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OAIster frequently asked questions
- Why did OCLC partner with the University of Michigan to provide support for OAIster?
OCLC wanted to do whatever it could to ensure sustainability of the OAIster aggregation when the University of Michigan realized they needed assistance. OCLC believes, as do many others, that OAIster provides a useful aggregation of millions of records representing millions of open access papers, journal articles, and other items with useful academic content. As a global non-profit library cooperative, OCLC was a logical organization to provide support and maintenance of this service on behalf of the community at large. OCLC is committed to building on the success of OAIster by identifying open archive collections of interest to libraries and researchers, and ensuring that open archive collections will be freely discoverable and accessible to information seekers worldwide.
- Will OAIster users continue to have free access to OAIster records?
OAIster records are freely available through WorldCat.org and are discoverable along with all the other content in WorldCat.org. In this implementation, it is not be possible to limit a search to OAIster records alone.
In addition, the OAIster database is available via WorldCat Local, WorldCat Local “quick start” and the OCLC FirstSearch service to those libraries that subscribe to the FirstSearch Base Package at no additional charge.
- Will OAIster be available in the future as an identified separate service?
In January 2010, OCLC plans to release a freely accessible discrete view of the OAIster records. Access to this view will be provided through a URL specific to OAIster. OAIster records will continue to be indexed in WorldCat.org and integrated into WorldCat.org search results, and available through the FirstSearch service to subscribers to the FirstSearch Base Package.
- How do users access OAIster in FirstSearch?
The OAIster database is available as a discrete database in FirstSearch. Therefore, OAIster records can either be searched along with other FirstSearch databases, or selected to search alone. OAIster records have been searchable in FirstSearch since January 2009.
- Do contributors of metadata to OAIster need to pay for access to the individual database view of the OAIster database?
No. Contributors of records to OAIster are eligible for no-charge access to the database through FirstSearch in addition to free access to OAIster records through WorldCat.org. Contributors have been contacted with an offer of this access and can request a no-charge account through the OAIster Contributor Information form.
- My institution contributes metadata to OAIster. We recently learned that some of the records harvested for inclusion in OAIster need to be removed from the database. Will OCLC remove these records from OAIster?
Yes. OCLC will remove records from OAIster upon request from data providers in the next scheduled update of the database. Requests for record removal should be sent to OAIster product management.
- Does OCLC provide options for machine access to OAIster metadata?
The University of Michigan did not offer an OAI-PMH or Web Services interface, although they did offer an rsync option. Learning the needs of the community will help inform what OCLC does in this area.
- Will harvesting of metadata for inclusion in OAIster continue as it has under the University of Michigan, or does OCLC plan to change this process?
OCLC is seeking to provide long-term scalability for this service and will look for the cooperation of data providers at it works toward this goal. Something that is likely not widely known is that the University of Michigan would perform specialized processing of the retrieved records because of standards noncompliance by some data providers. In order to sustain this service over the long haul, OCLC will need to work with data providers to reduce the number of exceptions to standard procedures.
- How can my institution become an OAIster contributor?
Read the “How to contribute” page for complete instructions.
If you currently use CONTENTdm Digital Collection Management Software, you may wish to add your records to WorldCat through the WorldCat Digital Collection Gateway. The Gateway enables you to choose the right content and appearance for WorldCat display, as well as how often the metadata is synchronized with WorldCat. If you prefer to use the Gateway to upload your records, please contact OCLC.
- My institution uses CONTENTdm, what are our metadata harvesting options?
If you currently use CONTENTdm Digital Collection Management Software, you have the added benefit and option of uploading your CONTENTdm metadata to WorldCat, for even better Web visibility, using the new self-service Web tool—the WorldCat Digital Collection Gateway. The Gateway enables you to choose the right content and appearance for WorldCat display, as well as how often the metadata is synchronized with WorldCat. With your records in WorldCat, your collections are more visible and discoverable on the Web by users who search WorldCat.org, WorldCat Local and WorldCat Local “quick start,” as well as Google, Yahoo! and other popular Web sites. Additionally, you will have the capability to download the records to your local system from WorldCat.
If you prefer to use the Gateway to upload your records, please contact OCLC. If you choose to have your metadata harvested through OAIster, please provide your contact information on the OAIster Contributor Information form.
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