Supporting open access through open source software

Supporting Open AccessThrough

Open Source Software

Amos Kujenga

NUST Library

amos.kujenga@nust.ac.zw

Lupane State University, 25 October 2012

• To define Open Source Software• To show the relationship between the Open Access

movement and Open Source Software• To showcase some Open Source Software being

used at NUST

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Objectives of Presentation

• Open Source Software• Open Access and Open Source• DSpace• Greenstone• SubjectsPlus• Conclusion

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Outline of Presentation

Open Source Software (OSS)

•Open Source Software (OSS) is software for which the source code, that is, the raw format of the programme as punched in by a programmer in some programming language, is freely available. Furthermore, the software can be modified and redistributed freely according to a specified license.

•The Open Source Initiative (OSI) definition of OSS includes 10 conditions that the software must satisfy. See http://opensource.org/docs/osd

•OSS is as free as “a free puppy”4

Open Source Software (OSS)

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OSS Advantages

•No annual subscriptions•The software code is open to criticism and so

weaknesses can be identified easily.•Users have the freedom to change (or customise)

the software to meet their particular needs, e.g., languages translations, character sets.

•There are no “black boxes” since the code can be viewed by anyone.

•Empowers locals through technical skills development.

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OSS Disadvantages

•Projects can die a natural death as people lose interest or new technologies come up.

•When things go wrong, there is no one to blame, i.e., the software comes with no warranties.

•Most OSS applications require a high level of technical skills.

•There is much work to be done when upgrading after customising a system.

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Open Access & Open Source

“The parallels between this movement - what has come to be known as open access and open source � � �are striking. For both, the ultimate wellspring is the Internet, and…for both their practitioners, it is RECOGNITION not RECOMPENSE that drives � �them to participate.” (Eklektix, 2006)

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Open Access & Open Source

•Those affected by the crisis in scholarly communication are also affected by high costs of proprietary software.

•OSS can be used to enhance and broaden access to scholarly materials in a digital environment.

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DSpace

• Used to host the NUST Institutional Repository (NuSpace)

• Developed by MIT labs and Hewlett Packard• Content is organised into communities and

collections• Accepts all manner of digital formats• Users can upload content on their own•Arguably the most popular IR software globally•Rather difficult to install and configure•Large community of users worldwide

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DSpace @ NUST

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DSpace @ NUST

•NuSpace accessible online on http://ir.nust.ac.zw:8080/jspui

•Communities made up of faculties and units•Contains journal articles, conference papers, and

speeches•Running on Fedora Linux server•Registered with OpenDOAR (Directory of Open

Access Repositories)•Due to be launched soon

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DSpace @ NUST

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DSpace @ NUST

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Greenstone

•Software for building and distributing digital library collections

•A “general purpose” digital library software application, i.e., can be used for several purposes

•Best suited for digital libraries as opposed to IRs• “Depositor” facility can be used to build an IR•First developed in 1996 by the New Zealand Digital

Library Project at the University of Waikato’s Computer Science Department

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Greenstone

•Has been heavily supported by UNESCO•Access to content can be controlled at collection

and document level•Easy to install and configure•Large community of users

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Greenstone

•Aims to empower users, particularly in universities, libraries, and other public service institutions to build their own digital libraries (to avoid being read-only societies)

•Aims to encourage the effective deployment of digital libraries to share information and place it in the public domain

•More information on: •http://www.greenstone.org•http://www.adlsn.org

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Greenstone @ NUST

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Greenstone @ NUST

• Used to host the NUST Digital Library (NuStone)• Accessible online on

http://library.nust.ac.zw/gsdl/cgi-bin/library.cgi• Includes several digital collections• Running on Fedora Linux server• Appears on the official Greenstone examples

page: http://www.greenstone.org/examples

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Greenstone @ NUST

Past Exam Papers Collection• Most popular collection in NuStone • Includes over 3400 papers spanning 13 years from

the institution’s 6 faculties• Users can

• download full papers• perform full text searches• browse papers by Course Titles, Years(Dates),

and Faculties

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Greenstone @ NUST

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Greenstone @ NUST

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SubjectsPlus

•SubjectsPlus is a web based set of programs that allow you to build subject guides PLUS other tools

• It provides facilities to dynamically manage a library’s subject, course, and topic guides.

•Subject guides help users to easily find resources related to their subject areas

•Runs under the XAMP (Windows/Linux-Apache-MySQL-PHP/Perl/Python) environment

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SubjectsPlus

•More information on:• http://www.subjectsplus.com• http://splus.pbworks.com

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SubjectsPlus @ NUST

• Accessible online on http://library.nust.ac.zw/sp/• Guides arranged by academic department • Guides built by teams led by Faculty Librarians• Built as part of an EIFL FOSS pilot project• Running on Fedora Linux server

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SubjectsPlus @ NUST

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SubjectsPlus @ NUST

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SubjectsPlus @ NUST

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Conclusion

Thanks to the exponential growth of the world wide web, Open Source Software is a worthwhile option in the quest to provide access to high quality information resources. It should be noted though, that while the software itself comes free, there are costs related to its use such as infrastructure, training/capacity building, and maintenance. Remember that Open Source is as free as a free puppy!

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Thank You

Amos Kujenga

NUST Library

amos.kujenga@nust.ac.zw