The coordination of the metadata of a Repository for a set standard is often hard to handle. The possible variations in one single element are enormous and the adjustment repeatedly ends in an immense detail work. Often the adjustment starts with the basic question, which element needs to be adjusted. Validators are giving help, they are comparing metadata of a repository in question with a metadata standard to show existing conflicts.

The Project OA-Netzwerk has developed a validator for the AIP OAI-PMH (Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting) on the basis of the validator of the OpenAIRE project. The web-based OAI-PMH validator helps to fulfill the criteria of the DINI-certificate, optionally the test runs the different annual versions of the certificate. Sammy David, developer of the validator at the computer- und Medienservice of the Humboldt University zu Berlin, presents the Validator in detail on the OANetzwerk-Blog (german).

The validator is running as a beta version and is to find under: http://oanet.cms.hu-berlin.de/validator