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Sakai 2.4.0 is not the most current release

Sakai 2.4.1 has been released with primarily additional security fixes. The Sakai 2.4.x maintenance branch also has these security fixes as well as other minor bug fixes.

We recommend using the post-2.4 Citations Helper branch along with either Sakai 2.4.1 or Sakai 2.4.x. For post-2.4 Citations Helper configuration instructions, please see the post-2.4 Configuration Instructions page. (The post-2.4 Citations Helper will work with Sakai 2.4.0, but we do not recommend it.)

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Static Configuration assumes that only one metasearch engine is being used and all Citations Helper users have access to the same set of search categories and databases. This configuration method uses the default SiteOsidConfiguration API implementation, org.sakaiproject.citation.impl.SampleSiteOsidConfiguration, without any modifications required.

Table of Contents

1 Example Scenario

The following is an example scenario that could use static configuration:

I have created a set of commonly used search categories and databases at my library that I would like all Citations Helper users to use. This set consists of General Interest, Science, Literature, Arts and Engineering categories and their related databases. My institution uses only Ex Libris MetaLib and there is a single username and password that the Citations Helper will use to access MetaLib.

2 Choosing an OSID implementation

For Sakai 2.4, the Citations Helper supports the SIRSI SingleSearch and Ex Libris MetaLib metasearch engines. Each of these metasearch engines has a corresponding Repository OSID implementation that the Citations Helper needs to use to properly communicate with the particular product's XML gateway.

To specify which OSID implementation to use, set the following Sakai property:

  • osidImpl@org.sakaiproject.citation.api.ConfigurationService=
    • edu.indiana.lib.osid.base.repository.http - OSID implementation package to be used with SIRSI SingleSearch.
    • org.sakaibrary.osid.repository.xserver - OSID implementation package to be used with Ex Libris MetaLib.

3 Accessing the Metasearch XML Gateway

Many metasearching products provide an XML gateway to search and retrieve records from a metasearch engine remotely.

An XML gateway user with enough privileges to simultaneously start searches and retrieve records needs to be available for the Citations Helper to use. This user's credentials and the base URL of the XML gateway need to be specified by setting the following Sakai properties:

  • metasearchBaseUrl@org.sakaiproject.citation.api.ConfigurationService=<base URL of metasearch XML gateway>
    • For Sirsi SingleSearch, the XML gateway is called the Web2 Bridge. The URL to access Web2 is often the base address of your SingleSearch instance followed by /web2/servlet/MuseWeb2. For example: 
      http://metasearch.university.edu/web2/servlet/MuseWeb2
    • For Ex Libris MetaLib, the XML gateway is called the X-Server. The URL to access the X-Server is usually the base address of your MetaLib instance followed by a /X. For example: 
      http://metasearch.university.edu/X
  • metasearchUsername@org.sakaiproject.citation.api.ConfigurationService=<XML gateway username>
  • metasearchPassword@org.sakaiproject.citation.api.ConfigurationService=<XML gateway password>

4 Defining Search Categories & Databases

Search categories provide organizational structure to the databases that users have access to search through the Citations Helper. Search categories and databases are defined in an XML file called, categories.xml. This file should be located within your sakai.home directory, in a directory called org.sakaiproject.citation. Unless you have specifically changed sakai.home, it will be a folder named 'sakai' in your Tomcat root directory (i.e. /opt/apache-tomcat-5.5.23/sakai/org.sakaiproject.citation/categories.xml).

To learn how to build this XML file, please refer to the Search Categories & Databases XML documentation. Since this configuration method uses the unmodified org.sakaiproject.citation.impl.SampleSiteOsidConfiguration, all databases will need to be defined to be in the all database_group (more on this on the Search Categories & Databases XML page).

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