system and support for

external authentication protocols• Regular software releases (current release

1.5.1, a 2.0 development branch is underway)

Customizations

Front-end Web Server (2) Application Server (2) Database Server (1)

OSU LibrariesCustomizations

Linking from Catalog to ScholarsArchive

ETD Template

Oregon Explorer Template

Willamette University Customizations

Front-end Web Server (1)Application Server (1)Database Server (1)

XMLUI DesignLDAP Authorizationby employee_type

DSpace Advantages

1. Submission process that can be customized and used by departments outside the library

2. Handle server provides stable URL3. Fine-grained authorization for item access and

collection maintenance roles4. Standards-based development and an active

international developer community5. DSpace Foundation facilitates forward-thinking,

collaborative development work6. SWORD supports integration with other systems

(e.g.: Open Journal Systems e-journal publishing software)

7. Can be used to archive a wide variety of digital object types8. User interface can be used out-of-the-box or customized and

shared (e.g.: improved support for image browsing)9. Application code can be modified and shared10.Commercial support is available if you need it

ScholarsArchive Community Page

COAS Home Page

Verify Screen

Ability to Restrict Access

Progress Buttons

Ability to Save Submission

DSpace Disadvantages1. Many customizations are not possible without

the appropriate technical skills2. Relatively complex to install and administer3. Native support for image browsing is poor,

but the XMLUI can help with this4. DSpace 2.0 will introduce more

modularity, but modifying the current code basecan add significant complexity to upgrades

5. The authorization system is powerful butrelatively difficult to use in its current incarnation

6. Contracting for hosted DSpace from a vendorsolves support issues but may limit how DSpace is usedat your institution

7. Not easy to integrate with external tools andWeb sites

• No Technical Support

• Disconnect Between

Developers and Users

• Developers Answer to

Employers/Institutions

• Customizations Can

Wreak Havoc

DSpace Statistics

What Excites Us About the Future?

The EndMichael Spalti, Head of Library Systems DivisionWillamette Universitymspalti@willamette.edu

Sue Kunda, Digital Production LibrarianOregon State Universitysue.kunda@oregonstate.edu