Project Description

When funding for OSTMED® ended in 2003 those interested in osteopathic research and scholarship were concerned about the future of collecting, disseminating and having Internet access to the osteopathic literature. VCOM and its partner, VTLS, Inc., conceived the idea of a digital library and submitted a proposal to AOA and AACOM which was approved by March 2006. OSTMED.DR® was created using VTLS. solution, VITAL, a digital repository and management system that is designed to simplify the development of digital collections and provide seamless online search and retrieval of information. VITAL builds on the FEDORA. repository architecture and takes advantage of technology standards such as XML, TEI, EAD, MODs and Dublin Core to easily describe and index an assortment of electronic resources. For the OSTMED.DR® project, the articles are cataloged using MARCXML, then ingested into VITAL, with its corresponding digital content. The MARCXML is then mapped into Dublin Core, providing the world with enriched metadata for each article. The VITAL Access Portal provides the means for accessing the metadata and content. The project involves a multi-step process for incorporating the selections: scanning or digitizing of the materials, cataloging the items for easy access and translation of the items into the preferred pdf format for reading and copying.