OAI-PMH

Overview

The International Journal of Clinical Virology (IJCV) is fully compliant with the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH). This global interoperability standard facilitates structured, automated exchange of bibliographic metadata between repositories, libraries, and indexing systems. Through OAI-PMH, IJCV enhances visibility, interoperability, and preservation of scholarly publications in machine-readable form.

By adopting OAI-PMH, IJCV ensures that its articles and metadata are harvested and indexed by academic databases such as Google Scholar, DOAJ, PKP Index, OpenAIRE, and institutional repositories worldwide.

What Is OAI-PMH?

The Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH) is a protocol developed by the Open Archives Initiative to enable the interoperability of repositories. It allows repositories to expose metadata in a standardized XML format that can be harvested by external services for aggregation, indexing, and discovery purposes.

“OAI-PMH creates a bridge connecting open-access publishers, repositories, and discovery platforms, ensuring universal access to academic metadata.”

IJCV’s OAI-PMH Endpoint

IJCV’s metadata can be harvested via the following OAI base URL:

OAI Base URL: https://www.clinvirologyjournal.com/index.php/ijcv/oai

This endpoint provides structured metadata for all published articles in IJCV according to the Dublin Core and OAI_DC formats. Third-party harvesters and libraries can use this URL to retrieve updated records automatically.

Metadata Standards Implemented

IJCV implements multiple metadata standards to ensure cross-system compatibility:

• Dublin Core (DC): A universal metadata standard for bibliographic records (title, creator, subject, description, publisher, identifier, source, rights).
• OAI_DC (XML): XML representation for OAI harvesting ensuring machine-readable integration.
• Crossref XML: For DOI registration and citation linking via Crossref.
• Schema.org (JSON-LD): Embedded semantic markup that enhances discoverability on search engines.

Supported OAI-PMH Verbs

The IJCV repository supports the six official OAI-PMH verbs (operations):

Interoperability with Repositories and Indexes

Through OAI-PMH, IJCV integrates seamlessly with global repository infrastructures. The journal’s metadata is automatically harvested by open-access aggregators and digital libraries such as:

• DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals)
• OpenAIRE (European Open Access Infrastructure)
• PKP Index and OJS-based repositories
• WorldCat and institutional catalogues
• Google Scholar and Microsoft Academic Graph

These integrations ensure global reach and permanent accessibility of every IJCV article.

Advantages of OAI-PMH for IJCV Authors

• Enhanced Visibility: Metadata is indexed by multiple repositories, increasing discoverability and citations.
• Persistent Linking: Each record is tied to its DOI, ensuring stable retrieval and citation accuracy.
• Automated Updates: New publications are instantly harvested without manual submission.
• Interdisciplinary Reach: OAI metadata is accessible across disciplinary repositories worldwide.

Technical Implementation

The IJCV OAI-PMH endpoint is powered by the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform and maintained by Peertechz Publications IT team. Metadata exchange is enabled via RESTful OAI queries and is updated in real-time upon publication of new articles.

• Metadata encoding formats supported: XML 1.0, UTF-8.
• Harvesting frequency: Daily updates for indexing partners.
• Repository identifiers: Handle unique OAI identifiers aligned with DOI records.

OAI-PMH and Metadata Preservation

OAI-PMH plays a crucial role in IJCV’s digital preservation policy. By making metadata interoperable and machine-readable, the protocol ensures redundancy and resilience of scholarly data across multiple archives. Harvested records can be replicated in repositories like LOCKSS, CLOCKSS, and Portico for long-term preservation.

Metadata Structure Example

Below is a simplified example of OAI_DC metadata structure exposed by IJCV:

<record>
  <header>
    <identifier>oai:clinvirologyjournal.com:article/123</identifier>
    <datestamp>2025-10-01</datestamp>
  </header>
  <metadata>
    <oai_dc:dc>
      <dc:title>Advances in Molecular Virology</dc:title>
      <dc:creator>Smith J.</dc:creator>
      <dc:subject>Virology; Diagnostics</dc:subject>
      <dc:description>An overview of emerging molecular techniques in viral diagnostics.</dc:description>
      <dc:publisher>IJCV</dc:publisher>
      <dc:identifier>https://doi.org/10.1234/ijcv.2025.001</dc:identifier>
      <dc:rights>CC BY 4.0</dc:rights>
    </oai_dc:dc>
  </metadata>
</record>

Compliance with Open Access Standards

IJCV’s OAI-PMH implementation conforms to international standards for open access and metadata interoperability, including those outlined by:

• Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
• Open AIRE Guidelines for Literature Repositories v4.0
• Open Archives Initiative Standards v2.0
• Crossref Metadata Deposit Schema v5.3

This ensures that IJCV meets the requirements for indexing in major databases and global repository networks.

Troubleshooting and Access

• For testing queries, use: ?verb=Identify, ?verb=ListRecords&metadataPrefix=oai_dc
• Ensure the endpoint URL is used exactly as specified above.
• Contact the Editorial Office if harvesters encounter errors or need API access support.

Benefits to Libraries and Aggregators

• Automatic metadata sync for institutional repositories.
• Reduced manual data entry for library catalogues.
• Consistent metadata formatting across partner platforms.
• Facilitated integration with global open-access data ecosystems.

Contact for OAI Metadata Harvesting

Metadata Administrator – International Journal of Clinical Virology (IJCV)
Email: [email protected]
OAI Base URL: https://www.clinvirologyjournal.com/index.php/ijcv/oai
Website: https://www.clinvirologyjournal.com/

Access OAI-PMH Endpoint