Open Source Digital Library/Repository Software
Dspace
DSpace is the software of choice for academic, non-profit, and commercial organizations
building open digital repositories/digital library. DSpace design and developed by
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Libraries and Hewlett-Packard (HP). DSpace
became a DuraSpace project in 2009 when the Fedora Commons and DSpace organizations
merged to form DuraSpace. DSpace is distributed under the terms of the BSD open source
license.
DSpace was designed as an open source application that institutions could run with relatively
few resources. It is to support the long-term preservation of the digital material stored in the
repository. It is also designed to make submission easy. DSpace supports submission,
management, and access of digital content.
The first version of DSpace was released in November 2002, and the latest version is Dspace-
6.0. Dspace can be installed on Linux, Unix and windows. Dspace is freely available under
BSD licence. DSpace is a platform that allows you to capture items in any format – in text,
video, audio, and data. It distributes it over the web. It indexes your work, so users can search
and retrieve your items. It preserves your digital work over the long term. DSpace provides a
way to manage your research materials and publications in a professionally maintained
repository to give them greater visibility and accessibility over time.
DSpace is a software platform that enables organisations to:
• capture and describe digital material using a submission workflow module
• distribute an organisation’s digital assets over the web through a search and retrieval
system.
• preserve digital assets over the long term.
The digital content in DSpace is presented in an organised tree structure of Community and
Collections
Key features
Application Architecture: DSpace is a full stack web application, consisting of a database,
storage manager and front end web interface. The architecture includes a specific data model
with configurable metadata schemas, workflows and browse/search functionality
Metadata: By default, DSpace uses a Qualified Dublin Core (QDC) based metadata schema.
DSpace can import or export metadata from other major metadata schemas such as MARC or
MODS.
Tools/plugins: DSpace comes with a suite of tools (batch ingest, batch export, batch
metadata editing, etc.) and plugins for translating content into DSpace objects. Additionally,
commercial plugins are available through service providers.
Permissions: DSpace allows you to control read/write permissions site-wide, per community,
per collection, per item and per file. You may also delegate administrative permissions per
community or per collection.
Configurable Database: Organizations can choose either PostgreSQL or Oracle for the
database in which DSpace manages items and metadata.
Languages: DSpace is available in over 20 language
Technical aspects
Operating System: Written in Java, tested under Linux, Windows, and Mac OSX
License: BSD
Release version: 6.0, [Link]
Other prerequisite software:
Java 7 or 8,
Apache Maven,
Apache Ant,
Relational Database (PostreSQL or Oracle),
Servlet3.0 container (Tomcat 7+ or
similar)
How a Digital Repository is Organized in DSpace
• Items (digital documents) –
The Basic digital document is called an item
Item requires metadata description, just as printed document
• Collections (a set of items)
Items can be placed in a collection
Example: • A collection of theses
A collection of reports
Collections are part of a community or sub-community
• Sub-communities (a set of collections)
Under Humanities one can have subcommunities as
• Humanities • History • Philosophy • Psychology
• Communities (top level)
Examples of Communities • Social Sciences • Natural Sciences • Humanities
Communities can be divided into subcommunities, which can be further subdivided