Using Python to mint DOIs on demand for a new DSpace 7 repository

DOIs are a key persistent identifier in the publishing landscape to ensure discoverability and citation of research products. Minting DOIs using an online form can be a time-consuming task for repository librarians. DSpace can mint DOIs automatically for all items in a repository but is not able to do so selectively, which is an issue in an institutional repository containing a mixture of original materials that need DOIs (dissertations, reports, data, etc.) and previously published materials such as journal articles that already have DOIs. An institutional repository librarian and her data librarian colleague with Python experience embarked on a pair programming project to create a script to mint DOIs on demand in DataCite for individual items in the institution’s Open Repository version 5 instance using the APIs from both platforms. The pair met for one hour each week to develop and test the script using combined skills in institutional repositories, metadata, DOI minting, coding in Python, APIs, and data cleaning. The script has been used successfully since December 2023. The project team started meeting again to update the script when the repository was scheduled for a DSpace 7 upgrade in fall 2024. This project was evaluated in terms of how the time spent creating the code compares to the time it takes to mint DOIs manually as well as metadata enhancements and accuracy in DataCite. This presentation will share the final Python script for minting DOIs in DSpace 5, progress on the DSpace 7 script, and highlight the takeaways from this approach for both the institutional repository librarian and the coding librarian.