GSDL is an open-source software that helps you to build a highly customizable digital repository.

1. DIGITAL LIBRARY SOFTWARE
GREENSTONE

2. INTRODUCTION
A digital library, also called an online library, an internet library, a digital repository, or a digital collection is
an online database of digital objects. In addition to storing content, digital libraries provide means for organizing,
searching, and retrieving the content contained in the collection.
There are two primary types of digital repository: institutional and disciplinary. A disciplinary repository is an online
archive containing works or data associated with these works of scholars in a particular subject area. Institutional
repositories are a popular form of digital library and are collections of institution specific resources. That is
institutional repositories are a kind of institutional intellectual productivity of the research scholars within an
organisation that are collected, organised and accessed via computer network. Of the many open source systems
for digital libraries, two of the most prominent are Greenstone and DSpace.
The digital library systems Greenstone and DSpace aspire to make it easy for others to build their own digital
libraries that offer comprehensive services to users - readers, authors and librarians. Even though Greenstone is
older and more established internationally.

3. GREENSTONE
Developer: Department of Computer Science in the University of Waikato, New Zealand, with UNESCO as part of
its ‘Information for All’ program and the Human Info NGO in Belgium.
The Greenstone software is a collaborative effort between many people. Rodger McNab and Stefan Boddie are the
principal architects and implementors.
Software for building and distributing digital library collections- not a digital library but a tool for building digital
libraries.
Comprehensive system for constructing and presenting collections of documents, including text, images, audio and
video.
It provides a new way of organizing information and publishing it on the Internet or on CD-ROM in the form of a fully-
searchable, metadata-driven digital library. It can also be run in a non-networked environment (standalone), operating
from removable media such as a USB Flash Drive and DVD.
Open-source, multilingual software, issued under the terms of the GNU General Public License. It has an active open
source developer community. Being open source, Greenstone is readily extensible, and benefits from the inclusion of
GNU-licensed modules for full-text retrieval, database management, and text extraction from proprietary document
formats.

4. GREENSTONE
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WHAT GREENSTONE IS NOT

6. History
GREENSTONE
Digital library of Computer Science Technical Reports
1995 May
Began work with Human Info NGO to produce humanitarian CD-ROMs
1997
Decision to use the GPL; name Greenstone adopted
1997
First CD-ROM collection released: Humanity Development Library
1998 Apr
Greenstone.org website established
1998 Aug
BBC collection established
1999 Dec
Greenstone mailing list started
2000 Apr
Formally established cooperative effort with UNESCO and Human Info NGO
2000 Aug

7. History
GREENSTONE
Toki presented to the NZ Digital Library project on behalf of the entire Māori people
2000 Nov
Begin to distribute software on SourceForge
2000 Nov
Development of the Collector
2001
First UNESCO Greenstone CD-ROM
2002 Jun
Begin development of the Greenstone Librarian Interface
2002
Official opening of the Niupepa collection
2002 Mar
Began development of Greenstone3
2002 Apr

8. History
GREENSTONE
Begin development of the Greenstone Translator’s Interface
2003 Nov
DL Consulting incorporated
2003 Jun
IFIP Namur award
2004 Jan
Greenstone distributed with FAO’s Information Management Resource Kit
2005 Feb
Initial release of Greenstone3
2005 Nov
Greenstone Support Group for South Asia launched
2006 Apr
Finalist for the Stockholm Challenge
2006 May
Greenstone distributed with IITE's course Digital Libraries in Education
2007

9. History
GREENSTONE

10. Aim
GREENSTONE
International Training
According to Greenstone website (www.greenstone.org), “The aim of the software is to
empower users, particularly in universities, libraries, and other public service institutions, to
build their own digital libraries. Digital libraries are radically reforming how information is
disseminated and acquired in UNESCO's partner communities and institutions in the fields of
education, science and culture around the world, and particularly in developing countries. We
hope that this software will encourage the effective deployment of digital libraries to share
information and place it in the public domain.”
Training is a bottleneck for widespread adoption of any digital library software.
With UNESCO’s encouragement and sponsorship Greenstone have worked to enable
developing countries to take advantage of digital library technology by running hands-on workshops.
Many Greenstone workshops have been given in developing countries.

11. Versions
GREENSTONE
Greenstone 2 Greenstone 3
Greenstone2 was written in C++. Greenstone3 is a complete redesign
and reimplementation of the original Greenstone digital library
software which is developed in 2000 (Greenstone2). It incorporates
all the features of the previous software, and is backwards compatible.
An import 'Greenstone2 collection' feature is provided in the
Greenstone Librarian Interface (GLI) to assist in the transition to the
new software for existing users. Greenstone3 is written in Java and
takes advantage of many web technologies. Much of the
documentation is similar or identical for the two major versions. This
makes the digital library software highly customizable and extensible
in the functionality it delivers. Greenstone3 is under active
development, and is recommended for download.
Digital Library
Software

12. Software Requirements
GREENSTONE
Server is platform
independent: OS
Windows/Linux/Sola
ris/MAC
Apache web
server/IIS
PERL: Installed
automatically
Java 2 Runtime
Environment (J2RE):
Version 1.4 or
above required for
Greenstone
Librarian Interface
(GLI) and must be
installed before
installing Greenstone

13. Software Requirements
GREENSTONE
Web browsers: For
Readers to access
digital
library/collections
(eg. Internet
Explorer)
ImageMagick:
Needed in order to
build image
collections
C++ compiler:
Needed only if you
wish to compile the
source code (Visual
Studio or GCC)
Greenstone
Digital Library
Software

16. Steps for Installation
GREENSTONE
Once installation is completed, to start Greenstone system click on the Start button, open the Program menu, and
select Greenstone Digital Library. This brings you a dialogue box: just click Enter Library. This automatically starts
your Internet browser and loads the Greenstone Digital Library home page
After installing
J2RE, go for
GSDL folder
choose setup
gsdl 2.70.
Accept all the
terms of
license
agreement by
clicking on
button.
Choose the
type of
installation
(Local Library).
Install the Java
2 Runtime
Environment
(latest
version).
The Install
Shield Wizard
will begin the
installation of
GSDL
software.
Click .
Choose setup
Language.
English (US) is
the default.
Set the admin
password.

17. Advantages
GREENSTONE
It is based on FOSS platform and has active community supporting it.
Easy to install
Easily customisable
Supports multiple languages: In User/Reader Interface and In Librarian Interface
Practical GLI interface for editing/managing GSDL.
Access controls: Password protection at document/collection level

18. Advantages
GREENSTONE
It is Multi-platform application and can run on various operating system platforms,
including Windows (any version), Linux, Sun Solaris, and Mac OSX. It is available
in both binary (executable) and source code form for the Windows (all versions), Linux, and Mac
OS X operating systems and in source code form for other operating systems (Unix).
A Greenstone Collection can be served on the World Wide Web or it can be
exported to a CD-ROM and accessed from the CD-ROM or local hard disc
without the need for Internet connectivity.
It uses Perl-scripting, MG(PP) or Lucene for indexing,
Apache (or built-in webserver), XML,which are proven technologies.
UNICODE compliant facilitating building, searching and browsing documents
in any Unicode-compliant language.

19. Advantages
GREENSTONE
Large Technical Support Base:
• Documentation On Greenstone Site: Manuals, Demo collections, Wiki,Tutorial Exercises, FAQs
• Online Help in: User Interface, Librarian Interface
• Mailing Lists: Global Greenstone Users’ List- For general discussions about Greenstone,
Greenstone Developers’ List- For discussions about development of Greenstone, etc
Greenstone lets you build collections of multimedia documents
such as audio, video, and pictures accompanied by textual description
or metadata to allow searching and browsing.
Supports several metadata sets
Customisable metadata: Includes metadata editor

20. Advantages
GREENSTONE
Separate modules are available for different uses:
– JAVA-based interface for management – Web-browser based access to collections
– CLI client : remote collection building.
Plug-ins for most document formats also available as well as
for crosswalks for ISIS, Dspace, e-mails, MARC, MARCXML.
Greenstone can build indexes from full text documents and also metadata
associated with these documents. It supports creation of indexes for
various metadata fields, either automatically extracted or manually assigned.

21. Technical Features of GREENSTONE
METADATA FORMATS
INTERFACES
INTEROPERABILITY
MULTIPLATFORM USER FRIENDLY APPLICATION
DOCUMENT FORMATS
LANGUAGES

22. New Zealand Digital Library Project http://nzdl.org
A demonstration site set up by the developers of Greenstone, the
New Zealand Digital Library Project. This site contains many
collections, ranging from humanitarian information to computer
science technical reports to demonstration collections of Chinese
and Arabic documents. They exemplify various searching and
browsing options, and include collections in Arabic, Chinese,
French, Maori, and Spanish, as well as English. There are also
some music collections. Uses Greenstone2.
Agricultural Technology Transfer Society (ATTS)
ATTS is a non-governmental organization accredited by the
Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs in the Sudan according to the
work permit No.2234 dated January 21st 2009.
The Lincoln Archives Digital Project
The Lincoln Archives Digital project, launched in 2002, is working to
provide all executive, legislative, judicial, and military federal records,
currently housed in the National Archives of the United States, which
were created during the presidential administration of Abraham Lincoln,
to the global community.
The records are organized as if virtually within the Archives, and
provides an opportunity for related records to link, in a matter of seconds,
i.e. photographs, maps, political cartoons, and documents.
Examples

23. INTERFACES OF GREENSTONE
USER/Reader interface
Greenstone User/Reader Interface
The DL user’s view of the collections
Accessible via any Web browser
Multilingual support (available in +30 Languages)
The Depositor: allows Users to add
documents to collections via the User Interface
Search:
❑ Collection Searching
❑ Document Browsing by specific metadata fields
❑ Presentation of Search Results
Highly customizable

24. USER/Reader interface
INTERFACES OF GREENSTONE
Default interface customised Interface

25. INTERFACES OF GREENSTONE
Librarian Interface
Greenstone Librarian Interface
Interactive Graphical Interface used by
Librarians
To build/maintain collections
Easy to use
Available in English, French, Spanish, and
Russian
Java based
Includes a Metadata editor
Remote management of collections via
Remote GLI

26. INTERFACES OF GREENSTONE
Functions
Download files/web pages for your collection
Gather source files from your local machine
Enrich content with metadata
Design searching & browsing facilities
Create (or build) the collection
Format the output of your collection
Index & Indexer
To determine users queries on collection, there
are three things to consider:
❑ The search indexer: MG, MGPP & Lucene
❑ The search index(es): to specify which parts of
the text are searchable
❑ The partition index(es): to split your collection
into subsections for search purposes
Librarian interface

27. INTERFACES OF GREENSTONE
Greenstone Translator’s Interface
Greenstone supports multilingual interface.
Through the preferences setting, the user can
change the language of the Greenstone interface.
It can also support indexing and searching of
document collections in non-Latin scripts.
Multilingual interface

28. Greenstone is a semi-precious stone that (like this software) is sourced in New Zealand.
In traditional Maori society it was the most highly prized and sought after of all
substances. It can absorb and hold wairua, which is a spirit or life force, and is endowed
with traditional virtues that make it an appropriate emblem for a public-domain digital
library project. Its lustre shows charity; its translucence, honesty; its toughness,
courage; and the sharp edge it can take, justice. The carved piece used in the
Greenstone Digital Library Software logo is a patu or fighting club, and is a family
heirloom of one of our project members. In hand-to-hand combat its delivery is very
quick, very accurate, and very complete. We like to think these qualities also apply to our
software, the razor sharp edge of the patu symbolizing the leading edge of technology.
may peace and calmness surround you,
may you reside in the warmth of a summer's haze,
may the ocean of your travels be as smooth as the polished greenstone.

29. Greenstone is a freely available open
source software for building and
distributing digital library collections
through Internet. Multiplatform
availability, the capability of providing
access in different ways and managing
different file formats, media and
languages are some of the major
advantages of Greenstone. The
Librarian Interface provides the most
advanced and at the same time a very
user friendly approach to collection
building and also metadata
management.
CONCLUSION

30. SEARCH
REFERENCES
SUBJECTS TITLE DATES
(PDF) A bridge between greenstone and DSpace | David Bainbridge, Katherine Don, and Ian Witten - Academia.edu. (n.d.). Retrieved July
31, 2021, from https://www.academia.edu/14592461/A_bridge_between_greenstone_and_DSpace
Bainbridge, D., Osborn, W., Witten, I. H., & Nichols, D. M. (n.d.). Extending Greenstone for Institutional Repositories. Lecture Notes in
Computer Science, 303–312. Retrieved July 31, 2021, from
https://www.academia.edu/26102950/Extending_Greenstone_for_Institutional_Repositories
Digitisation and Digital Libraries-DSpace and GSDL. (n.d.). Retrieved July 31, 2021, from http://www.gnu.org/licenses/
en:beginner:overview_of_greenstone - Greenstone. (n.d.). Retrieved July 31, 2021, from
http://wiki.greenstone.org/doku.php?id=en:beginner:overview_of_greenstone
Factsheet :: Greenstone Digital Library Software. (n.d.). Retrieved July 31, 2021, from https://www.greenstone.org/factsheet
Greenstone (software) - Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved July 31, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenstone_(software)
Greenstone Digital Library Software. (n.d.). Retrieved July 31, 2021, from www.nzdl.org
Greenstone history. (n.d.). Retrieved July 31, 2021, from https://files.greenstone.org/others/Greenstone_history.htm
Institutional repository - Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved July 31, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institutional_repository#Software
Kujenga, A. (n.d.). Digital Resource Management: From Data to Knowledge Greenstone Digital Library Software.
Welcome :: Greenstone Digital Library Software. (n.d.). Retrieved July 31, 2021, from https://www.greenstone.org/