Harvesting Sierra Data Using OAI-PMH

Your library can integrate with external systems that harvest Sierra records using the OAI-PMH protocol. Sierra's OAI-PMH web app can present your library's records as an OAI-PMH repository, represented in either Dublin Core or MARCXML. You can configure the mapping of Sierra records to Dublin Core elements (referred to as a "crosswalk") in the Administration Application. The OAI-PMH web app can optionally organize records into sets based on Sierra's scopes.

This functionality removes manual update processes and ensures that integration partners have the most updated view of your library's holdings.

Setting Up the Harvesting of Sierra Data

To set up the harvesting of your Sierra data:

1. In the Sierra Administration application, click OAI-PMH in the Back End Management section. The OAI Administration settings page appears.
2. (Dublin Core only) Configure the mapping of data from Sierra records to Dublin Core elements (the "crosswalk") by doing the following:
   1. Click Crosswalks on the left side of the screen.
   2. Click the name associated with the MARC type you want to configure (for example, marc21_oai_dc). Sierra displays the crosswalk information on a separate tab.
   3. Click Edit. Sierra displays an editing window for the crosswalk.
   4. (Optional) Change the default description.
   5. Click Load from System Crosswalk. Sierra displays the default settings for the crosswalk.
   6. If necessary, edit the default settings.
   7. Click OK.
3. (MARCXML only; Sierra 6.0 and later) Add a new metadata prefix for MARCXML:
   1. From the Crosswalks tab, click New.
   2. In the Metdata Prefix field, enter "marc21".
   3. Click OK.

   The webapp must restart during overnight processes before you can use or test the MARCXML configuration.

4. Enter an email address for the administrator of the repository. This information is required by the OAI-PMH protocol and can be used to by third-party harvesters to contact repository owners if they encounter issues.

To add an administrator email address:

5. Test the setup with your integration partner. The base URL is as follows:

https://[your Sierra server]/iii/oai/

The following examples include all records that have changed since October 1, 2020: