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DOI Management - User Guide

What is a DOI?

A Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is a persistent, unique identifier for digital content. DOIs are globally recognized and ensure that your archival records can be reliably cited and found, even if URLs change.

Example DOI: 10.12345/archive.2024.00001

When someone visits https://doi.org/10.12345/archive.2024.00001, they are automatically redirected to your record.

Why Use DOIs?

Benefit Description
Permanent Links URLs change, DOIs don't - citations remain valid forever
Citability Researchers can properly cite your records in publications
Discoverability DOIs are indexed by DataCite, Google Scholar, and academic databases
Metrics Track how often your records are accessed via DOI resolution
Standards Compliance Required by many funding agencies and journals

DOI States

+------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                        DOI LIFECYCLE                              |
|                                                                   |
|   +---------+      +------------+      +-----------+             |
|   |  DRAFT  | ---> | REGISTERED | ---> | FINDABLE  |             |
|   +---------+      +------------+      +-----------+             |
|       |                 |                    |                    |
|       |                 |                    |                    |
|   Reserved          DOI exists           DOI resolves            |
|   in DataCite       but hidden           and is public           |
|                                                                   |
|                          |                                        |
|                          v                                        |
|                    +-----------+                                  |
|                    |  DELETED  |  (Tombstone page shown)          |
|                    +-----------+                                  |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
State Resolves? In DataCite Search? Use Case
Draft No No Reserve a DOI before publishing
Registered Yes No DOI works but not publicly indexed
Findable Yes Yes Fully public and discoverable
Deleted Tombstone No Record removed, shows explanation

DOI Dashboard

Navigate to: Admin -> DOI Management

The dashboard shows: - Total DOIs minted - DOIs by status (Findable, Registered, Draft, Failed) - Queue pending count - Recently minted DOIs

Quick Actions

Button Action
Batch Mint Mint DOIs for multiple records at once
Bulk Sync Update all DOI metadata in DataCite
Export Download DOI list as CSV or JSON
Configuration DataCite API settings

Minting a DOI

Method 1: From Record Page

  1. Navigate to any archival record
  2. Look for the DOI badge in the header area
  3. If no DOI exists, click "Mint DOI"
  4. Confirm the action
  5. DOI is minted and displayed
+------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Record: Annual Report 1952                                |
|                                                            |
|  +---------------------------------------------+           |
|  | DOI: 10.12345/archive.2024.00001           |           |
|  |    Status: Findable                         |           |
|  |    [View on DataCite] [Update Metadata]     |           |
|  +---------------------------------------------+           |
|                                                            |
|  OR (if no DOI):                                           |
|                                                            |
|  +---------------------------------------------+           |
|  | [Mint DOI]  (Admin only)                   |           |
|  +---------------------------------------------+           |
+------------------------------------------------------------+

Method 2: Batch Minting

  1. Go to Admin -> DOI Management -> Batch Mint
  2. Select records by:
  3. Repository
  4. Level of description
  5. Publication status
  6. Date range
  7. Preview selected records
  8. Click "Mint DOIs"
  9. Records are queued for minting

Method 3: Auto-Mint (If Configured)

When enabled, DOIs are automatically minted when: - A record is published - Record meets configured criteria (level, repository, etc.)

Managing DOIs

View DOI Details

  1. Go to Admin -> DOI Management -> Browse
  2. Click on any DOI to see:
  3. Full metadata
  4. Resolution status
  5. Minting history
  6. DataCite sync status

Update DOI Metadata

When record metadata changes, the DOI metadata in DataCite should be updated:

  1. Automatic: Bulk Sync updates all DOIs
  2. Manual: Click "Update" on individual DOI view
# CLI: Sync all DOI metadata
php symfony doi:sync --all

# CLI: Sync specific DOI
php symfony doi:sync --id=123

Verify DOI Resolution

  1. Go to DOI view page
  2. Click "Verify Resolution"
  3. System checks if DOI resolves correctly

Deactivating DOIs

When a record is deleted or should no longer be accessible:

Via Web Interface

  1. Go to Admin -> DOI Management -> Browse
  2. Find the DOI
  3. Click "Deactivate"
  4. Enter reason for deactivation
  5. Confirm

Via CLI

# Deactivate by DOI record ID
php symfony doi:deactivate --id=123 --reason="Record deleted"

# Deactivate by object ID
php symfony doi:deactivate --object-id=456 --reason="Duplicate record"

# List all deactivated DOIs
php symfony doi:deactivate --list-deleted

What Happens?

  • DOI state changes to "deleted" in DataCite
  • DOI still resolves but shows a tombstone page
  • Record remains in your database for audit
  • Can be reactivated if needed

Queue Management

DOI operations are processed via a queue to avoid API rate limits:

  1. Go to Admin -> DOI Management -> Queue
  2. View pending, processing, completed, and failed jobs
  3. Retry failed jobs
  4. Cancel pending jobs

Queue Statuses

Status Meaning
Pending Waiting to be processed
Processing Currently being minted
Completed Successfully minted
Failed Error occurred (can retry)

Export DOI Data

Via Web Interface

  1. Go to DOI Dashboard
  2. Click Export dropdown
  3. Choose CSV or JSON format
  4. File downloads automatically

Export Columns

Column Description
DOI The full DOI string
Title Record title
Status Current DOI state
Minted Date When DOI was created
URL Target URL
Repository Source repository

Reports

Navigate to: Admin -> DOI Management -> Reports

Available reports: - DOIs minted per month - DOIs by repository - DOIs by status - Failed minting attempts - Queue processing times

Configuration

Navigate to: Admin -> DOI Management -> Configuration

Required Settings

Setting Description
DataCite Repository ID Your DataCite repository identifier
DataCite Password API password from DataCite Fabrica
DOI Prefix Your assigned prefix (e.g., 10.12345)
Environment Test or Production

Optional Settings

Setting Description
Auto-Mint Automatically mint DOIs on publish
Default State Initial DOI state (draft, registered, findable)
URL Template Pattern for target URLs
Shoulder Sub-prefix for organization

Test Connection

Click "Test Connection" to verify your DataCite credentials before saving.

CLI Commands

Command Description
php symfony doi:mint --id=X Mint DOI for record X
php symfony doi:mint --all --limit=100 Batch mint with limit
php symfony doi:sync --all Sync all DOI metadata
php symfony doi:sync --status=findable Sync only findable DOIs
php symfony doi:deactivate --id=X Deactivate DOI
php symfony doi:deactivate --reactivate --id=X Reactivate DOI

Cron Jobs

Set up automatic DOI processing:

# Process DOI queue every 5 minutes
*/5 * * * * cd /usr/share/nginx/atom && php symfony doi:process-queue >> /var/log/atom/doi.log 2>&1

# Weekly metadata sync (Sundays at 4 AM)
0 4 * * 0 cd /usr/share/nginx/atom && php symfony doi:sync --all --limit=500 >> /var/log/atom/doi-sync.log 2>&1

Troubleshooting

DOI Not Resolving

  1. Check DOI status is "findable" or "registered"
  2. Verify target URL is accessible
  3. Allow 24 hours for DataCite propagation
  4. Use "Verify Resolution" to check

Minting Failed

  1. Check queue for error message
  2. Verify DataCite credentials
  3. Check required metadata is present (title, creator, year)
  4. Ensure API quota not exceeded

Metadata Not Updating

  1. Run php symfony doi:sync --id=X for specific DOI
  2. Check DataCite API response
  3. Verify record has all required fields

Best Practices

  1. Test First: Use DataCite test environment before production
  2. Batch Wisely: Don't mint DOIs for unpublished records
  3. Monitor Queue: Check failed jobs regularly
  4. Sync Regularly: Keep DOI metadata current with records
  5. Document: Add DOI policy to your repository guidelines

Integration with Other Systems

The DOI is available via: - API: GET /api/doi/status/{recordId} - OAI-PMH: Included in Dublin Core exports - EAD3: Added to <unitid> element - Record Display: Badge shown on public pages

Need Help?

  • DataCite Support: https://support.datacite.org
  • Test Environment: https://doi.test.datacite.org
  • System Administrator: For API credential issues

Last updated: February 2026 Part of the AHG Extensions for AtoM 2.10