Paper presented at SIS 2012 Conference held at NIT Silchar organised by Dr. K C Satpathy

1. Open Source Software (OSS):
Scope and Implications
Sonali Choudhury Biswas,
Librarian, Radhamadhab College, Silchar, Assam.
simi8ch@yahoo.co.in

2. Open Source Software (OSS): Scope and
Implications
Presentation Plan:
 What is Open Source Software (OSS)?
 Characteristics of OSS and why people release their
software as OSS?
 Why open source model for libraries?
 Important Library-related OSS
 Scenario in India
 IRs across the Globe
 Widely used open source products and their usage

3. Introduction:
What is Open Source Software (OSS)?.....
Open Source Software is software that users
have the ability to run, distribute, study, and
modify the program for any purpose. It is
available with source code…

4. CHARACTERISTICS:
Acquired freely
Free redistribution
The availability of the source code
Integrity of Authorship

5. Contd..
Manufacturer or developer has no right to
claim royalties
 More GUI friendly
Perform similar functions as commercial
software applications
The right to use the software
Distribution of license not specific to a
product

6. WHY DO PEOPLE RELEASE THEIR
SOFTWARES AS OSS ?
Because….

7. The users of OSS have different kind of
freedom, most importantly the freedom to
study how the program works, and adapt it
to one’s needs…

8. Why Open Source Model for
Librarians/Libraries?
Open source software is beginning to
have a long term effect on libraries.
Beneficial for smaller and medium size
libraries…

9. What will open source mean to our
libraries? More flexibility and freedom than
software purchased with license restrictions.
Effective in creating/organizing digital library
resources
Public Good- as it allows the work of others to
benefit everyone

10. Contd…
Encourage librarians to amplify IT skills.
Elevate morale of LIS professionals.
Effective user-education.
Beneficial for library users.
Free distribution to other libraries.
Amplify sense of ownership in LIS professionals.
Eliminate hassle of Vendors.
New functions and service in desired format.
Security and privacy.

11. For evaluating an OSS for library…
Different modules like cataloguing, circulation,
acquisition etc
No restrictions on use
Low cost or free
Innovation and MARC-supported.
User-driven
Collaboration
Transfer of Technical Know-How
Reliability
Security and Stability
No supplier lock-in

12. Most importantly, current source code and
documentation are available for downloading.
Weaknesses-
Unanticipated Efforts
Lack of Coordination
Inadequate Technical Support
Risk of discontinuation

13. IMPORTANT LIBRARY-RELATED OSS:
DSpace
Koha
Eprints
Greenstone
Fedora
NewGenLib
Ganesha
CDS/ISIS for Windows
CERN, etc.

14. Current Initiatives/Scenario in India:
Many of the reputed institutions in India
(IITs, NITs, IIMs, etc.) are using the OSS.
FSF of India.
National Research Centre for Free/Open
Source Software (NRC-FOSS).

15. Contd…
Open Source Software Resource Centre
(OSSRC).
(Gyandoot) and computer– enabled school
education (Headstart).
Indlinux.org

16. MoU with IBM to focus on OSS
technology.
Shiksha India Trust.
E-governance
Government of India has allocated Rs.
23000 crore for e-Governance during 11th
Plan.

17. Institutional Repositories using OSS in India...
Name Host Institution URL Documents Software
Digital National Institute http://drs.ni Journal articles, DSpace
Repository of Oceanography o.org/drs/ conference
Service of NIO proceeding
NAL National http://nal- Research EPrints
Institutional Aerospace ir.nal.res.in/ Papers,
Laboratories Articles,
Repository
(NAL) Reports, etc.
Dspace@NCL National http://dspac Theses, DSpace
Chemical e.ncl.res.in/ Research
Laboratory (NCL) Papers,
Articles,
Reports, etc.
Librarian’s Documentation https://drtc.i Research DSpace
Digital Library Research & sibang.ac.in Papers,
(LDL) Training Centre / Articles,
(DRTC) Reports, etc.

18. contd…
DSpace at G.B. Pant http://202.141.1 Research Papers, DSpace
GBPUAT University of 16.205/dspace Articles, Reports,
University Agriculture & Thesis, etc.
Technology
ILA Repository Indian Institute of http://prints.iiap. Research Papers, DSpace
Astrophysics res.in/ Articles, Reports,
Thesis, etc.
EPrints@IIITA Indian Institute of http://eprints.iiit Research Papers, EPrints
Information a.ac.in/ Articles
DSpace@IIMK Indian Institute of http://dspace.ii Research Papers, DSpace
Management, mk.ac.in/ Articles, Reports,
Kozhikode (IIMK) etc.
EPrints@IISC Indian Institute of http://eprints.iis Research Papers, EPrints
Science (IISC) c.ernet.in Articles,Reports,
etc

19. contd…
ETD@IISc Indian Institute of http://etd.ncsi.iisc. Theses & DSpace
Science (IISC) ernet.in Dissertations
EPrints@IIT Indian Institute of http://eprint.iitd.ac.i Research DSpace
D Technology, n/dspace/ Papers, Articles,
Delhi (IITD Reports, etc.
ISI Library, Indian Statistical http://library.isiban Research DSpace
Bangalore Institute, g.ac.in:8080/dspac Papers, Articles,
Bangalore e Reports, etc.
DSpace at INFLIBNET http://dspace.inflib Research DSpace
INFLIBNET net.ac.in Papers, Articles,
Reports, etc.
DSpace at National Centre http://ncralib.ncra.ti Research DSpace
NCRA for Radio fr.res.in/ dspace/ Papers, Articles,
Astrophysics Reports, Thesis,
etc.

20. Institutional Repositories across the Globe:

21. Widely used open source products:
Apache HTTP Server, the e-commerce
platform osCommerce and the internet
browser Mozilla Firefox, GNU/Linux
operating system, an open source
Unix-like operating system, and its
derivative Android.

22. According to the Netcraft Web Server Survey,
July 2012, we find that…usage share of Apache
Web Server is the highest…..being an open
source…

23. Some Sources/Help/Information…
 Koha - http://www.koha.org (ILS + fed search)
 Evergreen - http://www.open-ils.org/ (ILS)
 VUFind - http://www.vufind.org/ (new OPAC)
 SOPAC - http://www.thesocialopac.net/ (OPAC w/ social
data layer)
 eXtensible Catalog - http://www.extensiblecatalog.org/ (fed
search)
 LibraryFind - http://www.libraryfind.org/ (fed search)
 MasterKey - http://liblime.com/products/masterkey (fed
search)
 BlackLight - http://blacklight.rubyforge.org/ (new OPAC)
 LibX - http://www.libx.org/ (Browser plug-in – nice features)
 reSearcher – suite of products - http://researcher.sfu.ca/
 Biblio – open source catloguing - http://biblios.org/

24. contd..
 Index Data – open source middleware - http://www.indexdata.dk/
 Open Source Victoria – group of 80 local firms -
http://www.osv.org.au/
 Linux Australia - http://www.linux.org.au
 Liblime - http://liblime.com/
 Equinox - http://www.esilibrary.com/esi/software.php
 AGIMO Open Source resources - http://www.finance.gov.au/e-
government/infrastructure/open-source-software.html
 AGIMO - Open Source Software in Government: Innovation and
Shared Experience - http://www.finance.gov.au/e-
government/better-practice-and-collaboration/events/2007/open-
source-software-in-government.html
 Ask-OSS – Strategy and case studies from the Australian Service
for Knowledge of Open Source Software - http://ask-
oss.mq.edu.au/index.php?
option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=2&id=17&Itemid=
61

25. Conclusion:
The positives of OSS are immense for any
country. However, these can manifest only if a
policy can truly capture the spirit of OSS. There
are some challenges which should be faced and
the problems be solved.
Open source software solutions are best suited
for libraries. Thus it may be concluded saying
that open source software is as good as owning
it. The benefits of using open source software
over a period far outweigh as compared to
propriety software. Its only that we should know
it more, and apply it.

26. Thank You