OAI server and client

Expose your data to the outside world

Libraries only rarely operate purely on their own: they are usually connected in a network, they have partners, they participate in solutions (collections, [union] catalogues, …) that are maintained elsewhere. As such, they need to exchange (bibliographic) data on a regular basis. This need exists in all libraries, but is probably most prominent in academic libraries that want to expose scholarly information. The goal is often to expose not only metadata but also full text of e.g. journal articles, conference proceedings, reports, PowerPoint presentations, dissertations, and others.

The ability for libraries to make the full breadth of information easily and readily accessible to their users is a key requirement in today’s learning environments. The Open Archives Initiative addresses this issue by enabling the exposure and harvesting of scholarly communication through the Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH). Through OAI-PMH support in Vubis Smart and V-smart, libraries can easily expose their databases and e-print archives without the need for third-party software.

OAI has two complementary components: a server (to expose data from V-smart to the outside world) and a client (to harvest data from the outside world and incorporate it in V-smart).