eXtensible Text Framework (XTF) Website Launched

Robust open-source application makes managing access to digital content simple

The Publishing Group of the California Digital Library (CDL) announces the launch of the eXtensible Text Framework (XTF) website (/), supporting a robust open-source application for providing access to digital content.  Developed and maintained by the CDL, XTF functions as the primary access technology for the CDL’s digital collections and similar projects worldwide.

XTF excels in supporting rapid, customized application development and deployment. Its high degree of extensibility and performance (even for large documents and large collections) frees implementers to focus on building sophisticated presentations for their digital object collections.

“It’s all about balancing flexibility and ease of use: putting infinite customization ability in the hands of curators and scholars with a driving need to provide deep access to their special collections,” says XTF lead developer Martin Haye.

XTF-based applications range from primary source image collections to publishing platforms and archival finding aid repositories at the University of California and many other institutions, including Northwestern University, the University of Sydney (Australia), Indiana University, Visual Arkiv (Sweden), Morehouse College, Durham University (UK), and the University of Virginia.

Highly customized implementations include:

· CDL’s eScholarship (http://www.escholarship.org/), UC’s open access scholarly publishing platform, which publishes recent research from across the 10 campuses as well as nearly 40 UC-based scholarly journals. XTF customizations include a streamlined facet-selection interface, dynamic PDF snippets called “KWIC Pics,” PDF document previews in the browser, and support for a deep hierarchy of contributing academic units.

· CDL’s Online Archive of California (http://www.oac.cdlib.org/), a collection of more than 20,000 archival finding aids and 200,000 digital primary sources (images and texts) from more than 150 archives, libraries, and other institutions in the state of California. XTF implementation features full-text search and display, detailed descriptive metadata, and a robust finding aid interface.

· Indiana University’s The Chymistry of Isaac Newton (http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/newton/), a digital repository of transcriptions of Newton’s alchemical manuscripts. Site features a seamless blend of various web tools, including XTF as the search technology.

· The Encyclopedia of Chicago (http://encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/), a collaboration between the Chicago  Historical Society, Northwestern University, and the Newberry Library. Site integrates XTF with an image zoomer to display a large collection of historic photographs and maps, as well as using XTF for search and display of descriptive metadata.

Lightly customized implementations include:

· OhioLink Finding Aids Repository (http://ead.ohiolink.edu/xtf-ead/), this consortium of archives, libraries, and other institutions in the state of Ohio uses the default XTF implementation with dedicated branding and other slight modifications.

· University of Buffalo Finding Aids (http://libweb1.lib.buffalo.edu:8080/findingaids/search) uses a basic XTF application to enable browse and search of collection guides from the university’s archival and manuscript collections.

The new site serves as an expanded resource for programmers, librarians, and the general public to explore and implement the Java and XSLT 2.0-based framework.  Features include:

· XTF application download – full release or core updates to maintain customizations (/download/)

· Documentation, including downloadable deployment guide, programming guide, and tag reference (/documentation)

· Video tutorials focusing on basic setup and customization of XTF (/getting-started-tutorials)

· Example XTF implementations highlighting customized features. (/xtf)