Review of Greenstone Digital Library Software Website

Resource: http://www.greenstone.org/cgi-bin/library

This Website introduces what is known as Greenstone Software. Greenstone Digital Library Software is an open source, multilingual system which has the ability to build and serve digital library collections. It provides a new way of organizing information and all the information can be published on the internet or on CD-Rom. Greenstone was developed by the New Zealand Digital Library Project at the University of Waikato, in cooperation with UNESCO and Human Info NGO, and was launched in 2000. On the home page, the website outlines different versions for Greenstone. The website offers several detailed instruction manuals to support installation and maintenance. It gives different platforms and interfaces for Greenstone. The website lists numerous examples about many libraries and organizations using Greenstone as their libraries management system. Some links are provided to allow quick and easy navigation across web pages. The website also has Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) which the user can ask questions, and some experts answer the users questions. There are 11 documented sample collections and various tutorial materials available. Finally, there is a support part on the website. It offers users' and developers' mailing list, this gives users and developers more useful information which was provided by consulting companies on a commercial basis. Digital libraries are getting more popular, and open source software has been increasingly used by libraries. This website is fantastic for people want to know and learn more about Greenstone digital library software.