IESR: A Registry of Collections and Services
Ann AppsMIMAS,
The University of Manchester, UK
2006-03-03 SRU Integration Workshop 2
Outline
• Purpose of JISC Information Environment Service Registry (IESR)
• IESR content description• IESR services• Using IESR for metasearch• Future direction of service registries• Integration Issues
2006-03-03 SRU Integration Workshop 3
Why IESR?
• JISC Information Environment:– Collections of resources for researchers,
learners, teachers in UK
• Single central registry – m2m access– Improve awareness and access
• Funded by JISC:– MIMAS, UKOLN, University of Liverpool– Registry developed and hosted by MIMAS
2006-03-03 SRU Integration Workshop 4
IESR Content
• Descriptions of:– Collections of resources– Informational Services that provide access– Agents: Owners / Administrators– Transactional Services
• Supplied by resource providers• Check by IESR content manager
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IESR Entities
Collection
Service Agentadministers
ownsprovides access
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IESR Entity Description
• Entities identified with URI• Described by metadata• Metadata defined by Application Profile
– Semantics– Occurrence– Searchable
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IESR Collection Metadata
• Based on RSLP Collection Description• Simplification for electronic resources• Consistent with:
– DCMI Collection Description Application Profile
– NISO MI Collection Description
• Vocabularies for property values
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IESR Service Metadata
• More than RSLP CD ‘locator’• Bespoke IESR scheme to support
discovery and registry application• Single access method:
– SRU, Z39.50, SOAP, OAI-PMH, Web/CGI
• Location URL• Interface property for some service
types using appropriate schema
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Other Service types
• SOAP: Locator: access URL; Interface: WSDL
• SRU: Interface: ZeeRex
• SRW: Interface: ZeeRex; WSDL
• OAI-PMH: Locator: BaseURL
• OpenURL: Locator: BaseURL
• Web CGI: Interface: arguments
• Web page: Locator: URL
2006-03-03 SRU Integration Workshop 12
IESR Agent and Administrative Metadata
• Agent: contact details• Administrative:
– Included with every entity
• IESR includes:– creating organisation, publisher: IESR– latest modification date– rights to reuse descriptions: Creative Commons
2006-03-03 SRU Integration Workshop 13
IESR Services
• Z39.50 – Search via Bib-1 attributes– Results: text (SUTRS); composite XML
• OAI-PMH for harvesting: entity XML
• OpenURL Link-To Resolver– Implements IESR identifier resolution
• Web Search and Browse• Data Supply Editor
2006-03-03 SRU Integration Workshop 14
Future Services
• SRU• Web Services SOAP / SRW (planned)• RSS• UDDI (under investigation)
– Mapping IESR data to UDDI– Prototype registry
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Using IESR: Portal Metasearch
• Social Science portal discovers collections with e.g. SRU services
• Provides cross-search to end-user using e.g. SRU
• Portal builder doesn’t need to know about all resources
• Users discover collections unaware of• Alternative: OAI-PMH harvest
2006-03-03 SRU Integration Workshop 16
Distributed Service Registries
• Scope of IESR• Distributed / federated model
– Each node describes own resources
• How to cross search?– Metasearch; UDDI; OAI-PMH harvest
• IESR collaboration with OCKHAM in US– Searching is local– Replication by OAI-PMH harvest
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Integration Issues
• Resources have Web interface only• IESR covers all service protocols:
– Few SRU services in JISC IE
• Contributing technical service details• Use of Service Registry still visionary• Dynamic use with SOAP not feasible
– NISO Web Services and Practice WG– SRW
• Description of authentication details
2006-03-03 SRU Integration Workshop 18
Integration Issues: Sharing
• Sharing records needs common schema– NISO Metasearch Initiative Collection
Description: basis of IESR and OCKHAM
• Rights issues– Simplified with common CC licence
• Cross searching federated registries:– Metasearch? Harvest?
• UDDI– Loss of full collection description
2006-03-03 SRU Integration Workshop 19
Recommendations
• Encourage the provision of m2m interfaces for resources– Advertise SRU as low barrier solution
• Register SRU services in online directories to encourage use
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IESR Details
Information: http://iesr.ac.uk/
Application Profile: http://iesr.ac.uk/profile/
XML Schema: http://iesr.ac.uk/schemas/iesr.xsd
Web search: http://iesr.ac.uk/registry/
Z39.50 service: http://iesr.ac.uk/use/z3950/
OAI-PMH service: http://iesr.ac.uk/use/oaipmh/
IESR Helpline service: [email protected]
Ann Apps: [email protected]