GAMS

What is GAMS?

GAMS is an OAIS compliant asset management system for the management, publication and long-term archiving of digital resources from the Humanities. It enables scholars, researchers and students to manage and publish resources from projects with permanent identification and enriched with metadata.
Design and development of GAMS are carried out by the Centre for Information Modelling in cooperation with multiple partners inside and outside the university, with regards to the specific requirements of humanistic research.
The repository is fully OAIS (Open Archival Information System)-compliant and covers the full life cycle of digital objects from receiving the SIP (submission information package), archiving the AIP (archival information package) and delivering the DIP (dissemination information package) to the public.
With regard to the archived data we work towards the FAIR data principles: "data should be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-usable".

What technologies are used?

GAMS was conceived and developed on the basis of the Open-Source project FEDORA (Flexible Extensible Digital Object Repository Architecture) (http://fedora-commons.org) and has been continuously improved in the course of cooperative projects, addressing the specific needs of university research. A Java application for object management and data curation was developed: This Cirilo Client offers applications which are particularly suited to being used as tools for mass operations on Fedora repository objects, such as ingest or replacement processes. It also fulfills a lot of functions with regards to metadata enrichment and quality control of the resources.
Further integral technologies include Apache Cocoon, Blazegraph, Apache Lucene, Apache Solr, PostgreSQL and Loris IIIF image server. Special attention is paid to the platform independence and open source policies of the included software.

Which data formats are used?

GAMS is based on XML (eXtensible Markup Language) -based standards and technologies for data storage and representation. If the data in question does not conform to any XML-based international standard, the Centre will implement suitable workflows for the conversion of the content in agreement with the project partners.
For text and metadata, the Centre uses (among others) the following standards: TEI (Text Encoding Initiative), LIDO (Lightweight Information Describing Objects), DC (Dublin Core), METS/MODS (Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard/Metadata Object Description Scheme), RDF (Resource Description Framework), SKOS (Simple Knowledge Organization System). This list of preferred formats is reflected in the use of dedicated content models for the respective standards. The Cirilo Client then checks the well-formedness of the XML and validates the document against the given schema to ensure conformity.
Data producers must deliver images in the recognized standards JPEG/JPEG2000 (Joint Photographic Experts Group) or TIFF (Tagged Image File Format); if necessary the Centre assists in a conversion process.

How can data be deposited, which data is collected?

Data can only be deposited as part of a cooperation research project. Each project is accompanied by a metadata manager from the Centre to assist with the workflow, data modelling, deposition and publication process in the course of the project. This approach guarantees the creation of high quality data prepared for publication and long-term archiving.
Sample deposition agreement
Sample data management plan

How can the data be accessed?

For users, usually the first point of access will be the graphical user interface created specifically for the project in question. It will offer suitable ways of interacting with the data in question. There is also the possibility to perform a full-text search on the complete data basis of GAMS with the search field at gams.uni-graz.at. In addition, you can browse the FEDORA backend at gams.uni-graz.at/archive/search.
To systematically harvest or integrate data, use our OAI-PMH interface at gams.uni-graz.at/oaiprovider and query it according to the PMH. Currently, three metadata prefixes are supported: oai_dc (Dublin Core), oai_europeana (Europeana Semantic Elements) and oai_edm (Europeana Data Model).
With regard to images, all image data stored in the repository can be delivered via a IIIF-compatible image server. To this end, use the syntax gams.uni-graz.at/iiif/{object PID}/{image PID}/{IIIF query}.
In agreement with the partners, data can also be contributed to various aggregation services like Europeana, CorrespSearch, Pelagios or Nomisma. The legal status of the data and objects in question are clarified with the project partner; usually all resources are available under a non-commercial Creative Commons license (Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0). The Centre also offers consulting and expertise in the fields of IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) and licensing.

How are data objects persistently identified?

Internally, data objects go by a persistent identifier (PID) in the form of a standardized project related permanent link. In addition, the infrastructure includes a Handle server, offering the possibility to assign an identifier in this system (prefix 11471).

Is GAMS a trusted digital repository?

GAMS was first certified as a trusted digital repository in alignment with the principles of the Data Seal of Approval in 2014. Since 2019 we carry the CoreTrustSeal. GAMS is also registered with the Registry of Research Data Repositories.

Where can I learn more about the infrastructure and is it reusable?

The whole infrastructure is available as an open source software package as a contribution to DARIAH-EU at https://github.com/acdh/cirilo. Extensive documentation can be found on this site http://gams.uni-graz.at/docs.

Visit GAMS