Vireo 2.0.1 Released

The latest version of Vireo has been released just ahead of the 2013 TxETDA/USETDA Region 3 Joint Conference. The conference kicks off tomorrow morning at the Texas A&M University campus. This release is a bug fix release and doesn’t really bring any new features other than improved ProQuest compatibility. Originally when Vireo 2.0 was released the export capabilities were not vetted by ProQuest. In the intervening time we have worked back and forth with the folks at ProQuest to make sure that the export format meets ProQuests requirements. Read more →

Exporting from Vireo into DSpace

The first version of the Vireo Electronic Thesis and Submission system was built as an addon to DSpace. It used the same technology stack, reused the underlying database and file storage, operated within the same UI. The original idea was that Vireo would deeptly integrate with the repository. Because of these decisions there was no separation between how Vireo stored it’s metadata and it’s Dublin Core encoding of the metadata. Read more →

Introducing Piper

Piper is an internal project we have been working on at Texas A&M University Libraries. The project is just in its initial stages at this point with the first kernel of an idea. I expect to that we will expand its capabilities in the future. Piper is basically a repository batch import tool right now, and in the future it could grow into becoming an internal repository workflow tool. Read more →

Merging Two DSpace Solr-Based Data Sets Together

Have you ever messed up a DSpace upgrade and somehow ended up resetting your DSpace statistics? I did that. When we upgrade DSpace at A&M we preform a fresh install each time and then restore the data from the old instance into the new instance. This involves connecting the database, linking the asset store, and copying the DSpace log directory. We like to do it this way so that our configs are fresh each time. Read more →

Find All Restricted Items Within DSpace

Here is an SQL query you can copy-and-paste into DSpace to find all items which have restricted access or contain bundles / bitstreams which are restricted. Restricted means that the object does not have an authorization policy enabling anonymous read. It’s actually quite hard to find the absence of something with SQL. After trying various methods the way I came up with to solve this problem is a sub select that counts how many anonymous access policies exist for each object and if there are none then report those. Read more →

DSpace Functional Tests?

The Texas Digital Library has been focusing on testability for our projects. Since DSpace is related too or part of most of our projects we’ve been looking for a way to increase DSpace’s testability. Traditionally this would mean adding unit tests and integration tests. However as DSpace currently stands is hard to break it up into individual components that can be tested in isolation. You’ll quickly find that writing tests for DSpace pull in the entire system, plus databases, and a file system. Read more →

How to Setup Eclipse, Tomcat, and DSpace for Development

This is an updated guide describing how I configure Eclipse, Tomcat, and DSpace for my development. A previous version of this guide was written for Eclipse 3.4 and this version has been updated for the latest versions of both Eclipse and DSpace. One of my motivations forcing my move to the newer version of Eclipse is the ability to handle Java 1.6. Apple has decided to stop shipping both 32bit and 64bit versions, instead they are only providing 64bit Java binaries. Read more →

Vireo @ JCDL 2009

My colleague, Adam Mikeal, presented our paper titled “Large-scale ETD repositories: a case study of a digital library application” at JCDL 2009, where it was nominated for best paper! The paper describes at a high level the Texas Digital Library’s implementation of a state-wide electronic thesis and dissertation (ETD) system, delving into the theoretical, technical, and political issues that were encountered. Vireo is the main component of the system, a Manakin-based addon to DSpace that handles the ETD work flow, starting with a student’s initial submission through an iterative staff review, cataloging by the library, and on to final publication. Read more →

Customizing DSpace

TDL offers several training classes for DSpace and other software/services we offer. They are a good way to get in depth information on a particular topic; the sessions typically last for a day - in some cases half a day. You’ll be able to get all your questions answered about a particular topic. This last Wednesday after getting back from vacation I co-taught the “DSpace Customization” class with Steve Williams from UT. Read more →

HOWTO: DSpace + Eclipse + Tomcat

Update: There is an updated version of these instructions covering the next version of Eclipse, 3.5 (Galileo). A common question for someone just starting to develop with DSpace is how do others set up their development environment. Often times this isn’t documented anywhere, but a lot of time goes into researching the best way to set things up. Today I co-taught a class on customizing DSpace for TDL. One of the hand outs I created for the class is a simple how to setup DSpace, Eclipse, and Tomcat together for easier development. Read more →