Unit 13: Experiences, Challenges & Lessons Learned

This semester has been busy and at times frustrating.  I feel lucky in that I did not have any major problems with any of the installations.  In a couple situations I was able to go back to a snapshot in the VM and this solved the issue.  My main issue was my move in the middle of the semester and I was unable to connect the VM to the browser in the new place.  This put me behind in class but I’m glad I was able to eventually catch up.  While this class is challenging, it keeps my mind active which is I believe is important.  Over this semester we experimented with several repository systems such as Drupal, DSpace, EPrints and Omeka by entering our collections.  Each repository is unique and it is important to become aware of what they offer in order to determine which one best fits ones collection.  It is important to consider several factors when selecting a repository which include but are not limited to cost, long-term survival of files, metadata consistency, searchability/retrieval, physical appearance, ease of use, community and support, customization/flexibility, and ability to add plugins/modules.  Having exposure in working with the different repositories makes one realize the importance of such factors.  In addition, exposure in working with repositories ties in to the key concepts learned in the management portion of the class which includes the importance of proper storage, sharing and access of information.  Another key concept is the importance of librarians providing advice and support to researchers when managing their digital information. 

Unit 12: Omeka Continued

This week, we continued working with Omeka.  Plugins were added such as the OAI Harvester and Comments.  The idea of downloading a pre-installed VM versus building one’s own could be advantageous as it is will allow one more time to concentrate on the collection rather that spending that time on installing the VM.  Installing a VM is a time consuming process.  However, I did realize that after having installed a VM several times this semester the process became easier and took less time.  Installing a new VM each time also creates the problem for more errors as certain steps could be missed.  On the other hand, there are certain elements in the VM installation process that are beneficial to know such as the ability to: test for connectivity, check/change IP addresses if necessary, edit the host file.  By building a VM from scratch, the opportunity to learn about how a repository is structured and modified can be important if troubleshooting is required.  As my computer skills increase with the DigIn courses I appreciate more the behind the scenes components involved in building a repository from scratch.

Unit 11: Omeka

A new virtual machine and the Omeka demo were successfully installed.  Adding items to the collection was fairly easy and straightforward. The layout makes it easy to input all metadata required.   When logged in as a contributor, making an item public or featured is not possible whereas it is possible as administrator.  This makes sense as it allows users to contribute but needs approval from an administrator to make it public.  From a user and contributor perspective, Omeka is user friendly, easy to use and physically appealing.  The other home sites we worked with in class all seem to have its advantageous and disadvantageous.  The ability to add categories in Drupal provides flexibility; however, it can be time consuming at the forefront.  The ability to import Library of Congress Subject Headings and incorporate uncontrolled vocabulary in EPrints was a plus.  The process of cataloging the records in EPrints was straightforward; it was a matter of filling in the text boxes.  I recall that I did run into one problem for one of the records in which the creator was unknown.  Since creator is a required entry in which first and last name must be filled it, I believe I entered ‘unknown’ in both text boxes (first and last name).  For my collection, EPrints worked well; however, it lacked flexibility which could be a problem for other collections.

Unit 10: Open Archives Harvester

PKP Open Archives Harvester was successfully installed and my EPrints archive was harvested.  Additionally, I harvested records from three other repositories.  A federated collection is important to gather all pertinent information in one place.  When harvesting one has the option to harvest all sets or select from a list of sets which varies according to the archive.  As a result, it is important for a service provider to provide a list of sets to select from when harvesting in order to reduce harvest time and also to have the option to only harvest relevant information versus all of it.  The website http://www.openarchives.org/service/listproviders.html provides a list of registered service providers (although some links are broken).  The Networked Computer Science Technical Reference Library was partially working.  The site has a basic and advanced search, yet the screen looked the same for both.  Additionally, typing in the 'search for' text box would reveal no results. Scirus (for scientific information only) is well-organized and provides positive results when conducting a search.  ScientificCommons is cluttered on the homepage; it has a list of new publications and an advertisement.  I conducted a basic search and the results took too long to display, this was not the case with Scirus.  

Unit 9: EPrints Continued

I began to build my digital collection in EPrints.  The process of cataloging the records was straightforward.  The ability to import Library of Congress Subject Headings and incorporate uncontrolled vocabulary in EPrints was a plus.  Most of the records I entered consisted of articles and the categories available through EPrints were applicable.  Consistency when cataloging records can be an issue when different catalogers or even different repositories are given this task.  Everyone’s approach to cataloging may differ from others and it may even differ with the same cataloger.  Consistency may be obtained when working with a repository that has categories already listed versus inputting them.  The more I enter information in different repositories or content management systems, the more I realize there is something I should have added to another record.   Perhaps, experience could help with developing a consistent method in cataloging records.

Unit 8: EPrints

The installation and configuration of EPrints was successful.  A new Ubuntu server had to be installed on the virtual machine prior to the EPrints install which proved to be time consuming.  Web directory permissions were not configured during the server install (per directions).  However, when I had attempted to create phpinfo, I was unable to transfer the phpinfo.php document to the /var/www directory of the practice system using WinSCP.  Despite this, I continued with the EPrints installation process which went smoothly.  I stumbled a bit when trying to do the repository branding.  For some reason, I thought I had to edit the index.html but later realized I had to edit the index.xpage by doing the sudo nano command.

Unit 7: Digital Repositories

Workflow steps and more items were added to my collection in DSpace.  The ability to add, edit and approve items under the workflow steps allows for more control of the collection.  I also had the opportunity to experiment with DSpace as we will be moving on to Eprints in the next unit.  We look at digital repositories as a place for long-term preservation; however, Nancy John in her article Digital Repositories: Not Quite at Your Fingertips states “digital repositories will be for near-term access and not long-term survival” as a result of “the problems of permanent storage media and permanently usable file formats in permanently readable storage” (p. 192).  These problems are apparent and it is unclear if long-term preservation will be guaranteed.  Nonetheless, we can still strive for the goal of long-term preservation by improving current solutions (migration, normalization, emulation) and continue searching for more.