Project Plan Post 6 of 7 - WP3: Integration in IR Systems

This work package has two objectives: (1) to build on work packages 1 and 2 by integrating Mendeley with Symplectic, and (2) to create a means for secondary deposit and notification system (without Symplectic) with the researcher’s institution (task 3.4), as well as to investigate the use of OA-RJ for authentication. Jason Hoyt at Mendeley will be responsible for delivery.

The Mendeley Desktop application is capable of extracting metadata from PDF files on a researcher’s computer. This means that a user does not need to manually enter authorship details about their publications. Using this initially extracted metadata, Mendeley will ping the Symplectic servers, which will then verify author information (see WP2). Symplectic will then either deposit or update any records at the end-user’s institutional repository. Symplectic will ensure that unwanted deposits, such as for example master theses, can be excluded. Repository Junction was established through a previous JISC funded grant, OA-RJ. OA-RJ is able to determine a user’s institutional repository via IP. Mendeley will investigate the use of OA- RJ to properly authenticate a user to their IR. Where Symplectic is already in use, such as the University of Cambridge, it will be used in combination with OA-RJ to authenticate and securely deposit documents and their metadata from the Mendeley Desktop client. The use of OA-RJ at institutions that have not installed Symplectic will also be investigated, but not implemented during the course of the DURA project.

Task 3.1
Create a secure API to transmit metadata to Symplectic for author lookup via its databases. Here, Mendeley will first verify authorship details using Symplectic and return the result to the end-user for confirmation. (Partners: Mendeley 1PM, Symplectic 1PM)

Task 3.2
Create a secure API to transmit the verified authored document to Symplectic. Once the user has confirmed the details of the document, this task will ensure the document is delivered to Symplectic for deposit into the appropriate IR. (Partners: Mendeley 1PM, Symplectic 1PM)

Task 3.3
Create APIs to enable a notification system between the institution and Mendeley’s client software to verify primary and secondary deposits. (Partners: Mendeley 1PM, University of Cambridge 1PM)

Task 3.4
Develop and implement APIs to deposit works directly into Cambridge and other universities based on an open standards API. (Partners: Mendeley 4PM, University of Cambridge 1PM)

Task 3.5
Load balancing on the Mendeley Desktop platform. Since transmitting documents via Mendeley will consume bandwidth and put additional strain on system resources, a solution will be developed that ensures tasks 3.1 and 3.2 work cohesively with the Mendeley software already developed.
(Partners: Mendeley 2PM)

Task 3.6
Investigate the use of OA-RJ. Working with Cambridge, we will determine if OA-RJ is a suitable alternative when Symplectic is not already installed. A complete solution, however, will not be integrated into Mendeley Desktop. (Partners: Mendeley 1PM, University of Cambridge 1PM)






Deliverables

D 3.1 Connect Mendeley to Symplectic and transmit user documents (month 9)
The metadata and full-text to documents will need to be securely transmitted to Symplectic for inclusion into the IR. An application programming interface will be built into the Mendeley Desktop client based on tasks 3.1-3.

D 3.2 Open APIs developed and implemented within Mendeley to use as alternate means of depositing content (month 9) 
APIs will be created to confirm document deposits in the user interface built in work package 1. This will also let the researcher’s institution send requests for secondary deposits, such as into the NHS. Additionally, it will provide a means to deposit materials into the IR outside of the need for Symplectic. The project will develop open source APIs for this communication available for use by any organization. These APIs will then be integrated and tested within Mendeley and Cambridge.

D 3.3 Report on the use of OA-RJ (month 10)
Based on the investigation of using OA-RJ to identify Mendeley users with the University of Cambridge, a report will be created and shared on this project blog.