Open Source Software: A Trend Report

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Open Source Software for Libraries

A Trend Report

Submitted by

Saiful Amin

Guided by

Dr. A R D Prasad

Project 2

A guided Research Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the

Course Leading to the Award of Associateship in Documentation and

Information Science (ADIS)

2001 - 2003

DOCUMENTATION RESEARCH AND TRAINING CENTRE INDIAN STATISTICAL INSTITUTE

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I am deeply indebted to my guide Dr. ARD Prasad, Associate

Professor, Documentation Research and Training Centre (DRTC),

Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore. It is the best opportunity to

thank him with the core of my heart.

I also want to thank Prof. IK Ravichandra Rao, Head, DRTC, and Dr.

Devika P Madalli, Lecturer, DRTC, for their continuous

encouragement.

I must also thank Dr. K Mohan and my colleagues at the Learning

Resource Centre at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, who

have helped create such a nice ambience and atmosphere to work.

_______________

(Saiful Amin)

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I do hereby declare that the project report entitled

“Open Source

Software for Libraries: A Trend Report”

, which is being submitted

to the partial fulfillment of the course leading to the award of the

Associateship in Documentation and Information Science

in DRTC,

Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore, is the result of the work carried

out by me under the guidance and supervision of Dr. ARD Prasad,

Associate Professor, Documentation Research and Training Centre.

I further declare that any other person or I have not previously

submitted this project report to any other Institution/University for any

degree or diploma.

_____________________

(Saiful Amin)

Place: Bangalore

Date: August 27, 2003

It is certified that this project has been carried out under my guidance

and supervision.

______________________

(Dr. ARD Prasad)

Place: Bangalore

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Page No.

Chapter 1

Introduction 1-5

Chapter 2

Use of Software in Libraries 6-10

Chapter 3

What is OSS? 11-18

Chapter 4

Software Tools for Automation 19-50

Chapter 5

Software Tools for Value Added Services 51-64

Chapter 6

Software Tools for DL Initiatives 65-83

Chapter 7

Miscellaneous Supporting Tools 84-94

Chapter 8

Conclusion 95-99

Chapter 9

Appendix – OSI Certified Licenses 100-103

Chapter 10

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Introduction

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” – Arthur C. Clarke

• An Invitation to Library Software • Objective of the Study

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1 An Invitation to Library Software

Developments in electronic and communication technology have affected every profession in the past decades and libraries are no exception. Libraries of all types are challenged to provide greater information access and improved levels of service, while coping with the pace of technological change and ever-increasing budget pressure.

Use of software applications in libraries has become essential due to a number of factors. The most visible factors among them are:

• Growth of Electronic Resources: Large databases from periodical, magazine, and journal publishers became increasingly available in digital format – at first on CD-ROM, later via online services. Library services are transitioning from local traditional collections to global resources provided on demand via the most advanced networking technologies. Today, library collections are used by people on campus as well as by individuals who are not even located on the library’s physical facilities.

• Anytime Anywhere Access: Access to online digital information from anywhere is the need of the hour. This is forcing a shift in role of library from a repository to a gateway, with users expecting online libraries that can provide round the clock service.

“Library users have grown accustomed to using the Internet as a research

tool and do not always appreciate the difference in quality of information

available through a library’s specialized collections, especially when

compared to what can be located through an Internet search engine. Thus,

libraries with substantial collections of information often find those

collections under utilized if the user interface is not designed to make it

easy to locate the required information.” (Pasquinelli, 2003)

• Resource Sharing: Libraries of all types also need to utilize new

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Inter-Library Loan modules are needed to allow cooperating institutions to combine their catalogs and allow patrons of one library to request and borrow materials from linked institutions. These technologies will foster the growth of library consortia and the extension of offerings beyond the organizational boundaries of individual libraries.

However, implementing new technologies and tools into library environments may be a highly challenging task. Despite significant benefits many libraries do not have the definite resources and infrastructure to maintain and upgrade available technologies. In addition, there is a significant demand for standards-based, open systems to promote interoperability.

Open Source Software (OSS), as will be discussed in the present study, comes to the rescue of less-privileged libraries to deal with the increasing demands for use of technology. OSS enables democratization of technology. OSS has definite advantages over proprietary systems in the total cost of ownership (TCO), since it is available free for download on the Internet. Thus OSS bears great importance to the libraries in developing countries like India.

OSS also gives freedom to the users of the software to customize it to his/her needs since one has access to the source code of the software.

2 Objective of the Study

The objective of the present study is to look into the technologies and tools available in the open source world that can be used in improving the services within the libraries.

3 Scope of the Project

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4 Distribution of Chapters

Chapter 1 – Introduction

Chapter 2 – Use of Software in Libraries

• Why Automate?

• Software Needs for Automation

• Software Needs for Value Added Services • Software Needs for DL Initiatives

Chapter 3 – What is OSS?

• What is OSS? • Criteria for OSS • The OSS movement

• Why adopt OSS in Libraries?

Chapter 4 – Software Tools for Automation

• Integrated Solutions • Databases

• Cataloguing/MARC Tools • Z39.50 Tools

• Barcode Makers

Chapter 5 – Software Tools for Value Added Services

• Library Portal Solutions • User Services

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Chapter 6 – Software Tools for DL Initiatives

• Digital Library Solutions • DL-like Software • OAI-PMH Tools

Chapter 7 – Miscellaneous Supporting Tools

• HTML tools • XML tools

• Information Retrieval Tools

Chapter 8 – Conclusion

• Barriers in Using OSS • Criteria for Selection of OSS • Conclusion

Chapter 9 - Appendix – OSI Certified Licenses

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Use of Software in Libraries

“Necessity is the mother of invention” – Proverb

• Why Automate?

• Software Needs for Automation

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1 Why Automate?

Automation considerations have been so well debated in last few decades that we do not see many arguments against it. Still we need to place the topic in the context of possible improvements in the existing library services.

Benefits for Patrons: Library automation offers many opportunities to improve services to the library users. Benefits include faster access to resources through OPACs, remote access, access to online reference tools, etc.

Benefits for Staff: Automation reduces the need to do repetitive jobs manually. It reduces the manual work involved in circulation, cataloguing, acquisitions, etc. Automation allows the staff to take benefit of online resources, and offline databases in giving reference services.

Benefits for Institution: Automation not only builds positive reputation of the library services it also increases access points for the users.

2 Software Needs for Automation

Before we look into the needs of software let us see what are the activities in a library that can be automated. There are basically two kinds of activities in a library, viz., visible and background. The activities like circulation, reference services, which are visible to the users are of the first kind. The activities such as ordering, accessioning, cataloguing, etc. can be referred to as the background activities in a library.

The libraries also need to interact with other libraries to share resources. So the third type of activity would be resource sharing with other libraries. Each of these three kinds of activities is mostly still done manually in the traditional libraries.

2.1 Housekeeping activities

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• Acquisitions: tracking the purchase of materials through ordering, claiming, receiving, invoicing, and processing.

• Cataloging: creating catalogue records.

• Serials: automating ordering, receipt, routing, and renewals of all serial

subscriptions.

• Reminders: for library patrons as well as vendors of books and periodicals

2.2 Services to users

• Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC): an electronic record of holding, bibliographic, and item information.

• Circulation: allowing librarians to check materials in and out, place

renewals or holds, and enter payments.

• Reference Services: to the users and other communities.

2.3 Resource Sharing

• ILL: for sharing resources.

• Cooperative Cataloguing: for sharing the cataloguing work among a group of libraries.

• Union Catalogue: to enable easy identification of a resource in the holdings of a group of libraries.

3 Software Needs for Value Added Services

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• Library Website: has become very important in modern libraries. It is more than simply a library OPAC and can include library rules, subject-based directories, access to online resources, news items, as well as online reservation.

• Subject Guides: are useful for academic libraries for supporting the existing curriculum of the parent institution.

• Reading Lists: is the modern version of literature search services on a specific topic.

• Web Directories: are used to organize Internet resources on the basis of classification, often biased towards a particular subject.

4 Software Needs for Digital Libraries

The growth of electronic information over the decades and the democratization of the Internet have paved the way for the emergence of digital libraries. Digital libraries are more than mere a collection of digital documents. It can be seen as an extension of the existing libraries with all the three basic functions, viz., collection, organization, and dissemination of digital information resources.

The importance of digital libraries can be summarized in the following points:

• Digital Documents: As the number of digital and electronic documents will always increase in the future librarians need to organize them as efficiently as possible. Simple information retrieval systems are not enough to handle digital documents. Use of metadata is important in managing digital content. That is where digital libraries come into picture.

• Archival Needs: Library has now access to electronic documents online as

well as in CD-ROM. These resources need to be archived efficiently.

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• Full-Text Search Capabilities: Full-text search is needed in a number of situations, e.g., when context-based search does not fetch enough documents.

• OAI-PMH Needs: Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata

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What is OSS?

“Think free speech, not free beer” – Richard Stallman on Free Software Foundation

• What is OSS?

• The Ten Commandments • The OSS movement

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1 What is OSS?

Open source is a software development model as well as a software distribution model. In this model the source code of programs is made freely available with the software itself so that anyone can see, change, and distribute it provided they abide by the accompanying license. In this sense, Open Source is similar to peer review, which is used to strengthen the progress of scholarly communication.

The open source software differs from the closed source or proprietary software which may only be obtained by some form of payment, either by purchase or by leasing. The primary difference between the two is the freedom to modify the software.

An open system is a design philosophy antithetical to solutions designed to be proprietary. The idea behind it is that institutions, such as libraries, are can build a combination of components and deliver services that include several vendors’ offerings. Thus, for instance, a library might use an integrated library system from one of the major vendors in combination with an open source product developed by another library or by itself in order to better meet its internal or users’ requirements.

Definition

According to Open Source Initiative (http://www.opensource.org/):

"Open source promotes software reliability and quality by supporting independent

peer review and rapid evolution of source code. To be certified as open source, the

license of a program must guarantee the right to read, redistribute, modify, and use

it freely."

Open source means several things (Chudnov, 1999):

• Open source software is typically created and maintained by developers crossing institutional and national boundaries, collaborating by using internet-based communications and development tools;

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written to create the applications) are free to use, modify, and redistribute as long as all uses, modifications, and redistributions are similarly licensed;

• Successful applications tend to be developed more quickly and with better responsiveness to the needs of users who can readily use and evaluate open source applications because they are free;

• Quality, not profit, drives open source developers who take personal pride in seeing their working solutions adopted;

• Intellectual property rights to open source software belong to everyone who helps build it or simply uses it, not just the vendor or institution who created or sold the software.

2 The Ten Commandments

The Open Source Initiative (OSI) identified ten criteria for a software product to be called open source. The OSI certifies a software license as an ‘OSI Certified License’ on the basis of the following ‘Ten Commandments.’

1. Free Redistribution: The license shall not restrict any party from selling or giving away the software as a component of an aggregate software distribution containing programs from several different sources. The license shall not require a royalty or other fee for such sale.

2. Source Code: The program must include source code, and must allow distribution in source code as well as compiled form. Where some form of a product is not distributed with source code, there must be a well-publicized means of obtaining the source code for no more than a reasonable reproduction cost–preferably, downloading via the Internet without charge. 3. Derived Works: The license must allow modifications and derived works,

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4. Integrity of the Author’s Source Code: The license may restrict source-code from being distributed in modified form only if the license allows the distribution of "patch files" with the source code for the purpose of modifying the program at build time. The license must explicitly permit distribution of software built from modified source code.

5. No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups: The license must not discriminate against any person or group of persons.

6. No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor: The license must not restrict anyone from making use of the program in a specific field of endeavor.

7. Distribution of License: The rights attached to the program must apply to all to whom the program is redistributed without the need for execution of an additional license by those parties.

8. License Must not be Specific to a Product: The rights attached to the program must not depend on the program's being part of a particular software distribution.

9. The License Must not Restrict Other Software: The license must not place restrictions on other software that is distributed along with the licensed software. For example, the license must not insist that all other programs distributed on the same medium must be open-source software.

10. The License must be Technology-Neutral: No provision of the license may be predicated on any individual technology or style of interface.

3 The OSS Movement

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The community of programmers at that time was small, and close-knit. Code passed back and forth between the members of the community and if someone made an improvement he/she was expected to submit that code to the community of developers.

It was in this environment that Richard Stallman began his computer science career in 1971, as a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Artificial Intelligence Lab. In this environment, Stallman and his colleagues built an enormous array of software tools for the PDP-10 (Rasch, 2000). Stallman founded the GNU (http://www.gnu.org/), which stands for GNU’s Not Unix, in the early eighties which later became Free Software Foundation (http://www.fsf.org/).

Open Source movement has its roots in this hacker culture of seventies and eighties. According to Morgan (2002):

“OSS is both a philosophy and a process. As a philosophy it describes the

intended use of software and methods for its distribution. Depending on

your perspective, the concept of OSS is a relatively new idea being only

four or five years old. On the other hand, the GNU Software Project -- a

project advocating the distribution of "free" software -- has been

operational since the mid '80's. Consequently, the ideas behind OSS have

been around longer than you may think. It begins when a man named

Richard Stallman worked for MIT in an environment where software was

shared.”

OSS is also a process for the creation and maintenance of software. This is not a formalized process, but rather a process of convention with common characteristics between software projects. (Morgan, 2002)

4 Why Adopt OSS in Libraries?

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“The library community is largely made up of not-for-profit, publicly

funded agencies which hardly command a major voice in today's high tech

information industry. As such, there is not an enormous market niche for

software vendors to fill our small demand for systems. Indeed the 1997

estimated library systems revenue was only $470 million, with the largest

vendor earning $60 million. Because even the most successful vendors are

very small relative to the Microsofts of this world (and because libraries

cannot compete against industry salary levels), there are relatively few

software developers available to build library applications, and therefore a

relatively small community pool of software talent.”

According to Eric Lease Morgan (2002), author of MyLibrary portal software:

“In many ways I believe OSS development, as articulated by Raymond, is

very similar to the principles of librarianship. First and foremost with the

idea of sharing information. Both camps put a premium on open access.

Both camps are gift cultures and gain reputation by the amount of "stuff"

they give away. What people do with the information, whether it be source

code or journal articles, is up to them. Both camps hope the shared

information will be used to improve our place in the world. Just as

Jefferson's informed public is a necessity for democracy, OSS is necessary

for the improvement of computer applications.”

According to Chudnov (1999) there are three factors pushing the use of OSS in libraries:

1. OSS licenses allow libraries to cut budget on software and use it to other issues needing more funds.

2. OSS product is not locked into a single vendor. Thus even if a library buys an open source system from one vendor, it might choose to buy technical support from another company or get it from in-house experts.

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According to the Draft Report (2001) of Digital Library Federation (USA) to consider Open Source Software for Libraries there are three virtues of OSS in libraries. They are:

• OSS is an economical alternative to libraries' reliance upon commercially supplied software. That is, despite the real costs involved in the development, maintenance, and use of OSS software but these are lower than those associated with library reliance upon commercial software.

• OSS is essential if libraries are to develop software and systems that meet their patrons' needs. With OSS the IT infrastructure that is essential to library operations and services can be:

o open (that is, built according to open standards and as such potentially inter operable with other essential software and systems);

o ubiquitously available to libraries;

o capable of being tailored to suit the needs and circumstances of individual libraries

o documented (and documentation must be available); and

o errors can more effectively be identified and corrected ("many eyeballs make bugs shallow")

• OSS ensures that library systems and online services will be more functional for libraries and their patrons and as such be good for library patrons. This hypothesis is posited because, through OSS developments, libraries:

o are reinserted into the research and development process that results in systems and software;

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o motivate and empower systems librarians and related technical staff by encouraging creativity and positioning them to make a difference; and

o are able more easily to collaborate with other information science communities involved in common research and development area

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Software Tools for Automation

“What one man can invent, another can discover.” – Arthur Conan Doyle

• Integrated Solutions • Databases

• Cataloguing/MARC Tools • Z39.50 Tools

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1 Integrated Solutions

Integrated Library Systems (ILS) is the current wave in the field of library automation. An ILS combines several activities of the library into one integrated system, allowing the library staff to perform all their functions online. These activities include simple housekeeping activities like acquisition, cataloguing to user services, and inter-library loan activities.

In the last few years we have seen the development of a number of ILS products in the open source world. One important trend in these kind products is the use of web-based client/server architecture. Listed below are some of the well-known ILS products.

1.1 Koha: The First Open Source Integrated Library System

Description: Koha is the first open source fully featured integrated library system (ILS) used by a considerable number of libraries in USA, New Zealand, and Europe. The Koha ILS includes catalogue, OPAC, circulation, member management, and acquisitions package. Koha is used by public libraries, private collectors, not-profit organizations, churches, schools, and corporates.

Special Features: Some of the key features are

• Simple clear interface for librarians and members (patrons) to search right from the front page.

• Customizable search - you choose which fields you want on your search forms when you set it up

• Reading lists for members - now you can find the name of that great book you read last year.

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• Simple acquisitions for the smaller library

• Able to catalogue websites as items, or have them as links to existing records.

History: Koha was developed in 1999 and the first library went live in January of 2000. Koha's code has been in production since then and is continuing to move towards higher levels of functionality and standards compliance, including embracing the international records and cataloguing standards MARC and Z39.50. Project Sponsors/Administrators: Katipo Communications, and funding by Horowhenua Library Trust and other libraries. Current project leader is Patrick Eyler.

Dependency: Apache, Perl, MySQL (or any RDBMS)

Supported Platforms: Windows (without Z39.50 support), Linux, and UNIX License: GNU General Public License

Availability: http://sourceforge.net/projects/koha, http://www.koha.org/download/

Further Information:

1. Project Homepage: http://www.koha.org/ 2. Koha Wiki Page:

http://www.saas.nsw.edu.au/wiki/index.php?page=KohaProject 3. Koha Labs: http://www.kohalabs.com/

1.2 PhpMyLibrary

Description: PhpMyLibrary is a web-based library automation application meant for smaller libraries. The system consists of cataloguing, circulation, and the OPAC module. The system also has an import export feature. It strictly follows the USMARC standard for adding materials.

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• Fully compatible with the Postnuke Content Management System enabling easy integration with the Postnuke-based portal

• Online reservation system for library patron with their own login • Supports import from ISIS database with an ISIS2MARC program

History: Unknown

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Polerio Babao III, and Paolo Alexis Falcone Dependency: Apache, PHP, MySQL, Python

Supported Platforms: Platform Independent License: GNU General Public License

Availability: http://sourceforge.net/projects/phpmylibrary/

Further Information: Project Homepage: http://phpmylibrary.sourceforge.net/

1.3 OpenBiblio: A Library System That’s Free

Description: OpenBiblio is an easy to use, open source, automated library system written in PHP containing OPAC, circulation, cataloging, and staff administration functionality. The purpose of this project is to provide a cost effective library automation solution for private collections, clubs, churches, schools, or public libraries.

Special Features: The goals of the project has been to achieve the following • Intuitive and easy to use

• Well documented

• Easy to install with minimal expertise

• Designed with common library features to work with most library workflows

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Project Sponsors/Administrators: Dave Stevens Dependency: Apache, PHP, MySQL

Availability: http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=50071

Further Information: Project Home Page: http://obiblio.sourceforge.net/

1.4 GNU Library Management System (GLIBMS)

Description: Glibms is Library management software developed using PHP and PostgreSQL to automate the different activities carried out in the library. The project is currently inactive at Sourceforge. It is renamed as Karuna and hosted at sarovar.org.

Special Features: Unknown History: Unknown

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Sharmad Naik, Gaurav Priyolkar Dependency: Apache, PHP, Perl, PostgreSQL

Supported Platforms: Linux, UNIX License: GNU General Public License

Availability: http://sourceforge.net/projects/glibs/

Further Information: Project Home Page: http://sourceforge.net/projects/glibs/

1.5 Avanti: An Open Source Library Computing System

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Java, it is platform independent and can run on any system that supports a Java runtime environment. Although it targets small libraries, it has a powerful and very flexible architecture that allows it to be adapted for use in libraries of any type.

Special Features: Some key objectives of the project are:

• Keep it as small, simple and extendable as possible, using a well-considered, clean design.

• Implementation neutral: Base the design on a purely abstract model of library systems. Avoid designing for a literal library. This makes the core system very portable and adaptable to the needs of libraries of all types.

• Platform independent: 100% pure Java.

• It should be easy to install and use. Unlike most other open source solutions, it should not require the skills of a system administrator to install and maintain.

• User interfaces should be modeless, flat and simple.

• Keep the memory and resource footprint very small. Avanti is anticipated being used in a variety of forms including that of a library automation server appliance.

• Incorporate standards such as MARC and Z39.50 as modules and interfaces, but do not allow them to become part of the underlying design.

History: Avanti is an effort, begun in 1998 by Peter Schlumpf, to develop a simple, flexible, and open source solution to automating small and medium-sized libraries of various types that requires a minimum of technical expertise to install and use.

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Peter Schlumpf Dependency: Java Virtual Machine

Supported Platforms: Platform Independent License: Unknown

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Further Information: Project Home Page:

http://home.earthlink.net/~schlumpf/avanti/index.html

1.6 PhpMyBibli: A Free Solution for the Media Library

Description: PhpMyBibli is a web-based library automation for French libraries.

Special Features: Some of the features are:

• A simplified administration being able to be ensured by the personnel of the library

• Support of format UNIMARC

• Management of the authorities (responsible, editors, collections, matters...) • Management of the loan, the reservations, the borrowers...

• Support for cataloguing electronic resources • The management of the periodicals

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Francois Lemarchand Dependency: Apache, PHP, MySQL

Further Information: Project Home Page: http://phpmybibli.sourceforge.net/

1.7 OpenBook

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source code to offer a low-cost, simple-to-use system rich in features generally found only in high-end systems. The current technical beta version includes complex searching capabilities, a full bibliographic record with external resource linking as defined in MARC21, and a cataloging function that is MARC21-compatible.

Special Features: Some distinctive features include the following:

• A completely Web-based cataloging system—It's simple to use, works with any existing hardware or software, and supports all popular browsers.

• Combines total capture and retention of all MARC21 fields with custom configuration of cataloging display fields

• A multilingual interface—Can be displayed in any Roman- character language

• Patron ability to access the system from home

• Enhanced safety features, including backup, restore, and purge • A home page development template

History: OpenBook developed as a modification of Koha, the first free open source library system created in New Zealand by the Horowhenua Library Trust and Katipo Communications, Ltd. The Technology Resource Foundation's OpenBook design team, which comprises experienced librarians and programmers, used Koha as a basis to develop OpenBook from the ground up.

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Technology Resource Foundation Dependency: Apache, Perl, MySQL

Supported Platforms: Unknown License: Unknown, GNU GPL

Availability: Currently not accessible

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2. Press Release: http://www.infotoday.com/IT/sep01/news16.htm

1.8 Learning Access ILS

Description: The Learning Access ILS is a full-feature Open Source library automation system developed for use by small public and school libraries in the U.S. and the rest of the world. The Institute will make this system available free to libraries that, because of cost, have been unable to achieve the benefits of automation.

The LearningAccess ILS consists of three modules: the patron or user module (OPAC), the cataloging module and the circulation module. In future releases it may also include an acquisition module. All modules are Web-interface based and are multi-lingual user capable, with our initial release supporting English, Spanish and French.

Special Features: The system supports the full MARC21 format for bibliographic, holding, authority and community records. It has an intuitive importing program to add records to its database. The cataloging client includes Z39.50 searching capabilities to allow for copy cataloging against OCLC or other larger union databases. Future releases will also support Z39.50 searches against the database. History: The Learning Access Institute pursues its mission through two distinct yet interconnected programme areas. The Technology Development Program focuses its efforts on the development of and adaptation of information technology solutions to meet the information and learning access needs of underserved communities.

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Learning Access Institute Dependency: Apache, PHP, Perl, MySQL

Supported Platforms: Linux, Windows NT/2000 (Not tested) License: GNU General Public License

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Project Home Page: http://www.learningaccess.org/website/techdev/ils.php

1.9 Karuna

Description: This project is a library management system designed to automate a library. Taken into consideration all the aspects of a library like search, issue/retrieval, acquisition and other aspects of a library.

Special Features: Unknown

History: It is another version of the GNU Library Management System (GNU LMS). According the author of Karuna (who was also one of the developer for GNU LMS) the original GNU LMS is no more supported.

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Sharmad Naik Dependency: Apache, PHP, PostgreSQL

Supported Platforms: Linux, UNIX License: GNU GPL

Availability: http://sarovar.org/project/showfiles.php?group_id=34

Further Information: Project Home Page: http://sarovar.org/projects/karuna/

2 Databases

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2.1 OpenIsis

Description: OpenIsis is the open source member of the CDS/ISIS software family. It is well suited for bibliographic databases with variable length fields and repeatable sub-fields.

Special Features: Some of the special features are

• Highly flexible data structure: potentially unlimited number of data fields in record

• Highly efficient storage: unused data fields consume no space

• Natural Modeling – ultra fast access: logically related data that would be artificially separated in a relational DB is stored in a single record

• Highly flexible index structure: index entries associated with a record are under full application control, can even be derived from associated text documents of any format.

History: Developed since May 2001

Project Sponsors/Administrators: OpenIsis Verein, Berlin Dependency: Unknown

Supported Platforms: Linux, UNIX, Windows, MacOS X License: GNU GPL, LGPL

Further Information: Project Home Page: http://www.openisis.org/

2.2 PostgreSQL

Description: PostgreSQL is claimed to be the most advanced Open Source database system in the world.

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• Exceptional performance and speed • World-class security

• Flexibility to be extended as required • Highly scalable design

• Minimal administration requirements

Full feature set is available at: http://advocacy.postgresql.org/advantages/

History: The PostgreSQL software itself had its beginnings in 1986 inside the University of California at Berkeley as a research prototype, and in the 16 years since has moved to its now globally distributed development model, with central servers based in Canada.

Project Sponsors/Administrators: PostgreSQL Global Development Group Dependency: Perl, Python, Tcl/Tk, JDK/Ant, Flex & Bison

Supported Platforms: Linux, UNIX, Windows (under cygwin environment) License: BSD License

Availability: http://www.postgresql.org/mirrors-ftp.html

Further Information: Project Home Page: http://www.postgresql.org/

2.3 MySQL

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Special Features: Some of the major features are • ANSI SQL syntax support

• Cross-platform support • Independent storage engines • Full-text indexing and searching • Query caching

• Flexible security system, including SSL support

• Replication of database servers for robustness and speed

Full feature set is available at: http://www.mysql.com/products/mysql/index.html

History: The project was started in 1995 and has become quite mature in the last five years. Undoubtedly it is the most popular open source RDBMS primarily because of its speed.

Project Sponsors/Administrators: MySQL AB Dependency: Unknown

Supported Platforms: Linux, UNIX, Windows, MacOS X License: GNU GPL and Commercial non-GNU

Availability: http://www.mysql.com/downloads/index.html

Further Information: Project Home Page: http://www.mysql.com/

2.4 Firebird

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History: In August 2000, Borland Software Corp. (formerly known as Inprise) released the beta version of InterBase 6.0 as open source. The community of waiting developers and users preferred to establish itself as an independent, self-regulating team rather than submit to the risks, conditions and restrictions that the company proposed for community participation in open source development. A core of developers quickly formed a project and installed its own source tree on SourceForge.

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Ann W. Harrison, Pavel Cisar, John Bellardo, Mark Odonohue, David Jencks, Dmitry Yemanov, Sean Leyne

Dependency: glibc-2.2, ncurses4

Supported Platforms: Linux, UNIX, Windows

License: Mozilla Public License, InterBase Public License

Further Information: Project Home Page: http://www.firebirdsql.org/

2.5 SAP DB

Description: SAP DB is an open, SQL-based, relational database management system for small to very large implementations, supporting object orientation and unstructured data. SAP DB adheres to open standards including SQL, JDBC, and ODBC; access from Perl and Python; and HTTP-based services with HTML or extensible markup language (XML) content.

Special Features: The main features are • Round-the-clock operation • Easy administration

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• Unlimited database size • Supports all SAP solutions

History: Project started in October 2000.

Project Sponsors/Administrators: SAP AG, Germany Dependency: Unknown

Supported Platforms: Windows NT, Linux License: GNU GPL, LGPL

Availability: http://www.sapdb.org/7.4/sap_db_software.htm

Further Information: Project Home Page: http://www.sapdb.org/

3 Cataloguing/MARC Tools

Many small libraries could not afford and ILS to be implemented due to various reasons depending upon the clientele and available resources. Automating a small part of the library function like cataloguing or circulation might satisfy them. It might convince the library authority to go for full-fledged automation in future. These tools are also useful for building OPAC services within the library or through the library website.

There are a number of tools available for automation of the cataloguing function. The important concern here is the compliance of well-accepted standards like AACR and MARC for integration with future softwares.

3.1 Java Book Cataloguing System

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Special Features: It uses a RDBMS backend database, and allows synchronization between different library branches.

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Josh Patterson Dependency: Java, Hypersonic SQL, JDBC

Supported Platforms: Platform Independent

License: GNU Library or Lesser General Public License

Further Information: Project Home Page: http://sourceforge.net/projects/jbiblioteca/

3.2 MARC/Perl

Description: MARC/Perl is a Perl library for reading, manipulating, outputting and converting bibliographic records in the MARC format.

Special Features: Some of the important features are:

• Support for reading, editing, creating MARC records in batch mode • Can be used to validate MARC records

• Can be used with Net::Z3950 to download MARC data in batch mode

History: In 1999 a group of developers began working on MARC.pm to provide a Perl module for working with MARC data. MARC.pm was quite successful since it grew to include many new options that were requested by the Perl/library community.

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MARC::Record rather than extending MARC.pm further. Soon afterwards MARC::Batch was added which allows you to read in a large data file without having to worry about memory consumption.

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Andy Lester, Edward Summers Dependency: Perl

Supported Platforms: UNIX, Linux, Windows License: GNU General Public License

Availability: http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=1254, http://www.cpan.org/modules/by-module/MARC/

1. Project Home Page: http://marcpm.sourceforge.net/

2. CPAN Site: http://search.cpan.org/author/PETDANCE/MARC-Record-1.29/

3.3 MARC Template Library

Description: The MARC Template Library is a C++ API (using C++ templates and STL) for reading, writing and processing MARC records.

Special Features: The project provides a simple Windows-based graphical tool to convert MARC records into MARCXML.

History: The author developed these tools to improve his knowledge of C++ Standard Template Library.

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Mark Basedow Dependency: C++ Compiler

Supported Platforms: Windows, Linux, UNIX License: BSD License

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Further Information: Project Home Page: http://mtl.sourceforge.net

3.4 jake2marc

Description: jake2marc is a utility that creates simple USMARC records for the full-text journals in any of the databases listed in the jake (Jointly Administered Knowledge Environment: http://www.jake-db.org/) project.

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Mark Jordan

Dependency: Perl, libwww-perl & MARC::Record (Perl modules)

Supported Platforms: Linux, Windows License: GNU GPL

Availability: http://jake.lib.sfu.ca/jake2marc/

Further Information: Project Home Page: http://jake.lib.sfu.ca/jake2marc/

3.5 UseMARCON

Description: The USEMARCON software is designed to provide users with two specific services.

• The facility to convert MARC records compliant with a specified input format into MARC records compliant with a specified output format.

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Special Features: The UseMARCON project aimed to develop a generic toolkit for ISO2709 compatible MARC formats to enable libraries to create rules based systems to convert records between national MARC formats. This would give libraries the ability to obtain records from a far wider range of potential sources than those currently available to them and stimulate an increase in the international exchange of bibliographic records.

History: The UseMARCON Project, which was successfully completed in February 1997, was funded by the consortium partners and the EU's Telematics Applications Programme (DGXIII-E). The partners of the UseMARCON Project consortium were drawn from a variety of library and information technology backgrounds and comprised the following:

Partners:

• Koninklijke Bibliotheek, Holland

• Instituto da Biblioteca Nacional e do Livro, Portugal • The British Library, UK

Project Sponsors/Administrators: UseMARCON Consortium and Jouve S.I. Dependency: C++ Compiler, XVT C++ Toolkit

Supported Platforms: Windows, UNIX, Linux

License: Unknown: Unsupported freeware (with source code)

Availability: ftp://ftp.bl.uk/pub/nbs/ec/usemarcon/, ftp://ftp.kb.nl/pub/usemarcon/

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3.6 USEMARCON Plus

Description: USEMARCON is a software application that allows users to convert bibliographic records from one MAchine-Readable Cataloguing (MARC) format to another.

Special Features: The British Library has since further developed the USEMARCON application. This work was carried out on behalf of the Library by Crossnet Systems Limited. The program has been enhanced in the following ways:

• The redevelopment of the application removing all proprietary XVT components and substituting public domain equivalents.

• The removal of the graphical user interface in order that the program can function as part of a batch process from the system command line.

• The re-design of the application for 32bit MS Windows and Linux operating systems.

• The optimization of the program to allow the conversion of large files.

• The integration of new rule functions to enable the creation of more complex conversions.

History: In 1995, a project funded by the European Union was set up to address this issue. The project was successfully completed in 1997 with the development of the USEMARCON (User Controlled Generic MARC Converter) software.

Project Sponsors/Administrators: The British Library, Crossnet Systems Dependency: C++ Compiler, XVT C++ Toolkit

Supported Platforms: Windows, Solaris, UNIX License: Unknown: Unsupported freeware

Availability: ftp://ftp.bl.uk/pub/nbs/ec/usemarcon

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3.7 Marc2Opac

Description: Marc2Opac is a PHP4 script for searching and displaying MARC files. It supports a good range of searching techniques and it is fast (searches more than 1,00,000 entries in a second).

Special Features: The features added to this PHP module include • Advanced search

• Subscriber logon • Reservations system

History: Bundaberg City Council, Australia, developed Marc2Opac to put their library catalogue online. Other features were added later.

Project Sponsors/Administrators: IT Services, Bundaberg City Council (Australia)

Dependency: Apache, PHP, Grep

Supported Platforms: Linux License: Unknown

Availability: http://www.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/library/catalog/about.php4

http://www.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/library/catalog/about.php4

3.8 Medlane XMLMARC

Description: Medlane XMLMARC is a computer program that converts MARC records into XML. It can also update MARC records, based on plain text processing instructions, and write records to a file in the MARC format.

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Dependency: Java

Supported Platforms: Platform Independent License: GNU GPL, LGPL

Further Information: Project Home Page: http://medlane.stanford.edu/

3.9 MARCUTL

Description: MARCUTL (the MARC Update and Transformation Language) is a mapping language that converts MARC into XML or MARC into "updated MARC" based on the instructions in a MARCUTL file. These files are expressed in XML and must conform to the MARCUTL schema.

Special Features: MARCUTL provides for several built in methods of updating or transforming MARC records, but it also provides for the creation of special MARC processing classes. These classes implement a particular interface, described in the MARCUTL API (application programming interface), and accept a MedMARC Record as input. MedMARC is a Java API for handling MARC records that was developed by the Medlane project.

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Kevin S. Clarke Dependency: Java

Supported Platforms: Platform Independent License: GNU GPL, LGPL

Availability: To be available

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4 Z39.50 Tools

The Z39.50 standard specifies a client/server-based protocol for searching and retrieving information from remote databases. The protocol is sponsored by American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and US National Information Standards Organization (NISO). The first version of the protocol was published in 1988. The second version came out in 1992 and the latest version (version 3) is dated 1995. However, the Z39.50 revision (Z39.50-2001) is still in progress!

The use of Z39.50 protocol in library is either to get bibliographic data from other libraries or provide bibliographic services to other libraries. The library may choose to be either client (for downloading/search records) or server (allowing others to download/search local records). There are tools available to implement both the activities.

Z39.50 might prove beneficial in identifying resources through its powerful broadcast search functions where a user can send a query to a large number of servers to search bibliographic records. This way the protocol can be seen as an alternative to union catalogues, though it still does not support holdings records to be displayed in the search results. It can also be combined with other activities, such as inter-library loan (ILL), to speed up the process.

4.1 YAZ Toolkit

Description: YAZ (Yet Another Z39.50 Toolkit) is a toolkit for implementing the Z39.50-1995 standard and protocol. Both the Origin (client) and Target (server) roles of the protocol are supported. The toolkit is written in C.

Special Features: Its ability to provide an open, well-defined, and structured framework to information retrieval tasks within any application domain makes it an obvious candidate for use in many different roles.

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Dependency: None

Supported Platforms: UNIX, Linux, Windows

License: Index Data Copyright (Based on BSD License)

Availability: http://www.indexdata.dk/yaz/

Further Information: Project Home Page: http://www.indexdata.dk/yaz/

4.2 ZContent

Description: ZContent is a Perl script and module that provides a Z39.50 target for the CONTENTdm server. CONTENTdm (http://contentdm.com/) is a commercial digital collection management software.

ZContent is based on the open source SimpleServer Perl module which is provided by Index Data (http://www.indexdata.com/simpleserver/). SimpleServer is based on the YAZ toolkit, which is also provided by Index Data. (http://www.indexdata.com/yaz/). USMARC Records are created using the MARC::Record Perl module.

History: The University of Utah Marriott Library has developed software that adds Z39.50 compatibility to any CONTENTdm digital collections server.

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Aaron DeMille, Kenning Arlitsch (University of Utah)

Dependency: Perl, YAZ Toolkit, SimpleServer

Supported Platforms: Windows License: GNU General Public License

Availability: http://sourceforge.net/projects/zcontent

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4.3 SimpleServer

Description: SimpleServer is a Perl module which is intended to make it as simple as possible to develop new Z39.50 servers over any type of database imaginable. All you have to do is implement a function for initializing your database (optional), searching the database, and returning "database records" on request. The module takes care of everything else and automatically starts a server for you, listens to incoming connections, and implements the Z39.50 protocol.

Special Features: Use SimpleServer together with other Perl modules to provide gateways to relational databases, local file stores, SOAP/RDF-servers, etc.

SimpleServer currently supports the Init, Search, Present, Scan and Close services. If you are interested in other functionality, get in touch and we'll help if we can.

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Index Data Dependency: YAZ 1.8 or later

Supported Platforms: UNIX, Linux, Windows License: Index Data Copyright

Availability: http://www.indexdata.dk/simpleserver/

Further Information: Project Home Page: http://www.indexdata.dk/simpleserver/

4.4 VB Zoom

Description: VB ZOOM is a collection of ActiveX COMponents, written in Visual Basic, which implement the ZOOM 1.2 (Z39.50 Object-Orientation Model) Abstract API. The current VB ZOOM is a wrapper for the YAZ Toolkit from Index Data, plus a helper component for doing MARC-8 to Unicode character conversions.

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History: The original VB ZOOM was developed for a project called ZMARCO as part of the Open Archives Initiative Metadata Harvesting Project at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, funded by the Andrew Mellon Foundation. Continuing work on this and the ZMARCO project is being funded by a Library Services and Technology Act grant from the Illinois State Library.

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Index Data, Denmark Dependency: Yaz.dll V 2.0.1 (YAZ Toolkit)

Supported Platforms: Windows

License: University of Illinois/NCSA Open Source License (http://vb-zoom.sourceforge.net/License.html)

Further Information: Project Home Page: http://vb-zoom.sourceforge.net/

4.5 JZkit

Description: A pure Java toolkit to assist in the development of information retrieval systems using the Z39.50 standard.

Special Features: The toolkit is presented in three distinct levels: Encoders/Decoders, Protocol Endpoint and IR-Services. A number of example origin and target implementations are available.

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Ian Ibbotson Dependency: Java VM

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4.6 Zeta Perl

Description: ZETA Perl defines a set of functions, variables and conventions that provide a consistent interface to the Z39.50 services and protocol for Perl applications. It was mainly designed and implemented to be usable by web developers. However, it would be of help as well in writing a Z3950 client with very little effort.

Special Features: The current version of the ZETA Perl (0.059) supports the following APDUs: Init, Search, Present, Close, Delete, Scan and Sort

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Unknown Dependency: Perl 5.003 or better

Supported Platforms: Linux, Solaris, AIX License: Perl Artistic License, GNU GPL

Availability: ftp://zeta.tlcpi.finsiel.it/pub/zeta/

http://lcweb.loc.gov/z3950/agency/resources/software.html

4.7 ZedKit for Unix

Description: The Z39.50 Application Development Libraries for UNIX developed for the German Library Project DBV OSI II and also the ONE project co-funded by the European Commission Libraries Programme.

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Dependency: None

Supported Platforms: UNIX, Linux

License: Unknown (ftp://ftp.ddb.de/pub/dbvosi/dbvosiII-2.1.README)

Availability: http://www.crxnet.com/ZedKit_download.php

Further Information: Project Home Page: http://www.crxnet.com/zedkit.php

4.8 IrTcl Toolkit

Description: IrTcl is an extension to the Tcl/Tk (http://www.tcl.tk/) language environments. IrTcl allows you to rapidly develop platform-independent, graphical clients to the Z39.50 protocol supporting both the X Window and MS-Windows environments.

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Index Data Dependency: Tcl/Tk, YAZ Toolkit

Supported Platforms: UNIX, Linux, Windows License: Unknown

Availability: http://www.indexdata.dk/irtcl/

Further Information: Project Home Page: http://www.indexdata.dk/irtcl/

4.9 Net::Z3950

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Project Sponsors/Administrators: Mike Taylor Dependency: Perl, YAZ Toolkit

Supported Platforms: UNIX, Linux, Windows (under Cygwin environment) License: Perl Artistic License

Availability: http://perl.z3950.org/download/, http://www.cpan.org/modules/by-module/Net/MIRK/

Further Information: Project Home Page: http://perl.z3950.org/

5 Barcode Makers

The barcodes are nothing but representation of some alphanumeric code in pictorial bars. A barcode uniquely identifies an alphanumeric code which can be read by machines. Barcode technology was invented for automatic identification of products in the food chains in USA to enable rapid check out of items. The use of barcodes for books came much later after the use of ISBN came in vogue.

The barcodes were mostly used by the department and bookstores to expedite the process of check out. The use of barcodes has been found useful in automating the check in and check out process in the circulation activities in the libraries. The barcodes labels are assigned usually on the basis of the accession number of a document which uniquely identifies an item within the library.

5.1 GNU Barcode

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Output is generated as either Postscript or Encapsulated Postscript (other back-ends may be added if needed). The package is released as both a library and a command-line frontend, so that one can include barcode-generation into one's application.

Special Features: Main features of GNU Barcode:

• Available as both a library and an executable program

• Supports UPC, EAN, ISBN, CODE39 and other encoding standards • Postscript and Encapsulated Postscript output

• Accepts sizes and positions as inches, centimeters, millimeters • Can create tables of barcodes (to print labels on sticker pages) History: Unknown

Project Sponsors/Administrators: GNU Dependency: Unknown

Supported Platforms: Unknown License: GNU GPL

Availability: http://www.gnu.org/software/barcode/barcode.html

http://www.gnu.org/software/barcode/barcode.html

5.2 KBarcode: The Open Source Barcode Solution

Description: KBarcode is a barcode and label printing application for KDE 3. It can be used to print every thing from simple business cards up to complex labels with several barcodes (e.g. article descriptions).

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languages. Even printing more than 10.000 labels in one go is no problem for KBarcode.

Additionally it is a simply xbarcode replacement for the creation of barcodes. All major types of barcodes like EAN, UPC, CODE39 and ISBN are supported.

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Project Leader: Stefan Onken. Core Programmer: Dominik Seichter

Dependency: KDE 3, pdf417_encode (for 2-D barcodes)

Supported Platforms: Linux License: GNU GPL

Further Information: Project Home Page: http://www.kbarcode.net/

5.3 PHP Barcode

Description: Barcode is a small implementation of a barcode rendering class using the PHP language and GD graphics library.

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Karim Mribti Dependency: Apache, PHP, GD Graphics Library

Supported Platforms: Unknown License: GNU LGPL

Availability: http://www.mribti.com/barcode/download.php

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5.4 Barcodes-on-the-fly

Description: This utility will generate printable barcodes in the CODABAR (NW-7) format based on the information you provide. The author hopes that libraries and others will be able to print cheap disposable barcodes for, among other things, books on loan from another library.

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Ben Ostrowsky

Dependency: Apache, zlib, libpng, gd, Perl (with CGI), and GD::Barcode

Supported Platforms: Linux

License: GNU General Public License

Availability: http://bernie.tblc.org/~ostrowb/barcodes.html

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Software Tools for Value Added Services

“Any tool should be useful in the expected way, but a truly great tool lends itself to

uses you never expected” – Eric S. Raymond

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1 Library Portal

The wide use of Internet by the users has made it imperative for the libraries to have a presence there. There can be three types of content in a library website according to Morgan (2003):

1. Information about the library: staff directories, departmental descriptions, maps of the building, hours, etc.

2. Electronic versions of traditional library services: online tutorials, book renewals, interlibrary loan requests and status reports, requests for purchase, online chat/reference, virtual tours of the building(s), etc.

3. Access to library content: catalogs, indexes, full-text magazines and journals, digitized special collections, free and commercial ebooks, government documents, freely accessible Internet resources, electronic encyclopedias and dictionaries, licensed content from vendors, etc.

Simple websites are fairly easy to maintain with little knowledge of HTML editors. But as the size of the website grows the one needs to have better searching and browsing interface. One must follow the usability guidelines in creating and maintaining the websites so that users are not lost while navigating the site.

1.1 MyLibrary

Description: MyLibrary is a user-driven, customizable interface to collections of Internet resources -- a portal. Primarily designed for libraries, the system's purpose is to reduce information overload by allowing patrons to select as little or as much information as they so desire for their personal pages.

Special Features: Some of the important features are:

• Web-based administration to add, delete, modify user access • Web-based report generation

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• Search engine support based on Swish-E History: Unknown

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Eric Lease Morgan Dependency: Apache, Perl, MySQL/PostgreSQL

Supported Platforms: UNIX, Linux License: GNU General Public License

Availability: http://dewey.library.nd.edu/mylibrary/download/

Further Information: Project Home Page: http://dewey.library.nd.edu/mylibrary/

1.2 The Scout Portal Toolkit

Description: The Scout Portal Toolkit (SPT) allows groups or organizations that have a collection of knowledge or resources they want to share via the World Wide Web to put that collection online without making a big investment in technical resources or expertise.

Special Features: The portal interface has a number of useful features including • Cross-Field Searching

• Resource Annotations by Users • Intelligent User Agents

• Resource Quality Ratings by Users

• Suggested Resource Referrals (Recommender System)

Go to http://scout.wisc.edu/research/SPT/features.html to get a detailed description of the above features.

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facilities and information collected by the portal for discipline experts while they are working on resource entries.

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Internet Scout Project Dependency: Apache, PHP, MySQL

Supported Platforms: Platform Independent (But installer work only in shell environment)

License: GNU GPL

Availability: http://scout.wisc.edu/research/SPT/download.html

Further Information: Project Home Page: http://scout.wisc.edu/research/SPT/

1.3 Research Guide

Description: Research Guide is a web-based management of subject guides for academic libraries.

Special Features: Some of the features are:

• Support for creating specialist pages with contact information and other background information on subject specialists in the library

• Web-based interface for creating and editing guides and specialist pages • Database back-end

History: This application was written for use at the University of Michigan Graduate Library. It is currently being used to serve research guides there (http://www.lib.umich.edu/grad/guide/).

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Kelsey Libner Dependency: Apache, MySQL, PHP