JYX is the institutional repository of University of Jyväskylä (JYU). The repository has been in use since 2008 containing over 90000 items of various types including publications, theses, datasets, historical maps, and audiovisual material. JYX utilizes DSpace software with customizations and REST-based integrations such as retrieving self-archived materials from CRIS and other publication workflows using external tools. In addition, JYX provides metadata via OAI-PMH for other services such OpenAIRE and Finna2, the national search service for archives, libraries, and museums. Because of DSpace-related customizations, upgrades have turned out to be complex efforts, especially preserving UI-based customizations such as special formatting for restricted items. When the support for DSpace 6 ended in 2023, we faced a choice: to work within the native DSpace UI or to build something more flexible. We chose to decouple repository and user interface. This presentation explores the technical and functional benefits of using an external search engine (VuFind) to "harvest ourselves."
Häyrinen et al. (Wed,) studied this question.