Shared Authority Service Functional Requirements

Owned by Megan Forbes
Last updated: Jul 28, 2016
2 min read

Overview

The purpose of the Shared Authority Service is to allow institutions to contribute to and pull data from a central, shared authority managed via CollectionSpace. A specific institution may serve as the central repository, with other institutions pulling data from it, or institutions may choose to implement a separate CSpace instance to hold the shared data, with each institution sync'ing with that central repository.

Functional Requirements

Users of the shared authority service must be able to:

  • Add authority or controlled list terms to a central repository
  • Edit existing authority or controlled list terms in a central repository
  • Inactivate existing authority or controlled list terms in a central repository
  • Delete existing authority or controlled list terms from a central repository

In all cases, "clients" of the central repository may sync their CollectionSpace instances, after which any additions, edits, inactivations, or deletions to the central repository will be reflected in the client's authorities and lists.

  • Users of the shared authority service will see all "sync'd" terms as read only in their own instances of CollectionSpace
  • Users of the shared authority service will have access to local authority term lists alongside their shared lists; these local lists will allow write access

Design and Development

v1 of the Shared Authority Service, CollectionSpace v4.4

  • Users may add authority or controlled term lists to a central repository
  • Users may edit existing authority or controlled term lists in the central repository
  • Users may inactivate existing authority or controlled list terms in a central repository
  • Users may delete existing authority or controlled list terms from the central repository
  • Users may sync data from the central repository to individual client instances via CuRL script
  • Users may view and use local authority terms lists for each authority that also has a shared instance

v2. of the Shared Authority Service, CollectionSpace v4.5

  • Users may add local terms to controlled lists that have been sync'd with the central repository
  • Users may sync with the central repository via CSpace UI or URL
  • Users may contribute authority terms from individual client instances to the central repository for inclusion in the shared resource
  • Users may contribute procedural records from individual client instances to the central repository for inclusion in the shared resource
  • Need better wording: way to limit records in field 2 depending on choices in field 1