Tutorial: OpenAIRE Integration Setup

Role: Journal Manager / Site Administrator
Time: 30–60 minutes
OJS Version: 3.5+

This tutorial shows how to configure OJS for better alignment with the OpenAIRE Guidelines for Literature Repository Managers (v4.0.0).

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Before You Start

• You have Journal Manager or Site Administrator access.
• Your journal is publicly accessible.
• Your metadata is complete for already-published articles.

Source Guideline

Use this tutorial together with the official OpenAIRE guideline:
openaire-guidelines-for-literature-repository-managers.readthedocs.io/en/v4.0.0

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Step 1 — Confirm OAI-PMH Exposure

1. Open your OAI endpoint in a browser:
   • https://yourdomain.com/index.php/journal/oai
2. Run a quick test with:
   • ?verb=Identify
   • ?verb=ListMetadataFormats
3. Confirm the endpoint is reachable (no auth wall, no server error).

If the endpoint is not reachable, fix server routing/permissions first.

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Step 2 — Install and Enable OpenAIRE Plugin

1. Go to Administration → Plugin Gallery.
2. Search for OpenAIRE.
3. Click Install (if not already installed).
4. Go to Settings → Website → Plugins → Installed Plugins.
5. Enable OpenAIRE.

If Plugin Gallery is unavailable, install manually from:

• https://github.com/ojsde/openAIRE

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Step 3 — Validate Required Core Metadata

Review recent published articles and ensure each has:

Field	Where to check in OJS
Title	Publication tab
Author(s)	Contributors tab
Publication date	Issue / Publication settings
Identifier (DOI or stable URL)	DOI plugin + article page
Language	Metadata fields
Rights/license	Distribution + article metadata

Incomplete records reduce harvest quality.

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Step 4 — Normalize Identifiers

1. Ensure DOI values resolve through https://doi.org/....
2. Enable ORCID collection where possible:
   • ORCID Profile Setup
3. Avoid changing published article URLs.

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Step 5 — Configure Rights and Access Metadata

1. Go to Settings → Distribution → Access.
2. Set clear journal-level license and access policy.
3. Ensure article-level metadata does not conflict with journal defaults.

OpenAIRE harvesting depends on explicit access and rights metadata.

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Step 6 — Improve Interoperability Metadata

Recommended companion setups:

• Enable DOIs with CrossRef
• Crossref Funders Registry Setup
• Research Org. Registry (ROR) Setup

These improve machine-readability and downstream linking.

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Step 7 — Test Harvest Readiness

After setup changes:

1. Re-check OAI endpoint responses.
2. Export sample article metadata from OJS tools.
3. Verify identifiers, rights, language, and dates are present.
4. Repeat after OJS upgrades or plugin updates.

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Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
OAI endpoint fails	Check web server routing, HTTPS config, and journal path
Missing metadata in harvested records	Complete missing fields in published articles and re-test
OpenAIRE plugin not visible	Install from Plugin Gallery or manually from GitHub
License/access not exposed clearly	Re-check Distribution settings and article publication metadata

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Next Steps

• OpenAIRE Guidelines article — concept and policy view
• ASEO & Discoverability — broader discoverability strategy
• Plugins Reference — related plugin ecosystem