Package org.dspace.embargo

Embargo allows the deposit of Items whose content should not be made visible until later. Some journals, for example, permit self-publication after a period of exclusive access through the journal.

Embargo policy is applied through a pair of pluggable classes: an EmbargoSetter and an EmbargoLifter. The EmbargoServiceImpl must be configured to specify these classes, as well as names of two metadata fields for use by the embargo facility: an embargo lift date (when the content will be released) and the embargo terms (which the EmbargoSetter will use to calculate the lift date). You must select or create appropriate metadata fields for this purpose.

See DefaultEmbargoSetter, DayTableEmbargoSetter, and DefaultEmbargoLifter for simple policy classes which ship with DSpace. You can supply your own classes to implement more elaborate policies.

Embargo is applied when an Item is installed in a Collection. An Item subject to embargo passes through several stages:

  1. During submission, the metadata field established for embargo terms must be set to a value which is interpretable by the selected setter. Typically this will be a date or an interval. There is no specific mechanism for requesting embargo; you must customize your submission forms as needed, create a template Item which applies a standard value, or in some other way cause the specified metadata field to be set.
  2. When the Item is accepted into a Collection, the setter will apply the embargo, making the content inaccessible.
  3. The site should run the embargo lifter tool (dspace embargo-lifter) from time to time, for example using an automatic daily job. This discovers Items which have passed their embargo lift dates and makes their content accessible.