Introduction to OAI Static Repositories By Thomas G. Habing Grainger Engineering Library Information Center University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The Problem OAI-PMH is simple, but not simple enough for: –Technically challenged organizations Limited resources No control over their web server –With small collections records –That do not change often Less frequent than monthly
The Solution Static Repository –A single XML file containing all metadata, identifiers, and datestamps –Accessible from a web server via an HTTP URL, such as –May be created manually by an XML or simple text editor, or programmatically Static Repository Gateway –Provides intermediation for one or more Static Repositories
Official Specification The OAI Executive: Herbert Van de Sompel -- Los Alamos National Laboratory - Research Library Carl Lagoze -- Cornell University - Computing and Information Science From the OAI Technical Committee: Michael Nelson -- Old Dominion University - Dept of Computer Science Simeon Warner -- Cornell University - Computing and Information Science Contributors: Patrick Hochstenbach -- Los Alamos National Laboratory - Research Library Henry Jerez -- Los Alamos National Laboratory - Research Library
Illustration Static Repositories Static Repository Gateway OAIster OAI Harvesters NSDL
Static Repository Limitations Must be a single XML file (mime: text/xml) –No resumptionTokens Must be UTF-8 encoded Unicode Must validate against Static Repository XML Schema The baseURL element must be the concatenation of the Static Gateway URL and the Static Repository URL ListRecords elements must conform to the OAI- PMH record format
Additional Limitations The URL of the Static Repository XML file cannot include a fragment or query string Sets are not supported Deleted records are not supported Response compression is not supported Only YYYY-MM-DD date stamp granularity is supported The guidelines for OAI identifiers should be followed: – identifier.htm
Static Repository XML Sections … … … … …
Demo no YYYY-MM-DD
oai_dc …
oai:this.edu: Some Title … … …
Working with Gateways Initiating Intermediation – Terminating Intermediation –Delete the XML file or change the baseURL in the Static XML File, then issue: – Intermediation must only be through one gateway at a time Static repository administrators should verify that the gateway is working Gateway policies may vary
Gateway Software OAI Static Repository & OAI Static Repository Gateway –CGI written in C – ASP OAI 2.0 Static Repository Gateway –Active Server Page (ASP) written in VBScript –
Some Working Static Repositories and Gateways OLAC Static Repository Gateway – – bin/gateway/gateway.cgi/paradisec.org.au/PDSCsr.xml? verb=Identifyhttp:// bin/gateway/gateway.cgi/paradisec.org.au/PDSCsr.xml? verb=Identify LANL Test Static gateway – IMLSDCC Static Gateway at UIUC – – bs.dk/oai.xml?verb=Identifyhttp://imlsdcc.grainger.uiuc.edu/gateway/oai.asp/ep.lib.c bs.dk/oai.xml?verb=Identify
Conclusion OAI Static Repositories are an easy entry into the OAI world All you need is a valid XML file that sits on an accessible HTTP web server Register with a Gateway and you are an OAI data provider Unfortunately not many general purpose Gateways at the moment, but that should improve soon