FinalPreparations

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[edit] Final Preparations, or how to check for "shareability" before implementing your OAI data provider

Once you have implemented an OAI data provider, it is useful to test the shareability of your metadata - both in terms of its content and technical fitness.

You can test the fitness of your metadata by:

• Looking at the metadata that is exposed via your OAI data provider. Issue a ListRecords request for each of your sets or for your repository (this can be done just through a web browser). Look at both the oai_dc records and records in other metadata formats. Does the record [[[AppropriateMetadata]] appropriately describe the resource and give enough context] for a user not familiar with it to know what is being described? A good way to test this is to actually ask someone not familiar with the resource or the collection to tell you what the resource is based on the metadata. Run the harvested metadata through a XML validating service. This process should highlight technical problems with the metadata.

• Looking at service providers' sites that you would like to have harvest your metadata. Service providers often will have documentation about what they would like to see included in the metadata they harvest and what they need to support the functionality of their service.

• Asking if a service provider will conduct a test harvest on your site before you submit it to the Open Archives Initiative registration service. Some service providers will do a test harvest on your site and give you feedback about technical problems with metadata (validation issues in particular).

Data providers who do these checks and adhere as much as possible to the best practices presented here should have good quality, shareable metadata that will be useful to service providers and ultimately end users.