Contributing Metadata Files to DPLA

In order to facilitate submissions of your hub's metadata to DPLA, we've made available a deposit mechanism based on Amazon Web Services' Simple Storage Service (S3). S3 is a cloud-based data storage system that can be used as an online dropbox for file uploads. We've made a folder (or "bucket") for you to deposit the latest version of your data into that only you and we have access to.

To gain access to this bucket, we will supply you with Amazon Web Service account credentials to do so. Please take care to safeguard these credentials the way you would the username and password to any sensitive Internet account such as your e-mail or banking sites, as misuse of this account could cost significant financial losses to DPLA in terms of AWS service charges.

There are a variety of desktop software clients that can communicate with S3. One that we find easy to use is called Cyberduck. The remainder of these instructions assume you will be using this client.

Setup Instructions

  1. Download the Cyberduck client built for your operating system at https://cyberduck.io/. Avoid the links to the Windows and Mac App store, as these versions are not free. The direct download versions are no-cost.
     
  2. Install the application according to the directions on Cyberduck's site and run it:

    Windows: https://trac.cyberduck.io/wiki/help/en/faq#Windows1
    macOS: https://trac.cyberduck.io/wiki/help/en/faq#Mac
     
  3. When the program launches, you will be presented with an initial screen that looks like this:



  4. Click on Open Connection in the upper left corner. You will see a dialog that looks like:



  5. In the dropdown where it currently says "FTP (File Transfer Protocol)," select "S3 (Amazon Simple Storage Service)":




  6. The dialog will change to reflect your selection. In this new version of the dialog, enter the "Access Key ID" and "Secret Access Key" that we provided to you under separate cover. This is similar to entering a username and password. Once you're done, click the "Connect" button.


  7. You will be presented with a list of folders. We let you know which is yours when we provided you with your credentials. Double click it.



  8. The resulting window is a place you can drag and drop your files into.

    When you do so, a window showing the transfers of your files will appear. You can track the progress of your upload here. When your submission is complete, please notify us so that we can proceed with processing your data.
     
  9. In order to get back to this folder the next time you connect, in particular if you add other accounts to Cyberduck, it's useful to create a bookmark to it. In the Action menu at the top of the window, select "New Bookmark":
     

  10. In the window that appears, click the "More Options" triangle and verify that the information is correct, specifically that the "Path" field is the name of your folder:


  11. Now your bookmark to your folder will appear in the Bookmarks section in the main window of the application, and you can use that entry to easily get back to your folder on S3: