A new plug-in system supporting very large digital library

Abstract

In the era of Big Data, actual demands of collecting large volumes of complex digital information have brought new challenges to digital library software. This scenario calls for the construction of Very Large Digital Library (VLDL). New approaches and technologies are needed to deal with the various issues in designing and developing VLDL. In this paper, we design a plug-in system - PuntStore as a general solution to very large digital library. PuntStore supports different kinds of storage engines and index engines to deal with the problem of storing and retrieving data efficiently. We also design a new index engine pLSM in PuntStore to meet the specific needs in digital libraries. The successful adoption of PuntStore in the project of the Digital Library on History of Science and Technology in China (DLHSTC) shows that PuntStore can function effectively in supporting VLDL systems. © Springer International Publishing 2013.