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Requirements for Joining the Latin American Open Archives Portal as a Data Provider

The OAI model (Open Archives Initiative - OAI) is built around two basic components: a group of Data Providers--a data provider is simply a repository or collection of digital objects and their accompanying metadata--and a Service Provider--which includes a metadata harvester, a metadata data base, and a user interface which offers search and related services for end users.

There are three steps or requirements necessary for an institution that is interested in joining LAOAP as a data provider:

  1. Possess a group of digital objects (PDF files, digital photographs, digital audio recordings, etc.), or have the capacity to digitize analog materials either through scanning or other data conversion processes. Again, in the cast of text, at minimum, all that is needed is PDF files.
  2. Access to an in-house Web server, or to a Web hosting service, to store and serve the digital objects (note that Lanic and LAOAP offer free Web hosting for content that is deemed appropriate for inclusion in this project).
  3. The ability to generate Dublin Core metadata records for each digital object in your collection. View a sample LAOAP metadata record).

For those institutions which already have electronic documents or other digital objects, the steps from number 1 above are relatively simple. For example, if you have a set of Word documents, you may need only to save them as PDF files. If you need to scan or digitize print materials or photographs, for example, LAOAP can provide training and documentation to assist in this process, but the project does not currently have funds for the acquisition of scanning equipment.

Regarding hosting of the digital objects, it is imperative that participants in LAOAP be able to count on access to secure, reliable, and stable Web hosting. For institutions that have such capacity in-house, they merely need to allocate space for the LAOAP digital objects. Additionally, LAOAP encourages content partners to provide access to the digital objects through their existing online catalogue, digital library interface, content management system, or other appropriate local means.

For institutions that are interested in participating in the project, but that do not have access to sufficient Web hosting resources, Lanic and LAOAP can provide server space for the hosting of digital objects and metadata.

In terms of metadata, there are several possibilities. If your digital objects are already catalogued, for example in MicroIsis or an OPAC, the preferred method, depending on the number of records involved, is to convert or "repurpose" your existing records to comply with the Dublin Core specification. In the case of digital objects that have not been catalogued, LAOAP can provide assistance for generating records for small repositories or collections.

Ultimately, the metadata needs to be Web-enabled in a manner that allows it to be harvested by the metadata harvester. There are two alternatives for serving the metadata. The simplest route is to generate an XML file containing all of the metadata records, using a protocol supplied by LAOAP. For those institutions with access to more computing resources, both hardware/software and specialized staff, the preferred method is to install a Data Provider module. This module essentially acts as a bridge between the existing online catalog and Web server, on the Data Provider end, and the Metadata Harvester, on the Service Provider end.

To summarize, there are three different paths an organization can take to participate in this project as an LAOAP Data Provider:

  1. Organizations that have documents or publications they wish to disseminate more broadly, but that do not have a Web presence. For these groups, LAOAP can provide temporary Web hosting for the documents and their accompanying metadata;
  2. Groups that have their own Web server or that have access to local institutional Web hosting, and that have staff with basic HTML and Web capabilities;
  3. Groups maintain in-house Web servers and data bases or other dynamic, Web-based applications, and that have access to staff with programming and systems administration capabilities.

In terms of metadata, the three alternatives can be explained as follows:

Model Description Attributes
Basic The Data Provider sends metadata records to LAOAP staff for composing the XML data repository, which can then be harvested by way of the Static Repository Gateway.
  1. The collection is not catalogued.
  2. The Data Provider does not have staff with HTML or Web experience.
Static Data Provider generates an XML file containing the metadata for all publications in their collection. The LAOAP Service Provider uses its Static Repository Gateway to harvest this XML repository.
  1. The collection has less than 5,000 (five thousand) items or digital objects.
  2. Catalog records can be converted and exported to an XML file.
  3. The Data Provider has access to a Web server or a hosting service where they can store their digital objects and the XML metadata repository.
Interactive The Data Provider installs a program which acts as an intermediary between the OPAC and Web server on the one end, and the harvester on the other end. The Service Provider and harvester can then harvest the metadata directly, and on an as needed basis, via HTTP.
  1. The collection has been catalogued and the records are available online.
  2. The Data Provider institution has its own Web server.
  3. The Data Provider institution has access to a programmer or systems administrator who can build and maintain the "intermediary" program described above.

To reiterate, under either the Basic or Static alternatives above, hosting of the digital objects and of the metadata repository can be either on the institution's own Web server, or on the Lanic-LAOAP Web server.

If your institution is interested in joining the project as a Data Provider, please send a letter outlining your interest to:

c.palaima@mail.utexas.edu
Carolyn Palaima
LANIC Project Director
Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies
1 University Station D0800
Austin, TX 78712

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