Venturing into DSpace

After using EPrints for a repository that has earned me a bit of fame among Indian LIS professionals, I am now venturing into DSpace. Well this does not imply my preference to either of these.

So, the news is that I managed to install DSpace (1.6.2) on a RHEL 5 box.

Well, to admit, it was not smooth. However the following did helped me:

• DSpace Installation (Manual) in Redhat Linux

• AN ALMOST IDIOT'S GUIDE TO INSTALL AND UPGRADE TO POSTGRESQL 8.4 WITH YUM

• Howto Install Sun Java (JDK, JRE) on Fedora, CentOS, Red Hat

• JDK Installation

• DSpace 1.5.2 installation procedure on CentOS 5.3

• Installing DSpace on CentOS 5

• Apache virtual hosting with Tomcat and mod_jk

I got struck at two places. First it was problem with 'xml-commons-apis'. It was missing. When I installed it by

'yum install xml-commons-apis', Yum automatically removed Sun Java. I had to re-install Sun Java. Second time I got struck with 'ant fresh_install'. The problem was with

Downloading http://geolite.maxmind.com/download/geoip/database/GeoLiteCity.dat.gz

The server was not able to download GeoLiteCity.dat.qz file. I had to cheat 'ant fresh_install' by downloading the file from alternative location and placing it on my server and then tweaking the installation script.

Now finally the DSpace 1.6.2 is working for me. But, I have yet started.

Why Libraries should use and adopt Open Source Software?

I am just back from 12^th NATIONAL CONVENTION ON KNOWLEDGE, LIBRARY AND INFORMATION NETWORKING (NACLIN 2009) of DELNET. There, I argued that Open Source Software is best candidate for being used in Libraries. Both Library as well as Open Source Communities have similar ideologies. Computing history has shown us that both hardware and software have very short life span. They tend to get obsolete in no time when compared to Libraries - which are long term entities. Open Source software is a community effort. Thus there would be someone from community to take place of original developers in case they leave the project. Using Open Source Software is as good as legally owning it. Even libraries can sponsor further development. Thus it is worth to use and adopt open source software for long-term gains and continuity.

VTLS Announces the Release of VITAL 4.0

Release of VITAL 4.0

VITAL is VTLS' solution for today's digital and institutional repositories. Designed to provide all functions of a repository VITAL provides capabilities to ingest, create, maintain, validate, uniquely identify, secure, preserve and export the contents of institutional collections.

Video on XAMPP - Install Apache, PHP, MySQL without fuss

If you want to try out an Open Source Software that requires LAMP (Linux, Apache, MyQSL and PHP / Perl), here is a simple solution. You don't have to run to a Linux Box. You can try and play with it on your Windows desktop itself. There is a packaged software that will install required files of Apache, MyQSL and PHP / Perl on your windows desktop. It is called XAMPP.

Here is a video that will help in installing this wonderful package.

Open Source for Libraries

Good presentation on Open Source Softwares and issues associated with Open Source model. Surveys few Open Source Softwares that can be used in Libraries. Remember, there are many more.

Open Source for Libraries

View more presentations from Nicole Engard. (tags: opensource open)

RSS and Libraries

RSS and Its Use In Libraries

View more presentations from Sukhdev Singh. (tags: rss libraries)

OpenGoo

OpenGoo: An Open Source Web Office to create, collaborate, share and publish documents.

Catalogue of Delhi Public Library goes online with KOHA

Delhi Public Library is one of best public libraries of India. It is an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture and governed by Delhi Library Board. It is fully financed by the Government of India. Actually it consists of a network of Zonal Libraries, Branches and Sub-branches, R.C.Libraries, Community Libraries, Deposit Stations, Sports Libraries, Mobile Library, Braille library, etc. spread all over Delhi. Its total collection is over 14 lakh books in Hindi, English, Urdu, Punjabi & other Indian Languages.

Today, it added a new milestone in its journey. It made its Catalogue online. For this it has used an Open Source Software - Koha. Which is a full-featured Integrated Library System.

I have just done a quick search on Library's Online Catalogue.


Well done. Keep it up.

Why Google Chrome won't be my Browser

Downloaded and installed Google Chrome. Installing was done without any problem. Just for the last step - it required to close down my Firefox which was installing it. It wanted to copy its settings. Fine, closed the Firefox, but installation pop up of Chrome was refusing to die. The "x" was inactive. Anyway killed it and started the Chrome. Entered Gmail URL, it opens up a pop-up for Proxy Authentication. Ok done, but noticed that it does not provide for saving the authentication which normally other browsers do. So every time I needed to start a session, it prompts for authentication. Very irritating!

The technology behind Google Chrome has been explained through a 38 pages cartoon booklet. This way of explaining is quite innovative. So I was quick to learn that big advantage of Chrome lies in multiprocessing. If a "Tab" gets struck, the whole Chrome need not be killed.

However, I still can not afford to shift from Firefox to Chrome. I am used to many 'add-ons' or Plug-ins available for Firefox. Hope such add-ons are also available for Chrome in near future.

Koha and Delhi Public Library

Delhi Public Library is implementing Koha for its OPAC. Tried to have a look but could not enter the OPAC. It is restricted to Library Members only. Anyway, a good begining for one of the largest Public Libraries of India.

Open Source Software in Education

Open Source Software in Education (EDUCAUSE Quarterly) | EDUCAUSE CONNECT

..Open source and digital education and learning, separately and together, aim to reach everyone. Although both movements have gained considerable maturity, a need for greater coordination exists..

PhpMyBibli Library Automation System Installation Guide for EasyPHP

Vimal Kumar V has prepared easy to follow Installation Instructions for an open source integrated library system called PhpMyBibli. This software is a product of a project that was initiated by François Lemarchand in October 2002, Director of the Public Library of Agneaux. It is now better known as PMB (PhpMyBibli) and is maintained by PMB Services (a French Company).

PMB has most of the functional modules essential for a library management system including Circulation; Cataloguing; Reports; Selective Dissemination of Information Service; Administration and Acquisition. It has friendly web interfaces for librarian and users and supports UNIMARC and Z39.50 standards. Some other features include - Barcode Generator; Multi Language Support and Import and export of bibliographic records in different formats.

Quick installation of PMB using EasyPHP is possible in Windows XP as shown by Mr. Vimal.

Some other Open Source Softwares for libraries are Koha, OpenBiblio, PhpMyLibrary and NewGenLib. One can also frequently check OSS4Lib. It is a useful resource for Open Source systems for libraries.

Netvibes is giving away its technology

Netvibes that enables meshups of widgets, RSS Feeds, emails, instant messengers etc. at one place is now giving away its technology from Netvibes.org site.

Blacklight - an open source OPAC

Blacklight is an open source OPAC. Libraries can use it to allow people to search and browse their collections online.

Social Networking open source resources

Max Kiesler- Strategic Designer - blog has a list of 40 open source resources to get you started building your own social bookmarking, networking, filesharing or search application.

Why open source model for librarians?

Why look at open source now? - PLN

..The open source model offers librarians the capability to create the software that we’ve always wanted—-standards compliant[7], interoperable, extensible and scalable software that does what we want it to do: help customers find information quickly, conveniently, no matter where that information resides..

I will say choose open source because it gives you the freedom to use, change or distribute the way you want. Remember, Libraries are expected to stay much longer than the vendors. Vendors may not support a version which they sold you some time ago. Or they may go out of business. In that case all your work and investment goes waste. You may be forced to migrate to another version or another software. With Open Source, you know what it all contains. You may tweak it yourself or hire people to do so, but then it is always with you. You can make it to evolve for your library's evolving needs.

Also check out the following paper at E-LIS repository:

E-LIS - A Virtual Exhibition of Open Source Software for Libraries

..Open source software is quickly becoming a preferred solution, owing to the freedom to copy, modify and distribute it and the freedom from contracts, as well as for greater opportunities for interoperability with other applications..

Softwares for Development of Institutional Repository

According to data culled from ROAR in February 2008, number of repositories powered by various softwares / platforms are:

Repository Software	No. of Repositories
DSpace	271
EPrints	243
Bepress	58
OPUS	26
ETD-db	24
DiVA	16
CDSWare	9
Fedora	9
Open Repository	9
HAL	7
ARNO	5
DoKs	5
Fez/Fedora	4
MyCoRe	4
SciX	2
OJS	1
Others	300

DSpace and EPrints has majority of Installation base.  'bepress' stands for Berkeley Electronic Press which produces number of tools for content production and dissemination. Digital Commons is their hosted software / service for Institutional Repositories. The OPUS interfaces and documentation are primarily in German. ETD-db consists of a series of web pages and perl scripts that interact with a MySQL database. DiVA (Digitala Vetenskapliga Arkivet in Swedish) is from universities of Scandinavia and developed at Uppsala University Library, Sweden. CDS Invenio (formerly CDSware) is unique in the sense that it uses MARC 21 as its underlying bibliographic standard. Latest version is CDS Invenio v0.92.1, released in February 2007. Fedora Commons provides sustainable technologies to create, manage, publish, share and preserve digital content. Please do not confuse this with the RedHat supported linux project for community based development and distribution of Linux. Open Repository like 'bepress' is a service from BioMed Central which runs over DSpace. HAL is a repository platform rather instead of a software. ARNO Software is from ARNO project (Academic Research in the Netherlands Online) which aims to develop and implement university document servers to make available the scientific output of participating institutions. DoKS (Document and Knowledge Sharing application)  is a digital library tool that makes it easy to publish, store, share and find documents online. The original focus of the project is the publication of ETDs from Flemish Institutes for Higher Education.It can be downloaded from sourceforge.net. Fez/Fedora a Web-based digital repository and workflow management software system based on Fedora 2.1 It is PHP and MySQL based and works as a front-end and administration tool. MyCoRe uses Java and XML/XSL technologies and supports various backend systems for management and querying of content. Apart from Open Source backends like MySQLand Apache Lucene it also supports commercial backend systems like Oracle, IBM DB2 and IBM Content Manager. SciX Open Publishing Services (SOPS) is software that allows setting up various on-line scientific publishing media. However the SciX Project has been completed in 2004. So not many new developments may be expected. OJS is actually a very good open source software for managing online publishing of scholarly journals. However from the above data table it has also been used for repository. The above table also shows that number of local softwares and systems have been developed for establishing institutional repositories.

The ultimate decision for selecting a  repository software zeros down to DSpace and EPrints. Both are good candidates. EPrints uses PERL language and goes well with Standard LAMP configuration. DSpace is built on JAVA technology and runs on Tomcat. However internal a gateway can be established between Apache and Tomcat. In that case requests are handled by apache and processed by Tomcat internally.