RIFF Submission Service

Abstract

There are a large number of ways in which content can be submitted to a digital repository: most repository applications come with their own submission workflows; there are standalone tools; and there are existing collections which need to be imported from older repositories. All of these have their own ways of working and their own software. To complicate matters, each repository tool has its own internal workings and requirements. However, there is a common point for all applications: the actual object, with its associated metadata -- mainly content and preservation metadata. The object might consist of one or many files, and it might consist of a still image, film, sound, text, tables of data. So there are lots of possible content types and file formats, as well as lots of possible metadata regimes. However, the basic model, that commonality of object-plus-metadata, remains the same. This is where the Submission Service comes in. If it were possible to export a standardised object and metadata package from all submission applications, and ingest it with all repository applications, this would simplify the problem enormously: anyone could use a given spreadsheet or database or specialised application, and then export their collections into any repository. The service describes a set of common, basic characteristics (using XMLnotation) to which the Submission Interface Packages (or SIPs) must conform. Additionally, it provides a lightweight application that can be incorporated into any workflow. The tool was written in Java and is invoked as an external service (a Java servlet), so it can be deployed on any platform.