diff --git a/src/app/core/core.effects.ts b/src/app/core/core.effects.ts
index b2508bc25a..3c8dc9735f 100644
--- a/src/app/core/core.effects.ts
+++ b/src/app/core/core.effects.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 import { EffectsModule } from "@ngrx/effects";
 import { CollectionDataEffects } from "./data-services/collection/collection-data.effects";
+import { ItemDataEffects } from "./data-services/item/item-data.effects";
 
 export const coreEffects = [
-  EffectsModule.run(CollectionDataEffects)
+  EffectsModule.run(CollectionDataEffects),
+  EffectsModule.run(ItemDataEffects)
 ];
diff --git a/src/app/core/core.module.ts b/src/app/core/core.module.ts
index e7fb604c34..af0543c530 100644
--- a/src/app/core/core.module.ts
+++ b/src/app/core/core.module.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import { isNotEmpty } from "../shared/empty.util";
 import { DSpaceRESTv2Service } from "./dspace-rest-v2/dspace-rest-v2.service";
 import { CollectionDataService } from "./data-services/collection/collection-data.service";
 import { CacheService } from "./data-services/cache/cache.service";
+import { ItemDataService } from "./data-services/item/item-data.service";
 
 const IMPORTS = [
   CommonModule,
@@ -19,6 +20,7 @@ const EXPORTS = [
 
 const PROVIDERS = [
   CollectionDataService,
+  ItemDataService,
   DSpaceRESTv2Service,
   CacheService
 ];
diff --git a/src/app/core/core.reducers.ts b/src/app/core/core.reducers.ts
index 9adea94095..b872b48af7 100644
--- a/src/app/core/core.reducers.ts
+++ b/src/app/core/core.reducers.ts
@@ -4,14 +4,17 @@ import {
   collectionDataReducer
 } from "./data-services/collection/collection-data.reducer";
 import { CacheState, cacheReducer } from "./data-services/cache/cache.reducer";
+import { ItemDataState, itemDataReducer } from "./data-services/item/item-data.reducer";
 
 export interface CoreState {
   collectionData: CollectionDataState,
+  itemData: ItemDataState,
   cache: CacheState
 }
 
 export const reducers = {
   collectionData: collectionDataReducer,
+  itemData: itemDataReducer,
   cache: cacheReducer
 };
 
diff --git a/src/app/core/data-services/collection/collection-data.effects.ts b/src/app/core/data-services/collection/collection-data.effects.ts
index 192b2e48b6..a9bb37c231 100644
--- a/src/app/core/data-services/collection/collection-data.effects.ts
+++ b/src/app/core/data-services/collection/collection-data.effects.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { Injectable } from "@angular/core";
-import { Actions, Effect, toPayload } from "@ngrx/effects";
+import { Actions, Effect } from "@ngrx/effects";
 import { Collection } from "../../shared/collection.model";
 import { Observable } from "rxjs";
 import {
diff --git a/src/app/core/data-services/collection/collection-data.service.ts b/src/app/core/data-services/collection/collection-data.service.ts
index 2468f8ad09..7f191eb603 100644
--- a/src/app/core/data-services/collection/collection-data.service.ts
+++ b/src/app/core/data-services/collection/collection-data.service.ts
@@ -15,8 +15,8 @@ export class CollectionDataService {
     private cache: CacheService
   ) { }
 
-  findAll(scope?: Collection): Observable<Collection[]> {
-    this.store.dispatch(new CollectionFindMultipleRequestAction(scope));
+  findAll(scopeID?: string): Observable<Collection[]> {
+    this.store.dispatch(new CollectionFindMultipleRequestAction(scopeID));
     //get an observable of the IDs from the collectionData store
     return this.store.select<Array<string>>('core', 'collectionData', 'findMultiple', 'collectionsIDs')
       .flatMap((collectionIds: Array<string>) => {
diff --git a/src/app/core/data-services/collection/collection-find-multiple.actions.ts b/src/app/core/data-services/collection/collection-find-multiple.actions.ts
index a68f7e2478..bdd657dc0f 100644
--- a/src/app/core/data-services/collection/collection-find-multiple.actions.ts
+++ b/src/app/core/data-services/collection/collection-find-multiple.actions.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 import { Action } from "@ngrx/store";
 import { type } from "../../../shared/ngrx/type";
-import { Collection } from "../../shared/collection.model";
 import { PaginationOptions } from "../../shared/pagination-options.model";
 import { SortOptions } from "../../shared/sort-options.model";
 
@@ -13,18 +12,18 @@ export const CollectionFindMultipleActionTypes = {
 export class CollectionFindMultipleRequestAction implements Action {
   type = CollectionFindMultipleActionTypes.FIND_MULTI_REQUEST;
   payload: {
-    scope: Collection,
+    scopeID: string,
     paginationOptions: PaginationOptions,
     sortOptions: SortOptions
   };
 
   constructor(
-    scope?: Collection,
+    scopeID?: string,
     paginationOptions: PaginationOptions = new PaginationOptions(),
     sortOptions: SortOptions = new SortOptions()
   ) {
     this.payload = {
-      scope,
+      scopeID,
       paginationOptions,
       sortOptions
     }
diff --git a/src/app/core/data-services/collection/collection-find-multiple.reducer.ts b/src/app/core/data-services/collection/collection-find-multiple.reducer.ts
index 463155d0f5..2a3cf6776d 100644
--- a/src/app/core/data-services/collection/collection-find-multiple.reducer.ts
+++ b/src/app/core/data-services/collection/collection-find-multiple.reducer.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-import { Collection } from "../../shared/collection.model";
 import { PaginationOptions } from "../../shared/pagination-options.model";
 import { SortOptions } from "../../shared/sort-options.model";
 import {
@@ -7,7 +6,7 @@ import {
 } from "./collection-find-multiple.actions";
 
 export interface CollectionFindMultipleState {
-  scope: Collection;
+  scopeID: string;
   collectionsIDs: Array<String>;
   isLoading: boolean;
   errorMessage: string;
@@ -16,7 +15,7 @@ export interface CollectionFindMultipleState {
 }
 
 const initialState: CollectionFindMultipleState = {
-  scope: undefined,
+  scopeID: undefined,
   collectionsIDs: [],
   isLoading: false,
   errorMessage: undefined,
@@ -29,7 +28,7 @@ export const findMultipleReducer = (state = initialState, action: CollectionFind
 
     case CollectionFindMultipleActionTypes.FIND_MULTI_REQUEST: {
       return Object.assign({}, state, {
-        scope: action.payload.scope,
+        scopeID: action.payload.scopeID,
         collectionsIDs: [],
         isLoading: true,
         errorMessage: undefined,
diff --git a/src/app/core/data-services/item/item-data.effects.ts b/src/app/core/data-services/item/item-data.effects.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..41554453d3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/core/data-services/item/item-data.effects.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+import { Injectable } from "@angular/core";
+import { Actions, Effect } from "@ngrx/effects";
+import { Item } from "../../shared/item.model";
+import { Observable } from "rxjs";
+import {
+  ItemFindMultipleActionTypes,
+  ItemFindMultipleSuccessAction,
+  ItemFindMultipleErrorAction
+} from "./item-find-multiple.actions";
+import {
+  ItemFindSingleActionTypes,
+  ItemFindByIdSuccessAction,
+  ItemFindByIdErrorAction
+} from "./item-find-single.actions";
+import { DSpaceRESTV2Response } from "../../dspace-rest-v2/dspace-rest-v2-response.model";
+import { DSpaceRESTv2Serializer } from "../../dspace-rest-v2/dspace-rest-v2.serializer";
+import { DSpaceRESTv2Service } from "../../dspace-rest-v2/dspace-rest-v2.service";
+import { CacheService } from "../cache/cache.service";
+import { GlobalConfig } from "../../../../config";
+
+
+@Injectable()
+export class ItemDataEffects {
+  constructor(
+    private actions$: Actions,
+    private restApi: DSpaceRESTv2Service,
+    private cache: CacheService
+  ) {}
+
+  // TODO, results of a findall aren't retrieved from cache for now,
+  // because currently the cache is more of an object store. We need to move
+  // more towards memoization for things like this.
+  @Effect() findAll$ = this.actions$
+    .ofType(ItemFindMultipleActionTypes.FIND_MULTI_REQUEST)
+    .switchMap(() => {
+      return this.restApi.get('/items')
+        .map((data: DSpaceRESTV2Response) => new DSpaceRESTv2Serializer(Item).deserializeArray(data))
+        .do((items: Item[]) => {
+          items.forEach((item) => {
+            this.cache.add(item, GlobalConfig.cache.msToLive);
+          });
+        })
+        .map((items: Array<Item>) => items.map(item => item.id))
+        .map((ids: Array<string>) => new ItemFindMultipleSuccessAction(ids))
+        .catch((errorMsg: string) => Observable.of(new ItemFindMultipleErrorAction(errorMsg)));
+    });
+
+  @Effect() findById$ = this.actions$
+    .ofType(ItemFindSingleActionTypes.FIND_BY_ID_REQUEST)
+    .switchMap(action => {
+      if (this.cache.has(action.payload)) {
+        return this.cache.get<Item>(action.payload)
+          .map(item => new ItemFindByIdSuccessAction(item.id));
+      }
+      else {
+        return this.restApi.get(`/items/${action.payload}`)
+          .map((data: DSpaceRESTV2Response) => new DSpaceRESTv2Serializer(Item).deserialize(data))
+          .do((item: Item) => {
+            this.cache.add(item, GlobalConfig.cache.msToLive);
+          })
+          .map((item: Item) => new ItemFindByIdSuccessAction(item.id))
+          .catch((errorMsg: string) => Observable.of(new ItemFindByIdErrorAction(errorMsg)));
+      }
+    });
+
+}
diff --git a/src/app/core/data-services/item/item-data.reducer.ts b/src/app/core/data-services/item/item-data.reducer.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..20c0d805e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/core/data-services/item/item-data.reducer.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+import { combineReducers } from "@ngrx/store";
+import { ItemFindMultipleState, findMultipleReducer } from "./item-find-multiple.reducer";
+import { ItemFindSingleState, findSingleReducer } from "./item-find-single.reducer";
+
+export interface ItemDataState {
+  findMultiple: ItemFindMultipleState,
+  findSingle: ItemFindSingleState
+}
+
+const reducers = {
+  findMultiple: findMultipleReducer,
+  findSingle: findSingleReducer
+};
+
+export function itemDataReducer(state: any, action: any) {
+  return combineReducers(reducers)(state, action);
+}
diff --git a/src/app/core/data-services/item/item-data.service.ts b/src/app/core/data-services/item/item-data.service.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a3701d9f7b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/core/data-services/item/item-data.service.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+import { Injectable } from "@angular/core";
+import { Observable } from "rxjs";
+import { ItemDataState } from "./item-data.reducer";
+import { Store } from "@ngrx/store";
+import { Item } from "../../shared/item.model";
+import { ItemFindMultipleRequestAction } from "./item-find-multiple.actions";
+import { ItemFindByIdRequestAction } from "./item-find-single.actions";
+import { CacheService } from "../cache/cache.service";
+import 'rxjs/add/observable/forkJoin';
+
+@Injectable()
+export class ItemDataService {
+  constructor(
+    private store: Store<ItemDataState>,
+    private cache: CacheService
+  ) { }
+
+  findAll(scopeID?: string): Observable<Item[]> {
+    this.store.dispatch(new ItemFindMultipleRequestAction(scopeID));
+    //get an observable of the IDs from the itemData store
+    return this.store.select<Array<string>>('core', 'itemData', 'findMultiple', 'itemsIDs')
+      .flatMap((itemIds: Array<string>) => {
+        // use those IDs to fetch the actual item objects from the cache
+        return this.cache.getList<Item>(itemIds);
+      });
+  }
+
+  findById(id: string): Observable<Item> {
+    this.store.dispatch(new ItemFindByIdRequestAction(id));
+    return this.cache.get<Item>(id);
+  }
+
+}
diff --git a/src/app/core/data-services/item/item-find-multiple.actions.ts b/src/app/core/data-services/item/item-find-multiple.actions.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6d90a1f604
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/core/data-services/item/item-find-multiple.actions.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+import { Action } from "@ngrx/store";
+import { type } from "../../../shared/ngrx/type";
+import { PaginationOptions } from "../../shared/pagination-options.model";
+import { SortOptions } from "../../shared/sort-options.model";
+
+export const ItemFindMultipleActionTypes = {
+  FIND_MULTI_REQUEST: type('dspace/core/data/item/FIND_MULTI_REQUEST'),
+  FIND_MULTI_SUCCESS: type('dspace/core/data/item/FIND_MULTI_SUCCESS'),
+  FIND_MULTI_ERROR: type('dspace/core/data/item/FIND_MULTI_ERROR')
+};
+
+export class ItemFindMultipleRequestAction implements Action {
+  type = ItemFindMultipleActionTypes.FIND_MULTI_REQUEST;
+  payload: {
+    scopeID: string,
+    paginationOptions: PaginationOptions,
+    sortOptions: SortOptions
+  };
+
+  constructor(
+    scopeID?: string,
+    paginationOptions: PaginationOptions = new PaginationOptions(),
+    sortOptions: SortOptions = new SortOptions()
+  ) {
+    this.payload = {
+      scopeID,
+      paginationOptions,
+      sortOptions
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+export class ItemFindMultipleSuccessAction implements Action {
+  type = ItemFindMultipleActionTypes.FIND_MULTI_SUCCESS;
+  payload: Array<string>;
+
+  constructor(itemIDs: Array<string>) {
+    this.payload = itemIDs;
+  }
+}
+
+export class ItemFindMultipleErrorAction implements Action {
+  type = ItemFindMultipleActionTypes.FIND_MULTI_ERROR;
+  payload: string;
+
+  constructor(errorMessage: string) {
+    this.payload = errorMessage;
+  }
+}
+
+export type ItemFindMultipleAction
+  = ItemFindMultipleRequestAction
+  | ItemFindMultipleSuccessAction
+  | ItemFindMultipleErrorAction;
diff --git a/src/app/core/data-services/item/item-find-multiple.reducer.ts b/src/app/core/data-services/item/item-find-multiple.reducer.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1621a63cd8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/core/data-services/item/item-find-multiple.reducer.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+import { PaginationOptions } from "../../shared/pagination-options.model";
+import { SortOptions } from "../../shared/sort-options.model";
+import {
+  ItemFindMultipleAction,
+  ItemFindMultipleActionTypes
+} from "./item-find-multiple.actions";
+
+export interface ItemFindMultipleState {
+  scopeID: string;
+  itemsIDs: Array<String>;
+  isLoading: boolean;
+  errorMessage: string;
+  paginationOptions: PaginationOptions;
+  sortOptions: SortOptions;
+}
+
+const initialState: ItemFindMultipleState = {
+  scopeID: undefined,
+  itemsIDs: [],
+  isLoading: false,
+  errorMessage: undefined,
+  paginationOptions: undefined,
+  sortOptions: undefined
+};
+
+export const findMultipleReducer = (state = initialState, action: ItemFindMultipleAction): ItemFindMultipleState => {
+  switch (action.type) {
+
+    case ItemFindMultipleActionTypes.FIND_MULTI_REQUEST: {
+      return Object.assign({}, state, {
+        scopeID: action.payload.scopeID,
+        itemsIDs: [],
+        isLoading: true,
+        errorMessage: undefined,
+        paginationOptions: action.payload.paginationOptions,
+        sortOptions: action.payload.sortOptions
+      });
+    }
+
+    case ItemFindMultipleActionTypes.FIND_MULTI_SUCCESS: {
+      return Object.assign({}, state, {
+        isLoading: false,
+        itemsIDs: action.payload,
+        errorMessage: undefined
+      });
+    }
+
+    case ItemFindMultipleActionTypes.FIND_MULTI_ERROR: {
+      return Object.assign({}, state, {
+        isLoading: false,
+        errorMessage: action.payload
+      });
+    }
+
+    default: {
+      return state;
+    }
+  }
+};
diff --git a/src/app/core/data-services/item/item-find-single.actions.ts b/src/app/core/data-services/item/item-find-single.actions.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1e00fdb6f1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/core/data-services/item/item-find-single.actions.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+import { Action } from "@ngrx/store";
+import { type } from "../../../shared/ngrx/type";
+import { Item } from "../../shared/item.model";
+
+export const ItemFindSingleActionTypes = {
+  FIND_BY_ID_REQUEST: type('dspace/core/data/item/FIND_BY_ID_REQUEST'),
+  FIND_BY_ID_SUCCESS: type('dspace/core/data/item/FIND_BY_ID_SUCCESS'),
+  FIND_BY_ID_ERROR: type('dspace/core/data/item/FIND_BY_ID_ERROR')
+};
+
+export class ItemFindByIdRequestAction implements Action {
+  type = ItemFindSingleActionTypes.FIND_BY_ID_REQUEST;
+  payload: string;
+
+  constructor(id: string) {
+    this.payload = id;
+  }
+}
+
+export class ItemFindByIdSuccessAction implements Action {
+  type = ItemFindSingleActionTypes.FIND_BY_ID_SUCCESS;
+  payload: string;
+
+  constructor(itemID: string) {
+    this.payload = itemID;
+  }
+}
+
+export class ItemFindByIdErrorAction implements Action {
+  type = ItemFindSingleActionTypes.FIND_BY_ID_ERROR;
+  payload: string;
+
+  constructor(errorMessage: string) {
+    this.payload = errorMessage;
+  }
+}
+
+export type ItemFindSingleAction
+  = ItemFindByIdRequestAction
+  | ItemFindByIdSuccessAction
+  | ItemFindByIdErrorAction;
+
diff --git a/src/app/core/data-services/item/item-find-single.reducer.ts b/src/app/core/data-services/item/item-find-single.reducer.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5c11162cb0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/core/data-services/item/item-find-single.reducer.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+import { Item } from "../../shared/item.model";
+import {
+  ItemFindSingleAction,
+  ItemFindSingleActionTypes
+} from "./item-find-single.actions";
+
+export interface ItemFindSingleState {
+  isLoading: boolean;
+  errorMessage: string;
+  itemID: string;
+}
+
+const initialState: ItemFindSingleState = {
+  isLoading: false,
+  errorMessage: undefined,
+  itemID: undefined
+};
+
+export const findSingleReducer = (state = initialState, action: ItemFindSingleAction): ItemFindSingleState => {
+  switch (action.type) {
+
+    case ItemFindSingleActionTypes.FIND_BY_ID_REQUEST: {
+      return Object.assign({}, state, {
+        isLoading: true,
+        errorMessage: undefined,
+        itemID: action.payload
+      });
+    }
+
+    case ItemFindSingleActionTypes.FIND_BY_ID_SUCCESS: {
+      return Object.assign({}, state, {
+        isLoading: false,
+        errorMessage: undefined,
+      });
+    }
+
+    case ItemFindSingleActionTypes.FIND_BY_ID_ERROR: {
+      return Object.assign({}, state, {
+        isLoading: false,
+        errorMessage: action.payload
+      });
+    }
+
+    default: {
+      return state;
+    }
+  }
+};