Page 92 - Building Digital Libraries

General-Purpose Technologies Useful for Digital Repositories

FIGURE 5.3
XML Display in OAI-PMH

common web protocols underlines some of the value found in moving
metadata into well-known XML schemas. We will take a closer look at the
OAI-PMH protocol in chapter 7, but the ability to provide XML-formatted
data from one’s digital repository provides a valuable access method. When
making decisions regarding a digital platform, one should consider how the
platform enables not just the creation, but the ability to share and remix
data from the system. One should seek to answer the following questions:

1. Does the digital repository support XML-structured bib-
liographic and administrative metadata? Does the digital
repository support structural metadata schema?
2. Can the metadata be harvested or extracted? And can the
data be extracted in XML?
3. Does my digital platform support web standards-based
APIs?
4. Can my digital repository support multiple metadata
formats?

Individuals should be able to answer each of the questions above about a
potential digital library platform. One must remember that an organization’s

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