Aggregative digital library systems in the DRIVER infrastructure

The world-wide diffusion of Institutional Repositories led to a growing demand for Aggregative Digital Library Systems (ADLSs). ADLSs provide research organizations with end-user applications over an extensive Information Space of metadata records, collected and aggregated from a pool of potentially heterogeneous repositories. Such Information Spaces are populated by means of software designed to harvest and normalize metadata records from OAI-PMH compatible repositories. ADLSs are characterized by considerable and sometime unbearable costs for the supporting organizations, due to the professional skills and hardware required for their realization and maintenance. Software infrastructures are running, distributed platforms, administrated by one responsible organization, in which organizations can participate to collaboratively build and maintain their applications at affordable costs. In this paper we describe features and principles underlying the DRIVER Infrastructure, whose environment supports sustainable construction and maintenance of multiple ADLSs.