The document discusses best practices for implementing an open source institutional repository (IR). It recommends that organizations prepare organizationally by gaining support, defining goals, and developing policies. Technically, it recommends assessing requirements, selecting a framework, and choosing between options like DSpace and Fedora based on functional needs. The benefits of an IR for exposure, scholarship, and preservation are also highlighted.

1. Implementing an Open Source
Repository
David Gewirtz
Digital Preservation Architect
Yale University Library
Yale University AM&T
Mid-Winter ALA January 2008

2. Implementing an Open Source
Repository an Overview
 A Best Practice for a Successful
Respository Implementation
 Organizational Preparedness
 Technical Assessment - Requirements
 The Library as a service provider
 The End-User as a consumer of services
 A Framework for implementation
 Promotion of the benefits (added value) to
end-users or your local community
Mid-Winter ALA January 2008

3. Implementing an Open Source
Repository an Overview
Mid-Winter ALA January 2008

4. Implementing an Open Source
Repository
 Organizational Preparedness for an IR
 Garner Organizational Support for Project
 University Provost and Librarian in higher education
 Board of a public Library or local politician
 Bottom up approach sometimes works best!
 Define the vision, mission and goals of the IR
 Service provider goals and objectives must align with
goals and objectives of consumers i.e. campus academic
communities or the community library.
 Integration with the emerging cyber-infrastructure that
supports e-learning and research in high education
 Make public library collections more accessible to support
distance learning for a community college.
Mid-Winter ALA January 2008

5. Implementing an Open Source
Repository
 Organizational Preparedness for an IR
 Develop Rules Guidelines and Policies for the IR
 For submissions of scholarly communications or public
contributions - Ingest
 Types of Collections, formats and metadata
 Copyright IP Rights Access management
 Archive/Preservation capabilities
 Secure Funding for IR
 Demonstrate added value to the mission and core values
of the institution or community.
 Secure grants from private and public foundations such
as IMLS
Mid-Winter ALA January 2008

6. Implementing an Open Source
Repository
 Technical Assessment – Service Provider View
 Common Services possible with an IR
 Integrate Analog and e-resource for enhanced
discovery and access to collections
 Interoperability and data exchange between library
systems, collaboration and e-learning systems including
public libraries.
 Expose to broaden access and impact of collections
data and metadata to external Information providers like
Google and social networking communities like Facebook
 Preserve digital data that now encapsulates the human
record be the resources from publishers or community
members.
 Digital curation services
Mid-Winter ALA January 2008

7. Implementing an Open Source
Repository
 Technical Assessment – Consumer View
 Tools for Cyber-scholarships
 Serendipitous discovery of valuable resources across
academic domains/resources.
 Ability to exchange import/export library and
network resources into distance learning and
collaboration systems
 Ability to re-use, re-purpose and express
relationships between digital resources
 A protected space for University outputs from faculty
students, staff and administration
 Access and Preservation of the cultural record of a
community
 Linking Services and metadata creation tools
Mid-Winter ALA January 2008

8. Implementing an Open Source
Repository
 Technical Assessment:
 Framework for Implementation
 Express users requirements through use cases
 Distill end-user functional requirements from
use case analysis and discussions with end
users
 Match end-user functional requirements to
repository functionality
Mid-Winter ALA January 2008

9. Implementing an Open Source Repository
Mid-Winter ALA January 2008

10. Implementing an Open Source
Repository
 Technical Assessment:
 Framework for Implementation
 Align Interface requirements to functional
requirements of the repository (add standards
and protocols)
 Graph the gaps
 select an open source product that best fills in
the gaps i.e. Dspace or Fedora
Mid-Winter ALA January 2008

11. Implementing an Open Source Repository
Mid-Winter ALA January 2008

12. Implementing an Open Source
Repository
 Dspace and Fedora as Different Options
 Monolithic Application with connections to
external services
 An application based open a Service
Oriented Architecture of loosely coupled
network services/modules
Mid-Winter ALA January 2008

13. Implementing an Open Source
Repository
 Dspace Functional Description
 Library Centric
 Reflects structure of the organization that
implements that application
 Instantiated through communities that have
collections and items that can be aggregated
into bundles
 Ingest workflow collection centric
Mid-Winter ALA January 2008

14. Implementing an Open Source
Repository
Dspace Architectural View
Mid-Winter ALA January 2008

15. Implementing an Open Source
Repository
Fedora Service Framework
Mid-Winter ALA January 2008

16. Implementing an Open Source Repository
DSpace- Fedora Architectures
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17. Implementing an Open Source
Repository
 Promotion of the IR:
 An IR can enhance the exposure of an Institution’s
intellectual treasury or brand
 An IR complements Cyber-Scholarship and promotes
changes in the scholarly communication process
 An IR contributes to the preservation of our cultural
memory that is now recorded in diverse digital formats.
 An IR contributes to the integration of analog, digital and
network resources offered by your library.
Mid-Winter ALA January 2008

18. Implementing an Open Source
Repository
 Important Repository References
 Dspace: http://www.dspace.org/
 Fedora: http://www.fedora.info/
 Digital Commons http://www.bepress.com/ir/
 E-Prints http://www.eprints.org/
 Mailing List: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-
bin/webadmin?A0=jisc-repositories
 Tip: Create a Google alert on the tag “Institutional
Repository” or Repository Software and let a “bot” help
you to research this subject.
Mid-Winter ALA January 2008