DAR: A Modern Institutional Repository with a Scalability Twist

Authors

  • Youssef Mikhail Bibliotheca Alexandrina
  • Noha Adly Bibliotheca Alexandrina
  • Magdy Nagi Bibliotheca Alexandrina

Keywords:

Digital Assets Reporsitory, Scalability, Integration, Repository Architecture

Abstract

The Digital Assets Repository (DAR) is an Institutional Repository developed at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina to manage the full lifecycle of a digital asset: its creation and ingestion, its metadata management, storage and archival in addition to the necessary mechanisms for publishing and dissemination. DAR was designed with a focus on integrating DAR with different sources of digital objects and metadata in addition to integration with applications built on top of the repository. As a modern repository, the system architecture demonstrates a modular design relying on components that are best of the breed, a flexible content model for digital objects based on current standards and heavily relying on RDF triples to define relations. In this paper we will demonstrate the building blocks of DAR as an example of a modern repository, discussing how the system addresses the challenges that face an institution in consolidating its assets and a focus on solving scalability issues.

Author Biographies

Youssef Mikhail, Bibliotheca Alexandrina

Information and Communication Technology Department Head of Software and System Development Section

Noha Adly, Bibliotheca Alexandrina

Information and Communication Technology Sector Deputy Head of Sector

Magdy Nagi, Bibliotheca Alexandrina

Information and Communication Technology Sector Head of Sector

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Published

2012-03-08