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Explore ETD management requirements, issues beyond basics, software options, and advantages of open-source DL software. Review ETDdb, EPrints, DSpace, and Greenstone. Understand ETD archiving, user interfaces, security, and interoperability.
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ETD Software Options Hussein Suleman hussein@cs.uct.ac.za University of Cape Town October 2003
Overview • ETD Management Requirements • Issues beyond the Basics • Options • Advantages of OS DL Software • ETDdb • EPrints • DSpace • Greenstone • Bottom Line
ETD Management Requirements • Archiving of ETDs • User interface to locate and access documents (Web-based) • Administration interface to maintain archive • Ability for students to submit documents • Ability for university authorities to review and accept submissions
Issues beyond the Basics • Preservation – does the software support long-term maintenance of documents? • Security – how can we be certain that the system cannot be circumvented? • Stability – will it die when we need it most at the end of year/semester? • Interoperability – will it connect into other systems such as the library ILS or the NDLTD Union Catalog? • Standards-compliance – what does it adhere to? • Cost – does it? • Hardware – what do we need to run the software? • Support – how much staffing do we need to run it?
Options • Use the ILS • Write your own software • Outsource management to a company or consortium • Use an open source digital library (DL) software package • ETDdb • EPrints • DSpace • Greenstone
Advantages of OS DL Software • Free! • OAI compliance out-of-the-box • Tested by many others already • Community of use – active support • Closely tracks research and trends in information management and Internet technology • Mostly tailored especially for document submission/review/archiving
ETDdb • Early ETD management software created at Virginia Tech • Perl Web server CGI scripts and Mysql database – few prerequisities and simple to install • Not very well maintained but used by many institutions and at VT for ~5 years!
EPrints • Software to archive electronic pre-prints of journal/conference proceedings, but easily adaptable to ETDs • Perl Web server scripts and Mysql database, plus a few Perl libraries • Needs a bit of effort for initial installation and customisation but has a slick user interface • Active user community in many different areas (NDLTD uses EPrints for individuals whose institutions do not have archives!) • Modifying the software can be tricky
DSpace • DSpace was developed by Hewlett-Packard for MIT to manage its institutional repositories, but it is open source and free for anyone else to use • Has the backing of a professional software development company • Based on Java servlets, Postgres database, Java libraries • Still somewhat unproven – but very promising
Greenstone • Well-known open source digital library software, funded largely by UNESCO for digital libraries in third-world countries • Good support for compression and full-text indexing of documents • Alas, it does not support submission of documents – only works for fixed collections • Not really suitable for ongoing management of ETDs • Next version may be different – 2005/6?
Bottom line • No easy solutions • ETDdb – most specific and oldest tried-and-tested solution • You’re largely on your own • EPrints – largest community of users • Software works but difficult to change • DSpace – most professional software • Still in testing phase
Links • ETDdb • http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ETD-db/developer/ • EPrints • http://www.eprints.org/ • DSpace • http://www.dspace.org/ • Greenstone • http://www.greenstone.org
That’s all Folks! direct all heckling and flames to: hussein@cs.uct.ac.za