DRS User Guide

An Introduction to the DRS

The Digital Repository Service (DRS) [1] is a secure repository system designed to store and share the scholarly work from Northeastern University’s colleges, departments, and faculty. The DRS, which was developed and is maintained by Northeastern University Libraries, is an important way for the University to protect valuable information and data that has been created as part of our research and instructional mission. It provides a very high level of long-term security, and it also provides data management features like detailed metadata, rights and access management, and other features 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.

Individual Account Management & Dashboard

Signing into the DRS

Sign into the DRS by clicking the Login button in the top right corner of the screen and entering your myNEU username and password on the following screen.

[screenshot of Login button] [screenshot of Shib login page]

DRS accounts are not required to use the DRS, but users who wish to upload files or view restricted content must authenticate with the DRS. For now, only users with NU credentials are allowed to sign in and have accounts in the DRS. If you work with a Northeastern-affiliated group or researcher and need an account in the DRS, you will need a Sponsored Account. Sponsored Accounts can be requested through Information Technology Services: http://www.northeastern.edu/its/services/sponsored/

You can start storing files in the DRS immediately after you sign in. When you first sign in your account will not be associated with a University community. A DRS staff member will contact you shortly to confirm your community affiliation(s), and soon thereafter you will be connected to your University group or department. To learn more about DRS communities, see the Communities and Collections section of this user guide.

My DRS

Every DRS user has a My DRS page, which is a dashboard of your collections and files. Once you have signed in, you can access your My DRS page by clicking on your name in the top right corner of the page, or by going to https://repository.neu.edu/my_drs.

[screenshot of username button]

From your My DRS page you can view all your collections (your personal collections and your system generated smart collections) and all your files at once:

[screenshot of My DRS page]

A link to your DRS statistics is also available from your My DRS page.

Statistics and Notifications

The DRS collects statistics related to particular events, such as when a file is viewed and when a file is downloaded. You can view statistics about the use of your files by going to your My DRS page:

[screenshot of statistics page]

A monthly summary of your statistics will also be emailed to you.

Managing your files

Editing Metadata

After a file has been uploaded to the DRS, a small set of metadata elements can be updated or removed (title, date, creator name, description, keyword, and permissions). To edit the metadata for a file, navigate to the file you wish to edit and add /edit to the end of the URL :

[screenshot of metadata editing URL syntax]

[screenshot of metadata editing form]

Permissions

As the original depositor of a file, you have control over who has access to that file, and you may change who has access to your file using the metadata editing form:

[screenshot of metadata editing form permissions section]

Start by selecting a general “public” or “private” permission for your file in the Mass Permissions menu. If you set your file to private, you may then use the Permissions menu to add a group or a few individuals to the list of users permitted to to view your file (to learn more about adding groups, see the Group Management section of this user guide). 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. Read will allow the group or individual to discover, view, and download the file. Edit will allow the group or individual to discover, view, download, and edit the metadata for the file. To add more individuals or groups, click “Add Permission”.

Revising and Deleting Materials

Files uploaded to the DRS are treated as complete and the DRS does not support revising those files. A revised version of an existing DRS file can be submitted as a new file. If it is important that the new revision supersede the previous version, or if you would like to delete a file, you may contact [DRS-Staff email] to request that the file be removed. Keep in mind that materials stored in user-created collections that are not considered “managed” can be removed easily, but not all material can be removed from the system, as stated in our Terms of Participation:

Northeastern University Libraries recognizes that occasionally it may be necessary to remove objects from the DRS. Unmanaged digital objects may be removed at the user’s discretion. Under some circumstances, managed digital objects will be removed from view, but to avoid loss of the historical record, all such transactions will be noted in the metadata, which will not be removed from view.

Creating and Managing your collections

Creating personal collections

Every file in the DRS must belong to a collection. By default a series of Smart Collections are generated for you to use (to learn more about Smart Collections, see the Smart Collections section of this user guide), but you may also create your own collections. To create a new personal collection, go to your My DRS page and click “Create a new collection” under the User Created Collections heading:

[Screenshot of My DRS page]

You can add a few basic bits of information about your collection (a title, a description, a thumbnail) and assign what people and groups are allowed to view your collections.

[Screenshot of New Collection page]

It is important to note that the files you store in a collection inherit the permissions set for that collection. If you make a collection private, all files uploaded to that collection will also be private (see the user guide for Controlling Access Permissions for more information). When done, click Submit to create your collection and to start uploading files.

Editing personal collections

To change the title, description, thumbnail, or permissions for a personal collection, click “Edit” on the collection page.

Removing Collections

If you create a collection in error, or simply want a collection removed, please contact [DRS Staff email].