Santhosh Kumar, G; Surendran, Cherukodan; Humayoon Kabir, S(Emerald Group Publishing Limited, July 31, 2011)
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Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to describe the design and development of a digital library at
Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), India, using DSpace open source software.
The study covers the structure, contents and usage of CUSAT digital library.
Design/methodology/approach – This paper examines the possibilities of applying open source in
libraries. An evaluative approach is carried out to explore the features of the CUSAT digital library.
The Google Analytics service is employed to measure the amount of use of digital library by users
across the world.
Findings – CUSAT has successfully applied DSpace open source software for building a digital
library. The digital library has had visits from 78 countries, with the major share from India. The
distribution of documents in the digital library is uneven. Past exam question papers share the major
part of the collection. The number of research papers, articles and rare documents is less.
Originality/value – The study is the first of its type that tries to understand digital library design
and development using DSpace open source software in a university environment with a focus on the
analysis of distribution of items and measuring the value by usage statistics employing the Google
Analytics service. The digital library model can be useful for designing similar systems
Description:
The Electronic Library
Vol. 31 No. 2, 2013
pp. 217-225