Currently, OAI-PMH allows selective harvesting only by date.
With sets implementation, it is going to provide an opportunity to define harvested collections based on more granular options.
OAI sets configuration will be available via GUI and it might require modification to the implemented functionality in feature to meet use cases as defined below.

Scope

• Provide a way to build or reuse existing query to define collection to be harvested

• Define permission set that will allow only authorized users to define sets

Out of scope
tbd

Use cases:

• I would like to be able to combine a bunch of locations into a single set. We have an associated K-12 school with its own library as part of our structure. I would like to harvest just the K-12 library data. I would like to create a set that includes all of the K-12 locations and not a separate set for 200 locations.

• Special collections libraries might want to contribute a set of their records to a union catalog. Perhaps that might be based on subject. It would definitely be done for all records of items that have digitizations (think DPLA or Europeana). Or even just to match the metadata records with their own digital assets management systems, for combined display in discovery systems, since DAMS often have much less robust descriptive metadata.

• To harvest what libraries think of as a collection, so harvesting by campus or library are major use cases for consortia.

• Being able to build sets from a list of material types is very useful. This is a bigger deal than it sounds because of the continued (and unfortunate) practice of libraries loading huge numbers of subscription electronic records in their catalogs that don't belong in such a harvest.

• MUST be possible to define OAI-PMH sets based on a bibliography / collection tag / definition.

• MUST be possible to define and manage set-definitions using CQL for OAI-PMH.

• Set-definitions for OAI-PMH publishing SHOULD be based on CQL. Sikt should be able to define (manage and configure) the set-definitions.

Additional information
More information on sets can be found by link http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/openarchivesprotocol.htm#Set.