What is VuFind and have you configured your DSpace 7.6 to import external metadata from it?

[Carolyn Sullivan]

Hello all,

I'm reviewing the options for importing external metadata to our DSpace 7.6 instance to ensure we have all our API keys configured and etc.  One of the options for importing external metadata is through a resource called VuFind.  I googled it and found that it's apparently a discovery system.  Is this discovery system mostly available as an option for import to DSpace for libraries running an instance of VuFind locally?  Would a local researcher be likely to use VuFind if my institution wasn't running VuFind anyways?  Trying to figure out (1) whether to configure it and (2) what id I'd be using to pull in metadata if I DID configure it.

Thanks,

Carolyn.

[Rupinder Singh]

HI, 

Vufind is a Discovery software that adds a discovery interface on top of your other library software like dspace, or Koha, OJS, or any knowledge management software that you use in your library. The benefit it provides is, VuFind can provide a single-window search retrieval system for all your different library software. VuFind can connect to this software using OAI-PMH protocol to fetch and harvest metadata records and then index it locally in its solr search engine. 

Once that is done, You and your library users will be able to search and retrieve content from all your connected silos(Koha, Dspace, OJS). , at a single web interface, without going to individual software. Your search will also work, even if any of the connected software goes offline, in that case, Vufind will retrieve results from its local index. 

It is an amazing Open Source software if you want to implement a discovery system on top of your discrete knowledge management software. 

Regards

Rupinder Singh

[Carolyn Sullivan]

Oh, cool, good to know!  Thanks Rupinder :)