Technology

Platform LA Referencia

We develop open-source, free software (GPL 3) for harvesting, aggregating, and publishing scientific metadata.

We develop technology for national harvesters

LA Referencia, through its Technical Team, has developed a software platform for information harvesting that, besides supporting the central node of the regional network, works as an aggregator service and national portal for member countries.

This technological solution originated during the pilot phase of the IDB project in 2013. By mid-2014, with support from Science and Technology agencies, the need for a transferable solution with constant technological enhancements was identified.

Key Platform Components

LRHarvester

OAI-PMH metadata harvesting, transformation, and validation component. It harvests OAI sources, validates records, and transforms them to comply with the network’s quality guidelines.

Java 1.7 / Spring / PostgreSQL

LRProvider

Component responsible for publishing metadata through the OAI-PMH protocol. Offers high flexibility and scalability for interoperability with other international metadata aggregators.

Adapted DSpace-XOAI

Search Engine / Portal

Web portal for publishing aggregated metadata. It provides an intuitive, mobile-responsive search interface along with metadata quality and harvest progress statistics.

VuFind Solr Integration

Design Principles

LA Referencia's software architecture was designed under strict institutional and technical guidelines to ensure sustainability and efficiency:

✓
Transferable Same software version for central and national nodes.
✓
Scalable Harvests millions of records in less than 24 hours.
✓
Open Source Development and components based on open standards.
✓
Multilingual Native Spanish, English, and Portuguese support.
Latest release

What's New in Version 3.0

  • • Responsive and more user-friendly admin interface.
  • • Redesigned validation and transformation rules.
  • • Expanded domain objects and improved dictionaries.
  • • Redesigned relational schema for optimum performance.
  • • Enhanced storage of Solr engine diagnostic details.

Successful Implementations

Since 2015, LA Referencia's technology has been installed and validated by leading government agencies and academic consortia:

Argentina (MINCYT) Brasil (IBICT) Costa Rica (CONARE) Chile (CONICYT) Ecuador (CEDIA) El Salvador (CBUES) Peru (CONCYTEC) Uruguay (ANII) Portugal (RCAAP) Panama (PRICILA)