Interoperability and Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH)

Abstract

Interoperability refers to the ability of a Digital Library to work cooperatively with other Digital Libraries in an attempt to provide higher quality services to users. There are many approaches to achieve some degree of interoperability and one such approach involves the creation and use of Open Archives. The OAI is an initiative to develop and promote interoperability standards that aim to facilitate the efficient dissemination of content. The OAI Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH) provides an application-independent interoperability framework based on metadata harvesting. OAI-PMH enables automated distribution of any kind of metadata, which may be aggregated into searchable databases by “harvesting” systems. It has reached version 2.0, intended for stable, production services.