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Abstract
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to introduce Greenstone and explain how librarians use it to create and customize digital library collections.
Design/methodology/approach - Through an end-user interface, users may add documents and metadata to collections, create new collections whose structure mirrors existing ones, and build collections and put them in place for users to view.
Findings - First-time users can easily and quickly create their own digital library collections. More advanced users can design and customize new collection structures
Originality/value - The Greenstone digital library software is a comprehensive system for building and distributing digital library collections. It provides a way of organizing information based on metadata and publishing it on the Internet or on removable media such as CD-ROM/DVD.
Keywords Digital libraries, Collections management, User interfaces
Paper type Technical paper
1. Introduction
Digital libraries are organized, focused collections of information. They concentrate on a particular topic or theme - and good digital libraries will articulate the principles governing what is included. They are organized to make information accessible in particular, well-defined, ways - and good ones will include a description of how the information is organized (Lesk, 2005).
The Greenstone digital library software is a comprehensive suite of software for building and distributing digital library collections (Witten and Bainbridge, 2003). It provides a new way of organizing information and publishing it on the Internet or on removable media (e.g. CD-ROM/DVD). It is widely used in a large number of countries: see www.greenstone.org for a representative selection of example sites.
Greenstone is produced by the New Zealand Digital Library Project at the University of Waikato, and distributed as open source, multilingual software in cooperation with UNESCO and the Human Info NGO. The dissemination of educational, scientific and cultural information, and particularly its availability in developing countries, is central to UNESCO's goals, and appropriate, accessible technology such as Greenstone is seen as a vital tool in this context.
Aim and scope
Greenstone aims to enable users, particularly in universities, libraries, and other public service institutions throughout the world, to build their own digital library collections in the fields of education, science and culture. UNESCO hopes this will encourage the effective deployment of digital libraries to share information and, where appropriate, place...