diff --git a/apps/dnet-is-application/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/MDStoreAjaxController.java b/apps/dnet-is-application/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/MDStoreAjaxController.java
index ee3ce18c..70f2a058 100644
--- a/apps/dnet-is-application/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/MDStoreAjaxController.java
+++ b/apps/dnet-is-application/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/MDStoreAjaxController.java
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.PathVariable;
 import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestMapping;
 import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;
 
+import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.model.MetadataRecord;
 import eu.dnetlib.errors.MDStoreManagerException;
 import io.swagger.v3.oas.annotations.Operation;
 import io.swagger.v3.oas.annotations.tags.Tag;
@@ -42,13 +43,13 @@ public class MDStoreAjaxController extends AbstractMDStoreController {
 
 	@Operation(summary = "read the parquet file of a mdstore version")
 	@GetMapping("/version/{versionId}/content/{limit}")
-	public List<Map<String, String>> listVersionRecords(@PathVariable final String versionId, @PathVariable final long limit) throws MDStoreManagerException {
+	public List<MetadataRecord> listVersionRecords(@PathVariable final String versionId, @PathVariable final long limit) throws MDStoreManagerException {
 		return service.listVersionRecords(versionId, limit);
 	}
 
 	@Operation(summary = "read the parquet file of a mdstore (current version)")
 	@GetMapping("/mdstore/{mdId}/content/{limit}")
-	public List<Map<String, String>> listMdstoreRecords(@PathVariable final String mdId, @PathVariable final long limit) throws MDStoreManagerException {
+	public List<MetadataRecord> listMdstoreRecords(@PathVariable final String mdId, @PathVariable final long limit) throws MDStoreManagerException {
 		return service.listVersionRecords(service.findMdStore(mdId).getCurrentVersion(), limit);
 	}
 }
diff --git a/frontends/dnet-is-application/src/app/common/is.service.ts b/frontends/dnet-is-application/src/app/common/is.service.ts
index 01b721ed..7fba48a7 100644
--- a/frontends/dnet-is-application/src/app/common/is.service.ts
+++ b/frontends/dnet-is-application/src/app/common/is.service.ts
@@ -313,7 +313,7 @@ export class ISService {
 	}
 
 	loadMDStoreVersionRecords(versionId: string, limit: number, onSuccess: Function): void {
-		this.client.get<MDStoreRecord[]>('./ajax/mdstores/version/' + encodeURIComponent(versionId) + '/parquet/content/' + limit).subscribe({
+		this.client.get<MDStoreRecord[]>('./ajax/mdstores/version/' + encodeURIComponent(versionId) + '/content/' + limit).subscribe({
 			next: data => onSuccess(data),
 			error: error => this.showError(error)
 		});
diff --git a/frontends/dnet-is-application/src/app/mdstores/mdstore-inspector.component.html b/frontends/dnet-is-application/src/app/mdstores/mdstore-inspector.component.html
index 9a382660..b5a9cc2c 100644
--- a/frontends/dnet-is-application/src/app/mdstores/mdstore-inspector.component.html
+++ b/frontends/dnet-is-application/src/app/mdstores/mdstore-inspector.component.html
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 		<td>{{mdstore?.datasourceName}}</td>
 	</tr>
 	<tr>
-		<th rowspan="4">Version</th>
+		<th [attr.rowspan]="(version?.params | keyvalue).length + 3">Version</th>
 		<th>ID</th>
 		<td>
 			<span *ngIf="version?.id == mdstore?.currentVersion" class="badge-label badge-success">current</span>
@@ -45,16 +45,17 @@
 	</tr>
 </table>
 
-<br />
-<h3 *ngIf="records.length > 0">The display is limited to the first {{limit}} records</h3>
-<br />
+<h3 *ngIf="records.length > 0" class="muted" style="margin-top: 2em; text-align: center;">The display is limited to the
+	first {{limit}}
+	records</h3>
 
-<mat-card *ngFor="let rec of records" style="margin-top: 10px;">
+<mat-card *ngFor="let rec of records" style="margin-top: 1em;">
 	<mat-card-header>
 		<mat-card-title *ngIf="!rec.id">the record is unreadable</mat-card-title>
 		<mat-card-title *ngIf="rec.id">{{rec.id}}</mat-card-title>
 	</mat-card-header>
 	<mat-card-content>
+		<br />
 		<p *ngIf="!rec.id">Invalid record format</p>
 		<table class="mdstore-table" *ngIf="rec.id">
 			<tr>
diff --git a/libs/dnet-data-services/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/MDStoreService.java b/libs/dnet-data-services/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/MDStoreService.java
index 16a742c1..db7f48b1 100644
--- a/libs/dnet-data-services/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/MDStoreService.java
+++ b/libs/dnet-data-services/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/MDStoreService.java
@@ -19,12 +19,16 @@ import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
 import org.springframework.jdbc.core.JdbcTemplate;
 import org.springframework.stereotype.Service;
 
-import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.hadoop.HdfsBackend;
+import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.backends.DefaultBackend;
+import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.backends.HdfsBackend;
+import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.backends.MDStoreBackend;
+import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.backends.MockBackend;
 import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.model.MDStore;
 import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.model.MDStoreCurrentVersion;
 import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.model.MDStoreType;
 import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.model.MDStoreVersion;
 import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.model.MDStoreWithInfo;
+import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.model.MetadataRecord;
 import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.repository.MDStoreCurrentVersionRepository;
 import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.repository.MDStoreRepository;
 import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.repository.MDStoreVersionRepository;
@@ -48,6 +52,8 @@ public class MDStoreService {
 	@Autowired
 	private HdfsBackend hdfsBackend;
 	@Autowired
+	private MockBackend mockBackend;
+	@Autowired
 	private DefaultBackend defaultBackend;
 
 	private static final Logger log = LoggerFactory.getLogger(MDStoreService.class);
@@ -228,7 +234,7 @@ public class MDStoreService {
 		return selectBackend(md.getType()).listInternalFiles(v);
 	}
 
-	public List<Map<String, String>> listVersionRecords(final String versionId, final long limit) throws MDStoreManagerException {
+	public List<MetadataRecord> listVersionRecords(final String versionId, final long limit) throws MDStoreManagerException {
 		final MDStoreVersion v = mdstoreVersionRepository.findById(versionId).orElseThrow(() -> new MDStoreManagerException("Version not found"));
 		final MDStore md = mdstoreRepository.findById(v.getMdstore()).orElseThrow(() -> new MDStoreManagerException("MDStore not found"));
 		return selectBackend(md.getType()).listEntries(v, limit);
@@ -265,6 +271,7 @@ public class MDStoreService {
 	public Map<MDStoreType, Set<String>> fixInconsistencies(final boolean delete) throws MDStoreManagerException {
 		final Map<MDStoreType, Set<String>> res = new LinkedHashMap<>();
 		res.put(MDStoreType.HDFS, hdfsBackend.fixInconsistencies(delete));
+		res.put(MDStoreType.MOCK, mockBackend.fixInconsistencies(delete));
 		// TODO: ADD HERE THE INVOCATION FOR OTHER MDSTORE TYPE
 
 		return res;
@@ -274,6 +281,8 @@ public class MDStoreService {
 		switch (type) {
 		case HDFS:
 			return hdfsBackend;
+		case MOCK:
+			return mockBackend;
 		default:
 			return defaultBackend;
 		}
diff --git a/libs/dnet-data-services/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/DefaultBackend.java b/libs/dnet-data-services/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/backends/DefaultBackend.java
similarity index 83%
rename from libs/dnet-data-services/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/DefaultBackend.java
rename to libs/dnet-data-services/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/backends/DefaultBackend.java
index 03917506..1ce1122b 100644
--- a/libs/dnet-data-services/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/DefaultBackend.java
+++ b/libs/dnet-data-services/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/backends/DefaultBackend.java
@@ -1,16 +1,16 @@
-package eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore;
+package eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.backends;
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.LinkedHashSet;
 import java.util.List;
-import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Set;
 
 import org.springframework.stereotype.Service;
 
 import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.model.MDStore;
 import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.model.MDStoreVersion;
+import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.model.MetadataRecord;
 import eu.dnetlib.errors.MDStoreManagerException;
 
 @Service
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ public class DefaultBackend implements MDStoreBackend {
 	public void delete(final MDStoreVersion version) throws MDStoreManagerException {}
 
 	@Override
-	public List<Map<String, String>> listEntries(final MDStoreVersion version, final long limit) throws MDStoreManagerException {
+	public List<MetadataRecord> listEntries(final MDStoreVersion version, final long limit) throws MDStoreManagerException {
 		return new ArrayList<>();
 	}
 
diff --git a/libs/dnet-data-services/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/hadoop/HdfsBackend.java b/libs/dnet-data-services/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/backends/HdfsBackend.java
similarity index 89%
rename from libs/dnet-data-services/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/hadoop/HdfsBackend.java
rename to libs/dnet-data-services/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/backends/HdfsBackend.java
index b843c2c2..58fb1b0d 100644
--- a/libs/dnet-data-services/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/hadoop/HdfsBackend.java
+++ b/libs/dnet-data-services/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/backends/HdfsBackend.java
@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
-package eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.hadoop;
+package eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.backends;
 
 import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.List;
-import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Set;
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.StringUtils;
@@ -15,9 +14,10 @@ import org.springframework.stereotype.Service;
 
 import com.google.common.collect.Sets;
 
-import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.MDStoreBackend;
+import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.hadoop.HdfsClient;
 import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.model.MDStore;
 import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.model.MDStoreVersion;
+import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.model.MetadataRecord;
 import eu.dnetlib.errors.MDStoreManagerException;
 
 @Service
@@ -90,10 +90,10 @@ public class HdfsBackend implements MDStoreBackend {
 	}
 
 	@Override
-	public List<Map<String, String>> listEntries(final MDStoreVersion version, final long limit) throws MDStoreManagerException {
+	public List<MetadataRecord> listEntries(final MDStoreVersion version, final long limit) throws MDStoreManagerException {
 		final String path = version.getParams().getOrDefault("hdfs_path", "").toString();
 		if (StringUtils.isNotBlank(path)) {
-			return hdfsClient.readParquetFiles(path + "/store", limit);
+			return hdfsClient.readParquetFiles(path + "/store", limit, MetadataRecord.class);
 		} else {
 			throw new MDStoreManagerException("hdfs path is missing");
 		}
diff --git a/libs/dnet-data-services/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/MDStoreBackend.java b/libs/dnet-data-services/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/backends/MDStoreBackend.java
similarity index 76%
rename from libs/dnet-data-services/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/MDStoreBackend.java
rename to libs/dnet-data-services/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/backends/MDStoreBackend.java
index 9c164b59..4293a698 100644
--- a/libs/dnet-data-services/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/MDStoreBackend.java
+++ b/libs/dnet-data-services/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/backends/MDStoreBackend.java
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
-package eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore;
+package eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.backends;
 
 import java.util.List;
-import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Set;
 
 import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.model.MDStore;
 import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.model.MDStoreVersion;
+import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.model.MetadataRecord;
 import eu.dnetlib.errors.MDStoreManagerException;
 
 public interface MDStoreBackend {
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ public interface MDStoreBackend {
 
 	void delete(MDStoreVersion version) throws MDStoreManagerException;
 
-	List<Map<String, String>> listEntries(MDStoreVersion version, long limit) throws MDStoreManagerException;
+	List<MetadataRecord> listEntries(MDStoreVersion version, long limit) throws MDStoreManagerException;
 
 	Set<String> listInternalFiles(MDStoreVersion version) throws MDStoreManagerException;
 
diff --git a/libs/dnet-data-services/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/backends/MockBackend.java b/libs/dnet-data-services/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/backends/MockBackend.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..66ba910b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libs/dnet-data-services/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/backends/MockBackend.java
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+package eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.backends;
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.Date;
+import java.util.LinkedHashSet;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Set;
+
+import org.springframework.stereotype.Service;
+
+import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.model.MDStore;
+import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.model.MDStoreVersion;
+import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.model.MetadataRecord;
+import eu.dnetlib.data.mdstore.model.Provenance;
+import eu.dnetlib.errors.MDStoreManagerException;
+
+@Service
+public class MockBackend implements MDStoreBackend {
+
+	private static final Provenance MOCK_PROVENANCE = new Provenance("mock________::MOCK_DS", "Mock Datasource", "mock________");
+
+	@Override
+	public void completeNewMDStore(final MDStore mdstore) {
+		mdstore.getParams().put("mockParam1", "test");
+		mdstore.getParams().put("mockParam2", "abc");
+		mdstore.getParams().put("mockParam3", 1234);
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	public void completeNewMDStoreVersion(final MDStoreVersion version) {
+		version.getParams().put("mockParam1", "v_test");
+		version.getParams().put("mockParam2", "v_abc");
+		version.getParams().put("mockParam3", 1234);
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	public void delete(final MDStore mdstore) throws MDStoreManagerException {}
+
+	@Override
+	public void delete(final MDStoreVersion version) throws MDStoreManagerException {}
+
+	@Override
+	public List<MetadataRecord> listEntries(final MDStoreVersion version, final long limit) throws MDStoreManagerException {
+		final List<MetadataRecord> list = new ArrayList<>();
+
+		for (int i = 0; i < limit; i++) {
+			final MetadataRecord rec = new MetadataRecord();
+			rec.setOriginalId("mck-" + i);
+			rec.setId("mock________::mck-" + i);
+			rec.setBody("<RECORD>" + i + "</RECORD>");
+			rec.setDateOfCollection(new Date().getTime());
+			rec.setDateOfTransformation(new Date().getTime());
+			rec.setEncoding("XML");
+			rec.setProvenance(MOCK_PROVENANCE);
+			list.add(rec);
+		}
+
+		return list;
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	public Set<String> listInternalFiles(final MDStoreVersion version) throws MDStoreManagerException {
+		return new LinkedHashSet<>(Arrays.asList("file1", "file2", "file3", "file4"));
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	public Set<String> fixInconsistencies(final boolean delete) throws MDStoreManagerException {
+		return new LinkedHashSet<>(Arrays.asList("1", "2", "3", "4"));
+	}
+
+}
diff --git a/libs/dnet-data-services/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/hadoop/HdfsClient.java b/libs/dnet-data-services/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/hadoop/HdfsClient.java
index 6df47735..fc3acf9b 100644
--- a/libs/dnet-data-services/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/hadoop/HdfsClient.java
+++ b/libs/dnet-data-services/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/data/mdstore/hadoop/HdfsClient.java
@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@ import org.apache.hadoop.fs.Path;
 import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Value;
 import org.springframework.stereotype.Component;
 
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper;
+
 import eu.dnetlib.errors.MDStoreManagerException;
 import parquet.avro.AvroParquetReader;
 import parquet.hadoop.ParquetReader;
@@ -96,9 +98,9 @@ public class HdfsClient {
 	}
 
 	@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
-	public List<Map<String, String>> readParquetFiles(final String path, final long limit) throws MDStoreManagerException {
+	public <T> List<T> readParquetFiles(final String path, final long limit, final Class<T> clazz) throws MDStoreManagerException {
 
-		final List<Map<String, String>> list = new ArrayList<>();
+		final List<T> list = new ArrayList<>();
 
 		final Configuration conf = conf();
 
@@ -113,6 +115,8 @@ public class HdfsClient {
 				try (final ParquetReader<GenericRecord> reader = AvroParquetReader.<GenericRecord> builder(new Path(f)).withConf(conf).build()) {
 					log.debug("File parquet OPENED");
 
+					final ObjectMapper mapper = new ObjectMapper();
+
 					GenericRecord rec = null;
 					while (i++ < limit && (rec = reader.read()) != null) {
 						if (fields.isEmpty()) {
@@ -124,7 +128,9 @@ public class HdfsClient {
 							final Object v = rec.get(field);
 							map.put(field, v != null ? v.toString() : "");
 						}
-						list.add(map);
+
+						list.add(mapper.convertValue(map, clazz));
+
 						log.debug("added record");
 					}
 				} catch (final FileNotFoundException e) {