Using your existing repository
EThOS harvests your thesis metadata using OAI-PMH, which requires your repository to be set up to handle OAI-PMH requests.
Most of the well known repository software, such as Dspace, Eprints and Fedora can readily handle the OAI-PMH request (see OAI website
for more).
EThOS recommends the following list of metadata to be exposed for harvesting.
There are EThOS plug-ins available for two of the well known repository software: DSpace and EPrints. Installing the plug-in will allow these repositories to automatically expose the theses metadata in UKETD_DC format.
You can download the DSpace OAI Crosswalk plug-in together with full installation instruction by following the link below. You should also install the DSpace custom input submission form for theses, which allows you to enter the metadata into DSpace repository in the format required by EThOS.
Crosswalks.uketd_dc=org.dspace.app.oai.UKETDDCCrosswalk in oaicat.properties
Prerequisites:
1) Connect to server as the "eprints" user (or connect as a different user and then change to the "eprints" user)
2) Go to EPrints directory
eg. cd /opt/eprints3
2) Download new version of plugin
eg. wget
https://raw2.github.com/eprints/eprints/3.3/perl_lib/EPrints/Plugin/Export/OAI_UKETD_DC.pm
3) Copy new version over existing plugin
eg. cp OAI_UKETD_DC.pm perl_lib/EPrints/Plugin/Export/OAI_UKETD_DC.pm
4) Restart Apache.
If you are installing from scratch, you can download the EPrints OAI plugin together with full installation instruction by following the link below.
NB: Eprints 3 users - the OAI interface to expose UKETD_DC is already bundled with the Eprints 3 distribution. However, it is still necessary to configure your installation to allow entry of metadata conforming to EThOS requirements. To this end you may find the EPrints v3 Configuration Notes helpful.
If you have electronic theses that are not held in your institutional repository, or you do not have a repository, you can send your data and theses to EThOS in other ways.
See also:
Also in this section:
Most of the well known repository software, such as Dspace, Eprints and Fedora can readily handle the OAI-PMH request (see OAI website

EThOS recommends the following list of metadata to be exposed for harvesting.
There are EThOS plug-ins available for two of the well known repository software: DSpace and EPrints. Installing the plug-in will allow these repositories to automatically expose the theses metadata in UKETD_DC format.
Plug-in for DSpace
NOTE: This section has not been updated since 2007 and may be out of date. If you would like to see the section updated, please contact us.You can download the DSpace OAI Crosswalk plug-in together with full installation instruction by following the link below. You should also install the DSpace custom input submission form for theses, which allows you to enter the metadata into DSpace repository in the format required by EThOS.
- DSpace OAI Crosswalk (for DSpace versions 1.2.2 - 1.4.2) (link to be added)
- DSpace custom input submission form for theses (for DSpace version 1.2.2. or above) (link to be added)
Crosswalks.uketd_dc=org.dspace.app.oai.UKETDDCCrosswalk in oaicat.properties
Plug-in for EPrints
NOTE An upgrade to the EThOS OAI plugin was implemented in January 2014. To download the new version of the plugin and overwrite your current version, please follow these instructions. This operation requires a level of technical knowhow and should be carried out by a systems administrator as follows:Prerequisites:
- Can connect to server using a suitable terminal application (eg. ssh or PuTTY)
- Know where EPrints is installed (usually /opt/eprints3/ or /usr/share/eprints3/)
- Know which user EPrints is installed under (usually "eprints")
- Has appropriate rights to restart Apache web server
1) Connect to server as the "eprints" user (or connect as a different user and then change to the "eprints" user)
2) Go to EPrints directory
eg. cd /opt/eprints3
2) Download new version of plugin
eg. wget
https://raw2.github.com/eprints/eprints/3.3/perl_lib/EPrints/Plugin/Export/OAI_UKETD_DC.pm

3) Copy new version over existing plugin
eg. cp OAI_UKETD_DC.pm perl_lib/EPrints/Plugin/Export/OAI_UKETD_DC.pm
4) Restart Apache.
If you are installing from scratch, you can download the EPrints OAI plugin together with full installation instruction by following the link below.
NB: Eprints 3 users - the OAI interface to expose UKETD_DC is already bundled with the Eprints 3 distribution. However, it is still necessary to configure your installation to allow entry of metadata conforming to EThOS requirements. To this end you may find the EPrints v3 Configuration Notes helpful.
If you have electronic theses that are not held in your institutional repository, or you do not have a repository, you can send your data and theses to EThOS in other ways.
See also:
Also in this section:
- UKETD_DC: The metadata core set recommended by EThOS
- Repository configuration
- Managing the data in each field
- EThOS as a data provider
- Metadata FAQ