FOSS for Libraries

What free and open source software is available for libraries? The following list identifies viable FOSS solutions for libraries and provides details on the software as well as its FOSS user and developer communities. When the software is known to be in use in eIFL.net member libraries, this too is noted. Links to the main project site and the download site are included and each entry is reviewed on a monthly basis to keep it up to date.

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

ABCD

Summary:	ABCD stands for "Automatización de Bibliotecas y Centros de Documentación" in Spanish which in English is "Library and Documentation Centers Automation". It is web-based integrated library management software comprising the main basic library functions. It is the next-generation FOSS development of the ISIS suite

Homepage:	http://reddes.bvsalud.org/projects/abcd/
Download:	http://bvsmodelo.bvsalud.org/php/level.php?lang=en&component=31&item=13
Version:	0.8 (considered a demo while ABCD is in substantial development)
Licence:	GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL), version 3

User mailing list:	http://reddes.bvsalud.org/projects/abcd/wiki/MailingLists (coming soon)
Developer mailing list:	http://reddes.bvsalud.org/projects/abcd/wiki/MailingLists (coming soon)
Additional community resources:

Operating system:	Available for Windows and Linux
Underlying technology:	PHP, ISIS(-Script), JavaScript, AJAX
Supported standards:

Localisation:	ABCD will be translated into many languages; it is currently available in Spanish, English, French and Portuguese.

Use in eIFL.net countries	Since ABCD is still in development, it is not in production use in eIFL.net countries. However, any library currently using CDS/ISIS software will be considering testing ABCD as a possible next migration.

If your library is using this software, please let us know.

CUFTS

Summary:	open source serials management

Homepage:	http://researcher.sfu.ca/cufts
Download:	http://cufts2.lib.sfu.ca/trac/CUFTS/wiki/DownloadCufts
Version:
Licence:	GNU General Public License (GPL)

User mailing list:	http://lib-forums.lib.sfu.ca/
Developer mailing list:
Additional community resources:	Documentation for CUFTS can be found at http://researcher.sfu.ca/documents

Operating system:	Linux, Solaris, BSD
Underlying technology:	CUFTS uses PostgreSQL, Perl, DBI, and Apache.
Supported standards:

Localisation:

Use in eIFL.net countries

If your library is using this software, please let us know.

DSpace

Summary:	an open-source solution for accessing, managing and preserving scholarly works.

Homepage:	http://www.dspace.org/
Download:	http://www.dspace.org/index.php/Software/
Version:	1.5.1
Licence:	BSD License

User mailing list:	http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/dspace-general
Developer mailing list:	https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/dspace-devel
Additional community resources:	wide range of resources including wiki, training materials, and FAQ; see http://www.dspace.org/

Operating system:	deployable on Windows, OSX, or Linux.
Underlying technology:
Supported standards:

Localisation:

Use in eIFL.net countries	DSpace is used in many eIFL.net countries where institutional repositories are found. For a substantial listing of DSpace users worldwide see http://www.dspace.org/index.php/DSpace-Repositories/Repositories-Alphabetical.html

If your library is using this software, please let us know.

EPrints

Summary:	a flexible platform for building high quality, high value repositories.

Homepage:	http://www.eprints.org/
Download:	http://www.eprints.org/software/
Version:	v 3.1.3
Licence:	GNU General Public License (GPL)

User mailing list:	Technical user list http://mailman.ecs.soton.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/eprints-tech
Developer mailing list:
Additional community resources:	For additional resources including training materials and documentation see http://www.eprints.org/software/

Operating system:	Packaged versions available for Linux (Debian/Ubuntu; Redhat/Fedora) and for Windows XP and Vista.
Underlying technology:
Supported standards:

Localisation:

Use in eIFL.net countries	EPrints is used in many eIFL.net countries where institutional repositories are found. For a substantial listing of EPrint users worldwide see http://www.eprints.org/software/archives/

If your library is using this software, please let us know.

Evergreen

Summary:	an enterprise-class library automation system

Homepage:	http://evergreen-ils.org/
Download:	http://evergreen-ils.org/downloads.php
Version:	1.4.0.4
Licence:	GNU General Public License (GPL)

User mailing list:	http://evergreen-ils.org/listserv.php
Developer mailing list:	http://evergreen-ils.org/listserv.php
Additional community resources:	wide range of resources including wiki, documentation project, IRC channel and more; see http://evergreen-ils.org/

Operating system:	deployed on a Linux server, e.g. Debian or Ubuntu
Underlying technology:	OpenSRF, Postgres, Perl, Apache, Ejabber
Supported standards:

Localisation:	Evergreen is preparing to make localisation much easier. The current arrangement is described here.

Use in eIFL.net countries	eIFL-FOSS ILS project pilots: Armenia: Fundamental Scientific Library of the National Academy of Sciences Nepal: Madan Puraskar Pustakalaya Zimbabwe: Midlands State University Library Evergreen is principally used in the USA and Canada at present.

If your library is using this software, please let us know.

Fedora

Summary:	an open source solution for accessing, managing and preserving scholarly works.

Homepage:	http://www.fedora-commons.org/
Download:	http://www.fedora-commons.org/software/downloads
Version:	3.2.1
Licence:	Apache License V2.0

User mailing list:	https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/fedora-commons-users
Developer mailing list:	https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/fedora-commons-developers
Additional community resources:	wide range of resources available including documentation, use cases, presentations and resource specific to user or developers; see http://www.fedora-commons.org/

Operating system:	Cross-platform java-based product allowing for installation on many platforms.
Underlying technology:	Java-based repository that support use with MySQL, Oracle or PostgreSQL databases.
Supported standards:

Localisation:

Use in eIFL.net countries	Fedora is used in a number of eIFL.net countries where institutional repositories are found. For a substantial listing of Fedora user worldwide see https://fedora-commons.org/confluence/display/FEDINFO/Fedora+Commons+Community+Registry

If your library is using this software, please let us know.

GODOT

Summary:	Open source link resolver. GODOT stands for Generalized Online Documents, Ordering, and Texts.

Homepage:	http://researcher.sfu.ca/godot
Download:	http://cufts2.lib.sfu.ca/trac/godot/wiki/DownloadGodot
Version:	2.0.3
Licence:	GNU General Public License (GPL)

User mailing list:	http://lib-forums.lib.sfu.ca/
Developer mailing list:
Additional community resources:	Available from the project wiki http://cufts2.lib.sfu.ca/trac/godot

Operating system:	Linux, Solaris, BSD
Underlying technology:
Supported standards:

Localisation:

Use in eIFL.net countries	GODOT is used in a number of eIFL.net libraries including at the Saint Petersburg State University.

If your library is using this software, please let us know.

Greenstone

Summary:	a suite of software for building and distributing digital library collections.

Homepage:	http://www.greenstone.org/
Download:	http://www.greenstone.org/download
Version:	2.82
Licence:	GNU General Public License (GPL)

User mailing list:	https://list.scms.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/greenstone-users
Developer mailing list:	https://list.scms.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/greenstone-devel
Additional community resources:	wide range of resources including wiki, example sites, howtos, and more; see http://www.greenstone.org/ Regional support groups have also formed; see, for example, the Southern African Greenstone Support Network and the Greenstone Support for South Asia

Operating system:	binary versions available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X.
Underlying technology:
Supported standards:

Localisation:	Greenstone is available in a wide variety of languages.

Use in eIFL.net countries	Greenstone instances involved in the Southern African Greenstone Support Network: Lesotho: Lesotho College of Education Library Lesotho: National University of Lesotho Malawi: Bunda College Library Namibia: University of Namibia Zimbabwe: National University of Science and Technology Greenstone is used in many countries through the world.

If your library is using this software, please let us know.

Koha

Summary:	a full-featured integrated library system (ILS)

Homepage:	http://www.koha.org/
Download:	http://www.koha.org/download/
Version:	3.0
Licence:	GNU General Public License (GPL)

User mailing list:	http://www.koha.org/community/mailing-lists.html
Developer mailing list:	http://lists.koha.org/mailman/listinfo/koha-devel
Additional community resources:	wide range of resources including wiki, documentation project, IRC channel and more; see http://www.koha.org/community/

Operating system:	usually deployed on a Linux server, e.g. Debian
Underlying technology:	Linux, Apache, MySQL, Perl, Zebra
Supported standards:

Localisation:	many locales already supported; contributions organised through the Koha Pootle Translation Manager http://translate.koha.org/

Use in eIFL.net countries	Pilots as part of eIFL-FOSS ILS project: Armenia: Fundamental Scientific Library of the National Academy of Sciences Georgia: National Scientific Library Malawi: Mzuzu University Mali: Library of the Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Dentistry, University of Bamako Palestine: An-Najah National University Library Koha is also already in full production use in many countries.

If your library is using this software, please let us know.

NewGenLib

Summary:	an integrated library management system

Homepage:	http://www.verussolutions.biz/web/
Download:	http://www.verussolutions.biz/web/node/29
Version:	2.2 beta 1
Licence:	GNU General Public License (GPL), version 3

User mailing list:	http://sourceforge.net/forum/?group_id=210780
Developer mailing list:
Additional community resources:	wiki and faq available from Support, services and discussions page http://www.verussolutions.biz/web/node/28

Operating system:	Windows and Linux binaries available
Underlying technology:	SWING, Java, JDOM, Hibernate, Postgresql 8.0,
Supported standards:

Localisation:

Use in eIFL.net countries	Some eIFL.net libraries are currently testing the feasibility of NewGenLib

If your library is using this software, please let us know.

Shibboleth

Summary:	The Shibboleth System is a standards based, open source software package for web single sign-on across or within organizational boundaries. It allows sites to make informed authorization decisions for individual access of protected online resources in a privacy-preserving manner.

Homepage:	http://shibboleth.internet2.edu/
Download:	http://shibboleth.internet2.edu/shib-v2.0.html
Version:	Version 2.1
Licence:	Apache 2.0

User mailing list:	http://shibboleth.internet2.edu/lists.html
Developer mailing list:	http://shibboleth.internet2.edu/lists.html
Additional community resources:	http://shibboleth.internet2.edu/community.html

Operating system:	Binaries and source are available for Linux, Windows and Mac OS X.
Underlying technology:
Supported standards:

Localisation:

Use in eIFL.net countries

If your library is using this software, please let us know.

Zotero

Summary:	A free, easy-to-use Firefox extension to help you collect, manage, and cite research sources.

Homepage:	http://www.zotero.org/
Download:	http://www.zotero.org/
Version:	1.0.10
Licence:	Educational Community License (ECL) version 1.0

User mailing list:	http://forums.zotero.org/categories/
Developer mailing list:	http://www.zotero.org/support/dev/start
Additional community resources:	wide range of resources at the project site including forums, blog, screencasts, and user support documentation.

Operating system:	Zotero is a Firefox extension compatible with Firefox 2.0 or later, as well as Netscape Navigator 9.0 and Flock 0.91, for Windows, Mac, or Linux.
Underlying technology:	As an extension of the Mozilla Firefox web browser and is implemented entirely within the Javascript layer. It uses SQLite for its data storage and XPCOM.
Supported standards:

Localisation:	The Zotero user interface is already available in more than 30 languages. Additional contributions are welcome via the project's translation effort at BabelZilla.

Use in eIFL.net countries	As Zotero is tied to an individual user's browser, it may be difficult to assess how widely it is being used in eIFL.net libraries. However, we know that it is being promoted for student use at the Armenian Fundamental Scientific Library of the National Academy of Sciences.

If your library is using this software, please let us know.

dbWiz

Summary:	open source federated searching

Homepage:	http://researcher.sfu.ca/dbwiz
Download:	http://cufts2.lib.sfu.ca:8033/trac/dbwiz/wiki/LiveCD
Version:
Licence:	GNU General Public License (GPL)

User mailing list:	http://lib-forums.lib.sfu.ca/
Developer mailing list:
Additional community resources:	Documentation for dbWiz is available at http://researcher.sfu.ca/documents

Operating system:
Underlying technology:
Supported standards:

Localisation:

Use in eIFL.net countries

If your library is using this software, please let us know.

reSearcher

Summary:	a suite of open source products for locating and managing electronic information resources. The four main modules of reSearcher are (follow links to separate entries for each): CUFTS: Open Source Serials Management; GODOT: Open Source Link Resolving; dbWiz: Open Source Federated Searching; and Open Knowledgebase.

Homepage:	http://researcher.sfu.ca/
Download:	http://researcher.sfu.ca/downloads
Version:
Licence:	GNU General Public License (GPL)

User mailing list:	http://lib-forums.lib.sfu.ca/
Developer mailing list:
Additional community resources:	Documentation for the reSearcher suite is available at http://researcher.sfu.ca/documents

Operating system:
Underlying technology:
Supported standards:

Localisation:

Use in eIFL.net countries

If your library is using this software, please let us know.

FOSS for Libraries

First Southern African Greenstone Support Network workshop in Senegal

First Southern African Greenstone Support Network workshop in Kenya

BIREME presents the ABCD FOSS ILS software officially

Koha and Eprints workshop, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia - report

Program management