In recent years, the development of object-oriented repository models begin to emerge, promising the benefits of object-oriented development: production scaling through reuse, interoperability through stable APIs, and manageable complexity through robust components. The "data" of such objects in these models often consist of large files bundled with metadata their content and structure. Access is provided through a combination of media servers and metadata presentation software. A robust system for object management and access requires a repository architecture that can hold complex objects and provide controlled but flexible access as indicated by their content and use.

FEDORA (http://www.fedora.info/) is an open-source digital object repository funded by the Mellon Foundation and primarily developed by the University of Virginia and Cornell. It provides a flexible and standardized object-oriented framework for building and maintaining and accessing collections of digital objects.

Northwestern University has been working with FEDORA over the past year, creating object models for images and spoken word audio. We are currently in the process of integrating Fedora with our Project Pad system. The vision is that Project Pad will interoperate with a FEDORA archive and provide a web-based graphical view and search of the repository and its contents. Using Project Pad tools, FEDORA users would be able to create and organize new collections within FEDORA using familiar idioms such as folders, outlines, and drag and drop. Users would also be able to submit new digital objects to the repository using Project Pad tools. This integration will offer users a flexible interface for working with digital objects while utilizing standards embraced by the digital library communities.