The York University Libraries are in the process of testing the new DSpace open source software from MIT. DSpace is a repository for research in digital form, which was developed as a joint project between the MIT Libraries and Hewlett Packard (HP). The original concept for the software was to provide a place for an institution's digital research output to be stored and accessed - a collective repository to store digital research which often only existed on faculty websites or personal computers. With DSpace, faculty and researchers have the ability to submit their own work to be preserved and made accessible over the Internet.

DSpace is not simply another database and website combination; it includes many features necessary for long term storage and increased access to scholarly research, such as open source software components and common web standards These features help to make the DSpace information more widely accessible and portable to future platforms.
DSpace gives libraries the capability of storing and providing access to research which is available only in digital from and which may not lend itself well to print formats. In addition to text, other formats such as video, audio or large datasets can be accommodated in the system.

A single search interface is provided for all of the information contained in the DSpace repository, and items are described using a standard set of data elements. A new standard, the Open Archives Initiative (OAI) Protocol, allows the records of items within DSpace to be made more readily available to users via metadata harvesting projects such as OAIster at the University of Michigan. Projects like OAIster are collecting records from as many OAI sources as possible to create one large database of scholarly resources. The structure of DSpace means that searchers will not be retrieving merely information about resources (metadata), but the information itself. Researchers and others will be able to browse the information directly by titles, authors, dates, or "communities" and collections, without the need for an intermediary interface.

One of the important features of DSpace is its method of organizing information into "communities" which can represent faculties, departments, or virtually any other organizational entity within an institution. Access permissions and workflow can be defined and controlled separately for each community.

YorkSpace, the Libraries' installation of DSpace, is a major component in building a digital library and fulfils the Libraries' traditional role as caretakers of information. The Libraries are initially focusing on published and completed research including journal publications, technical reports and working papers. Large datasets and non-print media accompanying research are also of interest to store in YorkSpace. Future content for consideration includes pre-prints and e-theses. Several York University research communities are currently considering placing their publications in YorkSpace.

For an example close to home, see the University of Toronto's "T-Space": https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/index.jsp

For more information on the DSpace software and other institutions using it see: http://www.library.yorku.ca/Home/eResources/yorkspace.jsp , which will have a link to YorkSpace when it goes live.

Contact Merle Steeves at msteeves@yorku.ca if you would like to find out more about the YorkSpace project.

<< newsletter home