The Library Code GmbH freely offers three plugins for DSpace 5 and 6 (JSPUI), adding practical new features to the released versions of DSpace. This article aims to introduce and inform the Community on these new additions. All three plugins have been released as Open Source and are available to download for free – links to the respective downloads can be found in the description of each plugin below.

Persistent Identifiers During Submission

When submitting a new Item to DSpace, a Persistent Identifier is created once the Item enters the repository. In the standard version, the upload of metadata and documents has to be completed at this point. This has been an issue for those users who wish to include a
citation form or the like into their publication that already carries the respective DOI.

Thus, The Library Code GmbH with the support of Technische Universität Hamburg developed a plugin for DSpace 5 JSPUI that displays the persistent identifier already during the submission of a new Item. This function makes it possible for users to copy the DOI and
paste the handle into their publication before uploading it to DSpace.

DSpace 6 support will follow soon. The plugin, as well as its source code, is now freely accessible here.

Duplicate Detection Service 

This add-on was built to support submitters and admins in spotting duplicate and similar content. When using this plugin, the submitter will be asked to enter the title of the new Item previous to entering any other metadata. The plugin will then search for Items with an
equal or similar title that are already stored within the repository and display them as a list. The plugin uses a Fuzzy algorithm for this search to detect titles that are similar but not completely alike. This avoids problems resulting from typos or other minor differences. Now,
the submitter can subsequently decide whether they want to continue their submission or not, depending on whether the list shows that the same Item already exists within the repository. When the submission is later reviewed by an administrator, the list of possible duplicates will be displayed again.

The Duplication Detection Service plugin was developed by the Library Code GmbH with the
support of Zurich University of Applied Sciences and currently supports DSpace’s JSPUI in
version 6.
The plugin, as well as its source code, is now freely accessible here.

PDF Preview Button

To view a PDF document within the standard version of DSpace, the user’s only option is to click on a “View/Open” button, which will download the entire document. Using the addon, DSpace’s user interface will show both a “Download” and a “Preview” button instead of the
“View/Open” button. If the user decides to click on “Preview”, it will display the PDF directly in the user’s browser. Thus, the user can access and browse through the entire file before deciding whether to download it. The preview function does not require a PDF reader or any
browser plugin. An example of how this feature works can be found at http://doi.org/c99q.

The Library Code developed this plugin with support of Leibniz Institute for Psychology Information (ZPID) for the repository  Psycharchives . It currently supports DSpace’s JSPUI in version 6.

The plugin, as well as its source code, is now freely accessible here.

Enhancing DSpace with further features

If you’d like to enhance your DSpace installation with further functions and need a partner to develop those, feel free to contact our team at The Library Code GmbH.