1. Introduction to DSpace
Mukesh Pund
Scientist
NISCAIR, New Delhi

2. DSpace is a joint project of MIT Libraries and Hewlett-Packard Labs

3. What is DSpace? An open source software for Digital Object management
Create, search and retrieve digital objects
Facilitate preservation of digital objects
Allows open access and digital archiving
Allows building Institutional Repositories
Low cost, including all hardware and software components
Robust

4. What is DSpace? (contd..) Scalable Modular User Friendly
Multi-user (including both searching and maintenance)
Multimedia digital object enabled
Platform independent (including both client and server components) interoperable

5. H/W and S/W requirements
UNIX recommended (Java-based program should run on anything)‏
Open source, built on Apache web server and Tomcat Servlet engine
Uses postgreSQL or Oracle relational database

6. Possible types of Content
Preprints, articles
Postprints
Technical Reports
Conference Papers
Theses/Dissertations
Datasets
e.g. statistical, geospatial, scientific

7. Standards Dublin Core only
OAI-PMH v 2.0 (Open Archive’s Initiative Protocol for metadata harvesting)‏
UNICODE Compliant

8. Capabilities Exports in XML format Supports crosswalks through OAI-PMH
DC (Dublin Core)‏
Qualified DC
METS (Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard
MODS (Metadata Object Description Schema – sibling of MARCXML)‏
Can be extended to any Metadata Schema

9. Customization Screens E-mails Metadata Input-forms Display of results
Fields to be Indexed
Access restrictions
License (in addition to Creative Commons)‏

10. How a digital repository is organized in DSpace ?
Bitstreams (files having content)
Bundles (more than one bitstream)
Items (digital documents)
Collections (a set of items)
Sub-communities ( a set of collections)
Communities (Top level)

11. Items & Bitstreams The Basic digital document is called an item
A bundle may consist of many files (bitstreams in DSpace parlance)
Item is can have one bitstream or a bundle of bitstreams
Item requires metadata description, just as printed document
Bitstreams do not have metadata

12. Bitstream formats Text Images Audio Video
plain text, html pages, Pdf, word, ps, TeX
Images
Giff, jpeg, tiff etc
Audio
Wav, mp3, real audio, midi
Video
Mpeg, avi, mov etc

13. More about bitstreams Bitstreams can be any computer file
NOTE: If the end user system has the software to run a bitstream or his browser has a plug in, one can view or play bitstreams
DSpace is blissfully unaware of file formats, it just stores and disseminates them

14. Ideal bitstreams Use open standards to ensure long term preservation
Think of the format which you can support in the future (migration across versions of the software)
Avoid proprietary standards

15. DSpace item consists Bitstream(s) Metadata License
Plain text or thumbnail of the bitstreams in case you use filter-media (which does full-text indexing or creates thumbnails to images)

16. Items Items are also referred as Digital document Digital resource
Digital object

17. Communities and Collection
Items can be placed in a collection
Example:
A collection of theses
A collection of reports
A collection of How-tos
A collection of s
Collections are part of a community or sub-community
Communities can be divided into sub-communities, which can be further sub-divided

18. Examples of Communities
Social Sciences
Natural Sciences
Humanities
Can be anything intuitive to the end user of your repository

19. Sub-Communities Under Humanities one can have sub-communities as
History
Philosophy
Psychology

20. Further division?
Sub-communities can be divided into further sub-communities, such as
Philosophy (can have)
Epistemology
Metaphysics
Logic
The organization of Dspace in most cases can be familiar Library classification.
But it can be anything: DL organization Depends on your users expectations

21. Collections
Under each community or sub-community, you should have collection(s).
It is the collections that contain items (digital documents)
Communities or sub-communities can not have items directly under them

22. Collections Collections can be organized by type of documents
For example,
Theses
Articles
Photographs
Presentations etc.
Again, it depends on users expectations

23. You can have- Many: One: communities and sub-communities
collections under a community or sub-community
items in a collection
bitstreams in an item
One:
Metadata to an item
License to an item
One access point to a bundle of bitstreams

24. People associated with DSpace DLs
Anonymous Users (anybody)
Members, who wish to subscribe to a collection (one can not subscribe to communities). Also called E-person in DSpace
Submitters (authors), who submit their publications to a collection (they should be members and have been authorized to submit).
Reviewers - members who are authorized to review submissions. They can either accept or reject submissions). Normally, they are subject specialists
Metadata Editors – who validate the metadata. Normally, they are library professionals

25. People associated with DSpace DLs
Collection Administrators. In a large digital repository collection administration can be delegated various E-groups.
They can choose the reviewers, metadata editors among members and decide the collection policy
They are different from DSpace administrators, who have the overall responsibility and power. A kind of super-user

26. E-Groups
DSpace calls the reviewers, metadata editors, collection administrators as E-groups
It means, there can be more than one e-person (member) in any list of reviewers or metadata editors etc.
Each e-group can be associated with one or more collections
A member can be placed in none or more than one e-group

27. DSpace Administrator Create communities
Create collections under each community
Administration of E-People
Creating E-Groups among E-People
Authorizing E-Groups for each collection
Authorizing E-People for submission
Authorizing E-Groups to workflows for each collection
Various Authorizations at
Community Level
Collection Level
Item Level
Bitstream level

28. DSpace Administrator (contd..)
Can add local (non-standard) elements to Dublin Core
Can add new bit stream formats
Customization of DSpace Screens
Customization of alerts
Modification of License for submission

29. Important Sites http://www.dspace.org
(National Science Digital Library)‏

30. Thanks