An open source solution to a common collection problem: the Africa image and map portal

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 7-9
Author(s):  
Mia Partlow ◽  
Theresa Quill ◽  
Mireille Djenno
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Spatial Data ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Academic Library ◽  
African Studies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Software Licensing ◽  
Index Maps

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the Africa image and map portal (AIMP) project’s origins and development, along with its applications to date. This paper includes methods and a step-by-step appendix so that the project can be reproduced at other institutions. Design/methodology/approach AIMP was created with a suite of free and open source software, including QGIS, Mapbox.js and GitHub. Built around the concept of an interactive index map, AIMP allows for geographic searching of maps, posters and images from Indiana University’s (IU) African Studies collections. This paper presents a case study for the use of this geographic discovery tool at an academic library. Findings AIMP has allowed comparison of collection strengths with research interests of IU African Studies affiliates and to make strategic collection development decisions that will best serve the authors’ patrons. The instruction applications of AIMP are also full of potential. To date, the Librarian for African Studies has used the portal to familiarize faculty, as well as undergraduate and graduate students, with the range of image and map resources available to them, in a variety of settings. Social implications AIMP allows researchers around the world to discover materials through a geographic search, dramatically connecting and increasing access to and discoverability of these important collections. The use of free and open source geospatial software (foss4g) means that the interface does not rely on an institution’s proprietary software-licensing agreements, making it replicable for other institutions. This use of foss4g widens access to maps, spatial data, images and posters of Africa held by IUL to a global audience. Originality/value While interactive index maps are popular among map libraries, AIMP uniquely acts as a discovery portal for a variety of media, including images and posters. In this way, AIMP works to overcome institutional silos and increase discoverability of these important collections to a global audience.

scholarly journals Options for putting CDS/ISIS databases on the internet

2006 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 286-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Buxton
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Programming Languages ◽  
Operating Systems ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Content Type

PurposeTo review the variety of software solutions available for putting CDS/ISIS databases on the internet. To help anyone considering which route to take.Design/methodology/approachBriefly describes the characteristics, history, origin and availability of each package. Identifies the type of skills required to implement the package and the kind of application it is suited to. Covers CDS/ISIS Unix version, JavaISIS, IsisWWW, WWWISIS Versions 3 and 5, Genisis, IAH, WWW‐ISIS, and OpenIsis.FindingsThere is no obvious single “best” solution. Several are free but may require more investment in acquiring the skills to install and configure them. The choice will depend on the user's experience with CDS/ISIS formatting language, HTML, programming languages, operating systems, open source software, and so on.Originality/valueThere is detailed documentation available for most of these packages, but little previous guidance to help potential users to distinguish and choose between them.

Leaning into sustainability at University of Alberta Libraries

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 136-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald Beasley ◽  
Trish Rosseel
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Academic Library ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Library Services ◽  
Staff Time ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Lean Principles ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Staffing Model

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a case study that considers the links between cost avoidance, lean design, and sustainability in relation to two different library projects at University of Alberta Libraries (UAL) – the design of the Research and Collections Resource Facility and the development of new fee-based library services at UAL’s John W. Scott Health Sciences Library. Design/methodology/approach – This case study describes the analysis of each project’s workflows in relation to lean design in order to enhance processes and service delivery. Findings – Findings to date in both of these ongoing projects suggest that consideration of the lean philosophy has already led to process and service improvements. With regard to the new building design project, revised task design is already resulting in significant savings in staff time, and work space. And the staffing model for fee-based specialized services has already been redesigned, an alignment with lean principles. Research limitations/implications – While this paper does discuss and define lean design, it does not provide a comprehensive summary of research in this area. Originality/value – This paper highlights the value of lean design as a framework for designing, developing, and reviewing academic library buildings, services, processes, and workflows to ensure they are sustainable.

Measuring the academic library

2018 ◽  
Vol 119 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 109-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Salisbury ◽  
Jennifer Peasley
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Academic Library ◽  
National Standards ◽  
Digital Environment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Outcomes ◽  
Service Data ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an Australian perspective of impact and value by examining how the broader international and national perspectives play out in practice in the Australian context and where adaption for local requirements is necessary. Design/methodology/approach This paper will explore the assessment of impact and value in academic libraries and the tools available to translate today’s inputs into future impact and value. It will focus on a range of methods and procedures, including international and national standards, frameworks and benchmarks. Findings The La Trobe University Library is presented as a case study to examine the challenges of leveraging tools to assess impact and communicate the value of the library across the university community. Originality/value Assessing the impact and demonstrating the value of the academic library in a digital environment is a constant challenge. While usage and service data are plentiful, traditional metrics no longer sufficiently demonstrate the academic library’s contribution to university learning, teaching and research outcomes.

Library automation with cloud based ILMS Librarika: case study of Central University of South Bihar

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (7) ◽  
pp. 13-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mayank Yuvaraj
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Public Access ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Library Management ◽  
Library Automation ◽  
Evaluative Study ◽  
Data Ownership ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to carry out an evaluative study of the cloud-based integrated library management solution (ILMS): Librarika. Design/methodology/approach An evaluation checklist was designed from the review of existing ILMSs as well as literature review. The checklist was distributed to the library staff of the Central University of South Bihar. Findings Librarika was found to be comparable with existing open-source ILMSs but lacked transparency of data. Librarika had all the features of the commonly available open-source ILMSs, like KOHA. However, respondents pointed out that Librarika had a better circulation module and online public access catalogue (OPAC) features compared to other ILMSs. Concerns over data ownership, migration and portability in the cloud were considered as the major bottlenecks in its adoption. Practical implications The study will help other libraries in decision-making who are considering Librarika for their ILMSs. Originality/value Till date, no evaluative study has been carried out on any cloud-based ILMS.

scholarly journals Supporting faculty through an open education and affordability gratitude campaign

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 353-371
Author(s):  
Mandi Goodsett
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Academic Library ◽  
Campus Culture ◽  
Open Education ◽  
Campaign Strategies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Grant Programs ◽  
Future Events ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this study is to demonstrate how an academic library can use a library-led, public, positive, and broad faculty gratitude campaign to help a campus embrace a culture of open education. Design/methodology/approach Using a literature review of faculty outreach efforts in the area of open education and an examination of the psychology of persuasion, this library developed a gratitude campaign that consisted of a faculty video, letters from the provost, signed cards from students, door hangers, and the delivery of swag bags to faculty offices. Findings While it is challenging to assess how much an initiative may have changed campus culture, initial responses to the gratitude campaign have been overwhelmingly positive. In addition, it cost little or nothing to develop the campaign and materials can be reused in future events and initiatives. Practical implications Changing campus culture, maintaining momentum in a program with limited funding, and reaching reluctant faculty are all challenges for open education initiatives. Initiating a gratitude campaign can begin to address all of these by being public, positive, and inclusive. This case study describes how a campus could adopt any or all of the gratitude campaign strategies and it includes openly licensed examples, templates, and models for readers to use. Originality/value Open education and affordability efforts that use presentations, grant programs, and awards are common on academic campuses. However, when funding is tight or these efforts fail to reach new audiences, a gratitude campaign can make inroads where these traditional efforts are limited.

scholarly journals Dilemmas within commercial involvement in open source software

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 344-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malgorzata Ciesielska ◽  
Ann Westenholz
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Level Of Involvement ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Literature Reviews ◽  
Open Source Communities ◽  
Social Logics

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature about the commercial involvement in open source software, levels of this involvement and consequences of attempting to mix various logics of action. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses the case study approach based on mixed methods: literature reviews and news searches, electronic surveys, qualitative interviews and observations. It combines discussions from several research projects as well as previous publications to present the scope of commercial choices within open source software and their consequences. Findings – The findings show that higher levels of involvement in open source software communities poses important questions about the balance between economic, technological, and social logics as well as the benefits of being autonomous, having access to collaborative networks and minimizing risks related to free-riding. There are six levels of commercial involvement in open source communities, and each of them is characterized by a different dilemma. Originality/value – The paper sheds light on the various level of involvement of business in open source movement and emphasize that the popularized “open innovation” concept is only the first step in real involvement and paradigm shift.

Open Source Software solutions in Indian libraries

2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 409-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anilkumar Hanumappa ◽  
Mallikarjun Dora ◽  
Viral Navik
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Academic Library ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Sample Population ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Library Management ◽  
Library Automation ◽  
Library Management System ◽  
Library Professionals

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the Open Source Software (OSS) market relevant to Indian libraries and more specifically, to review the existing library automation, i.e. Integrated Library Management System (ILMS) and Digital Library (DL) software solutions. Design/methodology/approach – Survey method was adopted to collect data for this study and the sample population for this study included 356 library professionals. Findings – The study findings indicate presence of OSS like Koha and NewGenLib in the ILMS category and Dspace, Eprints and Greenstone in the DL software category in India. The study also indicates that there is considerable interest among Indian libraries to adopt or migrate to OSS. Research limitations/implications – The sample included largely, more than 80 percent, responses from the academic library segment and hence the results and analysis maybe more skewed to the academic library segment. However the implications of this study could be extended to other type of libraries and facilitate library professionals to make software choices with respect to library automation. Originality/value – In addition to exploring the opportunities of OSS implementation in Indian libraries, the study includes issues related to migration, implementation, budget, training, etc. The study would have value for library professionals and OSS vendors to understand the Indian library market in the context of OSS.

The current state of library open source software research

2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron Palmer ◽  
Namjoo Choi
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Classification Scheme ◽  
Academic Library ◽  
Public Access ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Reference Source ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Current State

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to assess the current state of research on open source software (OSS) in the library context. Design/methodology/approach – This study employs a descriptive literature review. It categorizes library OSS research according to a classification scheme developed for the study, and analyzes the research based on year published, publication outlet, type of software discussed, type of article, type of library, and article topic. Findings – The authors found significant research attention devoted to open source repository applications, online public access catalog (OPAC) software, and integrated library systems (ILS). The majority of article types employed were case studies and discussion pieces. When articles were focused on a specific library, it was dominantly an academic library. Article topics centered around OSS adoption, development, provision of foundational or introductory information, and OSS performance. Originality/value – The authors are not aware of any other study that surveys and synthesizes the literature on OSS in the library context. Not only does this study provide a reference source and classification scheme for those conducting future research in this area to utilize, but it also identifies areas in this field that have received the most research attention, as well as areas that could benefit from future studies. This study will prove helpful to scholars looking for directions to take their research.

Open source software for library systems – 2

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (9) ◽  
pp. 10-13
Author(s):  
Adetoun A. Oyelude
Keyword(s):  
Operating System ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Informed Decision Making ◽  
Software Library ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Library Management

Purpose This paper aims to concentrate on reviewing articles on open source software (OSS), found on the internet, that were published in the year 2016. Design/methodology/approach A critical look is taken at OSS generally as found in the literature and also on the commonly used OSS in libraries and information science work or research work. Findings It is hoped that this review will assist in pointing out the trends and aid in informed decision-making, as it concerns OSS. Social implications Akintomide (2016) described OSS as a part of human existence which is exhibited in mobile devices that run on the android operating system, to computers, laptops and servers that run on the Linux operating system, to other software (Library management software inclusive) that are open access. Originality/value The openness of it makes the users (libraries and scholars) leave documentation that steers how the open software technologies are implemented and by whom. They are free, have used communities, are vetted by users and are constantly in development.

Designing metadata schema for a human library: a prototype

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anupta Jana ◽  
Rosalien Rout
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Dublin Core ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Metadata Schema ◽  
Metadata Standards ◽  
Library Users ◽  
Library Resources ◽  
Library Professionals

Purpose In the absence of a working model for describing, managing and archiving the human library resources, this study aims to attempt a practical approach that will provide all the necessary information to the library users, library professionals and researchers. Design/methodology/approach Initially, different metadata standards, archival projects and attributes of the human books were reviewed to identify appropriate metadata standards that accurately describe the resources of the human library. A free and open-source software; DSpace was considered for implementing newly defined metadata schema in this study. Thereafter, a set of new subject entries was incorporated to standardize the contents of the human library. Findings This study finds that the widely used metadata schema – Dublin Core (DC) is not appropriate to describe the contents of the human book. It shows that selected metadata elements from the types – person and event of schema.org can be used for describing, organizing and archiving the resources of the human library. It further highlights that existing subject entries are not sufficient to standardize the contents of these types of resources. Research limitations/implications Two metadata fields in DSpace are strongly recommended by the DSpace community to consider in the input-forms.xml file, that is why the study could not completely omit DC metadata elements in describing human books. Originality/value The study provides a roadmap to the library professionals on the inclusion of new metadata schemas in describing the uniquely featured resources of the library.

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