Libero libraries now benefit from an improved OAI-PMH (Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting) interface. As a result, librarians can save time and reduce their workload.
Open Archives Initiative
Developed in 2001 by the Open Archives Initiative, OAI-PMH is the foundation for an information discovery network based on the bulk transfer of metadata from one system to another in a network of information systems.
Libero adopted the Protocol in 2015 to allow libraries to seamlessly provide access to new additions, changes and deletions to the database as needed, providing service providers with the most up-to-date information on books, journals, local history collections or other types of material.
Accelerated Interlibrary Processes
With the improvements Libero made to their OAI-PMH interface, interlibrary processes now are simplified and accelerated. As a result, Libero libraries can now expose more metadata from their system faster without overburdening it. The performance improvements made by Libero Developers allow service providers to harvest medium-sized Libero databases (less than 500,000 catalogue records) within one minute.
OAI-PMH has proved particularly useful for interlibrary loans. It allows libraries to locate needed items and direct interlibrary loan requests to the library where the material is available. Unnecessary emails to libraries that do not hold the material are therefore a thing of the past.
For libraries that do not want certain items captured, there is also the option in Libero to exclude branches, collections or item status descriptions from the harvest. For instance, this is beneficial for libraries working on a new collection that they do not yet want to share with another system because of missing metadata.
OAI-PMH support is just one of the countless features that differentiate Libero from many other Library Services Platforms. A system that does not support OAI-PMH may constrain a library’s ability to share or aggregate data with industry partners.
Libero supports the OAI protocol and many other standards, including Z39.50 and SRU, used by public, academic and special libraries worldwide.