Experiences in Using the OAI-PMH Through the Construction of the OA- Hermes Metasearch Engine
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Experiences in using the OAI-PMH through the construction of the OA- Hermes Metasearch engine Egar Arturo García Ana Patricia Gómez Grecia García García Alberto Castro Cárdenas Mayén Thompson Main Directorate of Main Directorate of Main Directorate of Libraries, National Main Directorate of Libraries, National Libraries, National Autonomous University of Libraries, National Autonomous University Autonomous University México Autonomous University of México of México Tel: +52 (55) 56223969 of México Tel: +52 (55) 56223969 Tel: +52 (55) 56223969 [email protected] Tel: +52 (55) 56223969 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]. mx The technical experience obtained in Abstract: analyzing the OAI-PMH protocol, led us to reflect on different aspects that have to OAI-PMH has emerged as a more do with: work methodology, the efficient way of facilitating the marketing or fashion of its use, its facility dissemination of data content. Its success of implantation, or on the information is shown when displaying important redundancy, just to mention a few. information sources that use this protocol, emphasizing: Scielo, ArXiv and PubMed, Key words: among others. Nevertheless, its evolution proves a certain degree of arrearage OAI-PMH - OA-Hermes – Meta search before the current tendencies and engine - Exchange information Protocols demands of the new technological needs, - HTTP - Z39.50. that is to say, the latest technical and methodological characteristics that allow 1. Introduction a potential operation of information, are continuously required. The first part of the present paper consists in a brief and a step by step description of In order to make the new necessity clear OA-Hermes; then, to frame the resulted on this recognized form of experiences, some analysis will be interoperability, the experience gained presented, as well as some final during the development of the metasearch considerations. First, it is necessary to engine OA-Hermes, which groups establish that OAI-PMH is an initiative different sources of information in a that emerges as an additional option to single interface, will be presented. A facilitate the dissemination of digital decrease in time as an achieved factor has contents on the Internet. As a collective to do with the consultation of diverse example of this, there are important and sources of information, since from a popular open access initiatives that single search, the results of different currently offer their services in such a sources like institutional repositories, way. However, it is important to mention digital libraries, and data bases, among that the referred protocol presents certain others, are semantically integrated. technical delays in its evolution up to this moment, which should be known, 1 considered and taken into account, as well of Open Access resources; OA-HERMES as the advantages offered. objectives; OAI-PMH advantages; OA- HERMES conceptual development; detected problems in the construction of Along the course of this paper, on one OA-HERMES; some OAI-PMH hand, aspects such as work methodology, disadvantages; OA-HERMES the marketing or fashion of its use, its characteristics, and final considerations. certain facility of implantation and information redundancy, will be detailed to depth. 2. Integration Proposal of Open Resources Access: OA-Hermes On the other hand, it is necessary to mention that there have been some From the beginning of the WWW, detected disadvantages in the OAI-PMH outsider information systems that already protocol that will be described along this were on line, have had the tendency to work, although this is not meant to migrate to this environment, bringing disqualify it or to suggest stop using it. within an important increase in On the contrary, the intention is to extend communication protocols, information the knowledge about it by considering its resources, metadata and communication supporting bases. To achieve this, all the standards, search engines and indexers, e- experiences resulted from the commerce, e-science and so on, coming construction of OA-Hermes will be set to conform, apparently, a parallel world out. called "e", initial placed before almost any term. Among the several conflicts that appeared This great increase of the e-world and initially, there was the lack of methods to sources of information has generated a suitably explore the resources from an new accessory in our lives, which has information source. This resulted in forced us to think: "If I can’t find making local copies of all the collections something on the net, it does not exist". It offered by the original source, for their has been clear that, on one hand, it process. This demands the availability of facilitates rich contents and digital more hardware and software from the services to numerous communities; it also collector. carries several kinds of problems within. That is to say, the third law of Newton is In general terms, the experiences in using still valid: “For every action there is an the OAI-PMH while constructing the equal and opposite reaction”. meta search engine OA-HERMES are resumed in a critical perspective, solidly Perhaps one of the main framed reactions based, that makes emphasis in extending or problems observed is the or evolving OAI-PMH as soon as heterogeneous exponential growth of possible for those interested in information, along with everything implementing it. With these aspects in involved. mind, the following sections, that took place in such a way, are to be considered Great efforts are being analyzed and through this paper: integration proposal developed to ease and improve the access 2 to information, yet, it is still complicated some financing, so it was presented at to access articles, journals, books or CUDI 2004 (University Partnership for another type of digital resources on a the Development of Internet 2 in certain subject. It is also true that not all Mexico). Since the call for papers the blame can be attributed to the protocol requested the inclusion of two educative or system. In several occasions, it is the institutions in the country, the University users who are not familiar with the search of Colima was invited. interface of the resource, nor with the great amount of sources that are available to them. In addition to the previous cases, OA-HERMES Objectives there are those in which the users carry out repetitive searches in different sites The main objective of OA-Hermes is to from the Internet, making the retrieval of group several sources of information in a their information difficult; and the single interface, in this way, when a user different forms in which the results wishes to make a search, he only needs to obtained are displayed by each use the interface that OA-Hermes offers, information source, also becomes an which directs the search to each one of obstacle to be surpassed by the end user. the sources of information chosen. Taking into account the reasons and In the conception OA-Hermes the problems stated before, OA-Hermes following objectives were considered: (meta search engine and inter-connector for information sources of open access) • · The incorporation of reliable and emerges with the purpose of facilitating high quality sources of and reducing the time invested in information. searching and retrieving open access • · The access to specialized sources information with an academic validity. of information many of which are Furthermore, OA-HERMES is a tool that within the Invisible Internet. favors the integration of collections and • · To take advantage of those open repositories of educative institutions in access resources thus enriching Mexico. the digital libraries of the academic institutions, especially OA-Hermes was gestated within a those that have limited economic teamwork of the Main Directorate of resources for acquiring or Libraries, the Institute of Cellular subscribing digital resources. Physiology and the Institute of • · To construct a modular system Biotechnology of the National that would allow its growth and Autonomous University of Mexico. diversification. When analyzing its potential, the proposal • · To favor the visibility of to develop it as a tool available not just electronic resources produced in for the UNAM, but to open its use and Mexico. consultation for the academic community of the country and the Internet as well, OA-Hermes Conceptual Development arises. OA-Hermes organizes the obtained By the end of 2004, OA-Hermes needed results from the information sources to be 3 shown to the user later on. Before different information sources and presenting the data there is a process of obtain the results from them. semantic integration, in which the These unify the obtained data and metadata of the recovered information are send them to the nucleus for their extracted and later unified for their management. presentation to the user and for the additional processes that could be OA-Hermes Characteristics. required. OA-Hermes is a proposal aimed to save For the conceptual OA-Hermes design, time for those looking for information on the following criteria were considered: the Web. Instead of going to multiple sites and learning to use their respective 1. Extensible interfaces, the user can simply use the 2. Configurable single interface that OA-Hermes offers. It 3. Concurrent Searches, under user’s is worth mentioning that one of the demand. objectives with which OA-Hermes was 4. Flexible information management conceived, was the simplicity in its 5. Response time internal design and in its user interface, in 6. Capacity to be developed by a addition to a low cost of the architecture group. on which it works. On the basis of these established criteria, Making a brief comparison to other an architecture based on three main search engines, it is important to mention components was obtained: that those used within the Internet, store indexes to organize the information on 1. The Nucleus, which stores and the part of the Web that is covered.