EPrints Repository Training and Support Resources

EPrints is an excellent basis for building a repository for managing all kinds of material (scholarly, scientific, artistic) in all kinds of formats (multimedia, documents, datasets) for all kinds of purposes (open access, digital collections, preservation, e-science).

To help you achieve the ideal repository, this page collects together EPrints training and support materials directed at various audiences, from end users through to programmers and administrators.

Introductory (End User)

 

Intermediate (Configuration)

 

Advanced (Customisation)

This selection of materials and resources covers keys aspects of using an EPrints repository - from finding the content and using the collections to depositing material as well as some of the most essential administrative features.

DID YOU KNOW? We run a regular EPrints for Administrators training course to help you successfully manage your EPrints repository as well as providing the opportunity for networking.

Introduction
Brief Overview of EPrints Features
Finding Repository Items (Browsing & Searching)
Viewing Repository Item Records
Registering and logging in

Depositors
Depositing Items
Alerting Services

Administrators
Page Editor User Guide

Exercises
User Exercises

This configuration training collection shows the range of options available for coinfiguring an EPrints repository, gives detailed instructions on how to work through some common practical decisions, and provides a set of worked example exercises.

Capabilities
EPrints Biodiversity - an overview of the configration options available for EPrints, the process of designing a repository and a range of different EPrints repositories. Also available, the latest list of interesting EPrints repositories.

Options
The location and purpose of the configuration files and directories

Tasks
How to do two common tasks: branding the visual interface and adding new metadata fields

Exercises
Step-by-step worked exercises: visual appearance, deposit workflow, controlled vocabularies and authrity lists, deposit types and metadata, creating new views and searches

Web Configuration
Slides explaining the Web configuration capabilities of EPrints. How to edit config files from the Web interface and using an increasing number of web applications.

This customisation training collection shows how to use the EPrints API to create your own command line reports, cgi web scripts and repository components - import and export plugins and screens with new repository functionality.

Programming Overview
An explanation of the EPrints API, the major datasets and methods for managing eprints, documents and users

Programming Techniques
Different kinds of EPrints scripting for writing command line programs, cgi scripts and plugins to extend the repository functionality

Programming Exercises
Worked exercises for command line programs (with resources and samples) and for plugins (resources and samples).

Prerequisites: no repository experience required, but general web browsing experience is assumed. This is not advocacy material and does not try to explain the advantages of repositories.

Please note that this collection and the materials in it is still being developed: all contributions are most gratefully received.

Prerequisites: no programming required. Some experience of using a text editor would be desirable. In EPrints training sessions, librarians with no technical background have happily taken this course, but they did have technical colleagues on hand to support them, so it might be more challenging in a self study nvironment!

Prerequisites: EPrints is written in Perl, but you don't have to be a Perl programmer to understand this material or even provide technical support for an EPrints repository. You should have confident programming background (e.g. Java or PHP instead of Perl) and be comfortable with technical system administration tasks (e.g. restarting a web server). In this course you will only be expected to adapt existing Perl code rather than start from scratch; EPrints coding standards mean that you should find it relatively easy to understand the Perl language material.

 

Other repository training and support material, including advocacy resources, can be obtained from The Repositories Support Project (RSP), a JISC funded project on which EPrints is a partner. The purpose of RSP is to promote the takeup and use of repositories in the UK. RSP is a platform-agnostic project that supports repository teams, librarians and technical staff across the UK's higher education community. In conjunction with The Depot (a repository for all UK researchers) and Intute Repository Search, RSP forms the JISC RepositoryNet.