TxHUB | TDL’s DPLA Aggregation Service

TDL’s DPLA Aggregation Service enables Texas institutions with digital cultural heritage collections to have their materials discoverable in the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA).

The TDL DPLA Aggregation service is part of TxHub, a joint effort between the Texas Digital Library consortium and the Portal to Texas History of the University of North Texas. TxHub is the DPLA Service Hub of Texas, providing metadata for thousands of cultural heritage items to the Digital Public Library of America. DPLA makes those items, and millions of others from across the country, available through its https://dp.la portal and its open API.

Through this service, TDL aggregates metadata from collections across the state and shares it with DPLA, where it joins the metadata already coming from the Portal to Texas History’s wonderful collections. Once enough TDL members contribute their content to DPLA via TDL’s aggregation service, we plan to create a Texas-specific portal that will include all collections from TxHub participants.

Explore TDL members’ TxHub content in DPLA here: https://dp.la/search?partner=”Texas Digital Library”

Explore all TxHub content in DPLA at https://texas.dp.la/ 

Why join the DPLA Aggregation Service?

Share metadata about your digital collections with TDL and DPLA to:

• Amplify your collections’ reach by exposing them to a broad global audience
• Enhance the visibility of your digital collections, while the collections themselves remain housed in your institution’s digital repository
• Broaden the context of your materials by placing them alongside items from institutions throughout Texas and the United States
• Attract funders and grant-makers to your digital library projects
• Increase local knowledge at your institution about digital collections and related topics

Read more about the benefits of sharing your collections with DPLA on the TDL wiki.

How the DPLA Aggregation Service works

Three photographs of the Brazoria County Courthouse shared with DPLA, one from TDL member Houston Public Library and two from Portal to Texas History partners Austin History Center and Texas Historical Commission

When your institution subscribes to TDL’s DPLA Aggregation Service, TDL will: 

• harvest and aggregate your collections’ metadata,
• optimize your metadata for discovery by mapping it to DPLA’s metadata standards,
• provide suggestions for improving discoverability in DPLA,
• and deliver your metadata to DPLA.

As part of the service, TDL staff will harvest your metadata quarterly and send new materials and updated records to DPLA.  Each quarter, we will work with you to add any new collections and make any necessary changes.

TDL downloads metadata from your repository using the OAI-PMH protocol. Many digital repository systems support OAI-PMH, including DSpace, CONTENTdm, Digital Commons, and Islandora. Hosting your repository through TDL is not required to participate in the DPLA Aggregation Service.

Find out more about the DPLA harvesting process on the TDL wiki.

How do I participate?

For now, participation in the TDL DPLA Aggregation Service is available to Regular Members of the Texas Digital Library, or for DPLA Affiliate Members (TDL’s Affiliate memberships may include only one service option). To find out more about membership opportunities, please see the Membership section of our website.

You can find more information on the TxHub service, requirements for participation, and associated fees in the TDL wiki.  You can also find answers to some frequently asked questions about the service.

If you have questions about DPLA metadata aggregation or would like to begin participating, please email us at info@tdl.org.