DRS User Guide
The Digital Repository Service (DRS) is a secure repository system designed to store and share the scholarly work from Northeastern University’s colleges, departments, faculty, and staff. The DRS was developed by Northeastern University Libraries as a tool for University faculty and staff to protect the valuable information and data that has been created as part of the University’s research and instructional mission. It provides long-term security for the files it stores, as well as access management controls and support for various metadata standards (including MODS, Dublin Core, TEI, and LOM) to help ensure that data is as accessible and usable in the present and the future.
The DRS also provides mechanisms through which repository data can be used in other venues, such as departmental portals, digital research projects, and online publications. Users can upload files, make them public, and share them with anyone, or restrict access to only a certain set of users. The DRS is also a discovery platform; anyone can search, browse, view, and download content that is made public. Because the DRS is built using Fedora, an open source repository system with a user-friendly API, objects stored in the DRS can be accessed and displayed using customized web-publishing tools, like Omeka, Drupal, or WordPress.
Departments, Communities, & Collections
Individual Account Management & Dashboard
Uploading Files
What to Upload
You should not upload materials that you did not create, or for which you have not obtained the necessary rights and permissions. DRS and Library staff respect copyright and expect users to follow all copyright and fair use guidelines. Submitters must affirm that they have the copyright or other intellectual property right or permission to grant these rights, and that the submission is in compliance with the Terms of Participation and Policies [link], with all University policies including but not limited to the Appropriate Use Policy (http://www.northeastern.edu/its/policies/aup/), and with all applicable local, state, and federal laws. The DRS will clearly identify the name(s) of all the author(s) or owner(s) of these files.
The DRS is designed to accept all files, but many common file types are specifically supported by the repository. When a file is uploaded with one of the supported file types (ppt, pptx, doc, docx, pdf, jpg, jpeg, jp2 ,png, tif, tiff), the repository processes the file according to the needs of that file type. For example, a .docx file will be processed to create a .pdf version of the file for preservation purposes and two links to download the file will be presented, one for the .docx file and one for the .pdf file:
When a file with an unsupported or unrecognized file type is uploaded to the DRS, the file is compressed into a .zip file, which is made available for future downloads.
Where to Upload
Where to upload a file is as important as what to upload. In order to deposit a file you must navigate to the collection where you would like the file to be deposited. Once you have found the target collection, click the “Add” button in the breadcrumb navigation and click “Upload File”:
Read and agree to the Terms of Service, select the file you would like to upload, then click “Upload”.
Descriptive Metadata
Metadata is information about your file. A lot of information about your file is extracted when your file is uploaded (like the file type, file size, and the date the file was created). Because not all information about the file can be discovered automatically, most descriptive information about a file needs to be recorded by the uploader. The primary reason we record descriptive metadata is to make the file discoverable. Without proper descriptive information, your file will be difficult, or impossible, to discover using keyword searching. We only require two pieces of information from you: title and a keyword. The remaining fields are optional, but an easily discoverable file will also have an accurate date, at least one creator name (personal or organizational), a full description or abstract, and a handful of keywords:
- Title
- By default this field will be populated with the filename stripped of the file extension. If the file name is not a useful title, please supply a title that is either taken directly from the work, or create an original title that is brief but descriptive.
- Date of Issuance
- Enter here the date the file or work was created or issued.
- Creator’s First name/Creator’s last name
- Enter the first and last name of the person primarily responsible for creating the file or work, and add more creators, if needed.
- Organization
- Use this field to enter the name of an organization, institution, group, or corporation responsible for creating the file or work.
- Description
- Enter a full description of the file or an abstract of the work.
- Keyword(s)
- Choose some keywords to describe your file (preferably 2 to 6 keywords).
If you would like to provide more information about your file than can be communicated through the upload form, please contact DRS staff.
Special Files and Formats
A few special file types will trigger unique fields or customization options on the upload form:
- Photographs
- The option to create small, medium, and large versions of your image is presented when a photograph is uploaded to the DRS. This will give users the option to download a small, medium, or large version of your photograph, in addition to the file in its original size. This customization is not required.
- Video
- Future development
Access permissions
All files stored in the repository are assigned access permissions, which dictate who can discover, view, and download the file. Most files are “public” and are therefore discoverable through searching and browsing, and can be viewed any downloaded by anyone. Some files are “private” and are viewable only by the individual who uploaded the file to the DRS. Others are “private”, but specific people and groups have been granted access to discover, view, and download the file.
When a file is uploaded to the repository, it is assumed that the file should be publicly available, but the uploader has the ability to make the file private. If you would like to make your file private, use the Permissions menus at the bottom of the upload form to restrict access to just yourself, or to certain individuals or groups:
Start by setting the general permission for your file in the Mass Permissions menu. If you set your file to private, you may then use the Permissions menu to allow a group or a few individuals to view your file. Select the type of permission you would like to set (“person” or “group”), enter the individual’s NUID or the group name, then select “read” or “edit” permissions:
- Individuals
- Two conditions must be met before granting access permission for an individual: the individual must already have an account in the DRS, and the person granting access must know the NUID of the individual.
- Groups
- Groups are defined using an authentication tool called Grouper. To learn more about creating and managing groups, see the Group Management section of this user guide.
- Read
- Read privileges will allow the group or individual to discover, view, and download the file.
- Edit
- In addition to read privileges, edit privileges will allow the group or individual to edit the metadata for the file.
To add another individual or group, click “Add Permission”.
These settings can be changed or updated using the metadata editing form (to learn more about editing metadata, see the Managing Your Files section of this user guide).
Proxy Uploading (In development)
Certain DRS and Library staff members are authorized to act as a proxy uploaders for other members of the Northeastern community. This workflow is in place to allow DRS and Library staff to submit content on the behalf of users who may not otherwise be able to deposit material.
Two conditions must be met before DRS users who are authorized as proxy staff can upload files on behalf of another individual:
- The individual being proxied for must already have an account in the DRS.
- The proxy user must know the NUID of the individual for whom they wish to proxy.
Once these conditions have been met, proxy staff can follow the regular procedure for uploading files. On the file selection page of the upload process, enter the NUID of the individual you are proxying for in the third field:
Once the upload process is complete, the file will live and behave as if it was uploaded by the proxied individual, and not the proxy staff. Both proxy staff and the proxied individual will retain access permissions for the file, including the ability to edit the file’s metadata.
To request that your files be uploaded by a proxy uploader, please contact DRS staff and we will work with you to deposit your materials.
Bulk Uploads
It is often prohibitive to upload many files one-by-one, so the DRS has alternative workflows to accommodate bulk uploads:
- One-Time Bulk Uploads
- Northeastern communities that have a single project made up of many files can work with DRS staff to collect metadata and file information to prepare a bulk upload through the DRS back end.
- Recurring Bulk Uploads
- Northeastern communities that will be uploading many similar file types with embedded metadata (like large photograph collections) on a regular basis can use a custom-built file uploader.
See the "For Expert Users" section of this guide for more information. To initiate a one-time or recurring bulk upload, please contact DRS staff.
Searching and Exploring the DRS
Access
It is important to know that browse and search results are limited to only the repository files that you have the right to view. Therefore, if you browse or execute a search before signing in to the DRS, only publicly available files will be returned. To search or browse all files you have access to discover, view, and download, it is recommended that you sign in to the DRS (see the user guide for Signing into the DRS for more information). Once you sign in you will be able to search, browse, view, and download a greater number of files.
Searching
General Search
The persistent search box (located on every DRS page) can be used to search all files that you have access to view:
A result will be returned when your search terms match text stored in that file’s descriptive metadata fields (title, names, subjects, abstracts, descriptions, etc…) or, in the case of text documents, in the full text of the resource. To optimize your search and improve your results, you may use some of these tricks:
- Quotation marks
- Enclose your search terms with quotation marks to perform an exact search of those terms
- Boolean operators
- Future development
- Wildcards
- Future development
Search Collections and Communities
Searches can also be limited to just a particular collection or community. Navigate to the collection you would like to search and enter your search terms in the search box to the right of the collection or community title:
Search Results
Results
When you execute a search, the results of that search will be returned to you in either a list or grid display:
| List | Grid |
You can switch between displays by toggling the List View and Grid View buttons:
Filtering Your Results
You can narrow your search by filtering the results by year, creator name, file type, or department name or degree (for Theses and Dissertations). Use the “Limit your search” menu (located to the left of the results in List View, or above the results in Grid View) to select how you would like to filter the results:
You may remove filters by clicking on the “x” following the appropriate filter to the right of the Search Results heading.
Sorting Your Results
You may also customize how the results of your search are sorted. To change the sort order of your results, select your preferred order (Title, Relevance, Creator, or Date) from the Sort By drop-down menu:
Number of Results
You may also select the number of results per page (10, 20, 50, or 100) from the Show drop-down menu.
Browsing
Start from the DRS homepage to browse Smart Collection files, Northeastern communities, and faculty and staff. Browsable content is displayed on the homepage under the Featured Content heading:
|
Clicking on any of the Featured Content categories will return a list of browsable files, which can be sorted or filtered just like a search results list.
Saving and Downloading Files
Saving Files in Sets
Sets are curated compilations of DRS files. You may create as many Sets as you need, and you may add any DRS file to your Sets. Sets are sustainable and won't disappear unless you delete the Set yourself. Sets are tied to your DRS user account, so you must sign in to add a file to a set, or to create, view, and manage your Sets.
Your Sets page is accessible from your user drop-down menu in the top right of any page:
From your Sets page you can:
- create a new set
- edit an existing set
- delete an existing set
- remove files from a set
- download a set
You can add files directly to a Set by clicking the briefcase icon next to the download options for any file. You may also create a new set from the search results page. Simply click the briefcase icon for the file you would like to add to a Set and click “Create New Set”:
When you create a Set you have the option to make it public, or to grant access to certain groups:
Use the link for the Set page, which usually looks like this: https://repository.lib.neu.edu/sets/neu:5m60qx55t , to share your Set of files
Downloading Files
Individual Downloads
There are a few ways you can choose to download a single file:
|
|
|
|
|
Download Queue for Multiple Files
Your Download Queue is a temporary list of files that can be downloaded as a compressed .zip file. Files added to your Download Queue will remain in the queue until you sign out or close your browser. If you want to save a file and come back to it later, add it to a Set, which is a permanent list you can maintain over time (to learn more about Sets, see the Saving Files in Sets section of this user guide).
Files can be added to your Download Queue in the same way files can be downloaded individually. Click the download icon to the right of any file type to add it to your Download Queue:
When you are ready to download all the files in your Download Queue, click the Download Queue button to the left of your name in the user drop-down menu:
From the Download Queue page you can:
- remove files from your Queue
- clear your Queue
- download all the files in the Queue
Click “Download” to generate the .zip file of all your Download Queue files (if your Queue is large, this may take some time). When your file is finished generating, a Download link will appear. Click this link to download the drs_queue.zip file, which contains all your specified files.
Your Download Queue is session specific and is not intended to be a permanent list of files. Downloading your Download Queue to a .zip file, closing your DRS session, and signing out of the DRS will permanently empty your queue. Use Sets to save files in a persistent list.
Linking, Citing, and Re-using Materials in the DRS
Linking
Files deposited in the DRS are assigned a handle, which is permanent URL. Find the file's handle by scrolling to the end of its full description page.
It’s important to keep in mind that not all files in the DRS are publicly available. When you are logged in you will have access to files other may not. You can still link to these files, but not everyone will have permission to view or download the files.
Citing and Re-Using DRS content
DRS and Library staff respect copyright and expect users to follow all copyright and fair use guidelines. If an object in the DRS is under copyright (regardless of whether it has a copyright or other rights restriction notice), make sure you follow all copyright or fair use policies before using or distributing that object. For more information about copyright and fair use, visit the Library web page on copyright and fair use: http://library.northeastern.edu/get-help/copyright-and-fair-use. Please follow appropriate citation rules for citing DRS content in your work (future DRS development will include a citation generator).
Learning Objects in Blackboard (Future development)
For Expert Users
Bulk Uploads
It is not always feasible to deposit project files on-by-one. The DRS has two established workflows for uploading many files at a time:
Custom Upload Tool
Communities that would like to deposit similar files on a regular basis can upload multiples files at a time using a custom upload tool. The upload tool is designed to extract metadata directly from the uploaded files (including title, creator, date created, description, etc…) and deposit those files in a specific collection. Once the upload tool is developed for a project or a community, authorized users can compress the desired files into a single .zip file and upload them in one step.
Back-End Processing
Communities that would like to deposit many different file types, with varying metadata, into various collections may do so by submitting their files, along with the metadata for those files, to DRS staff. If metadata is not readily available for the files, DRS staff can design a spreadsheet or form to gather the necessary information needed to deposit the files. If the files already have metadata, which could be stored in a spreadsheet or a document, DRS staff can manipulate that data to create metadata appropriate for the DRS.
We will be happy to work with you to discuss the best method for your project.
Groups and Grouper (Future development)
Grouper is a tool supported by ITS that defines and manages groups of people in the Northeastern community, and all University staff and faculty have access to this group management tool. Once a group is created in Grouper it can be used in the DRS to set viewing and metadata editing privileges for collections and for files. The advantage to using Grouper to define your group is that it only needs to be managed in one place, Grouper, and as an administrator of your group, you, not DRS staff, have control over who can access your, or your community’s, files or collections.
To start curating groups in Grouper, visit https://neuidmsso.neu.edu/grouper/ and sign in with your MyNEU credentials.
Finding Groups
Creating Groups
Managing Groups
Grouper is an ITS supported tool. For more detailed information about using Grouper, or for help with issues, please visit the Grouper Help page (https://neuidmsso.neu.edu/grouper/help.do) or contact ITS.
Using the DRS API (Future development)
Data Management (Future development)
Annotating DRS data (Future development)
Help and Other Resources
Documentation
Other helpful documents, like the DRS FAQ, can be found on the Digital Scholarship Group's DRS page: http://dsg.neu.edu/resources/drs/
Contact
Please contact DRS staff (Library-Repository-Team[at]neu.edu) for for help with the DRS.