Re-discovering repository architecture: adding discovery as a key service

Abstract

This article proposes an architecture for institutional repositories (IRs) which is more service oriented and distributed than the typical view of a repository as a monolithic software application. The discussion is informed by first-hand case-studies from work conducted in the Australian IR scene. The paper shows how a reinterpretation of the monolithic architecture could help to make the repository better able to meet its goals. Finally, the architectural features suggested in the second part are drawn together into a proposed layered architecture for repository systems centred on a discovery service with a common index of multiple application services.