Greenstone: open-source digital library software with end-user collection building

The Greenstone digital library software is an open-source system for the co nstruction and presentation of information collections. Collections built w ith Greenstone offer effective full-text searching and metadata-based brows ing facilities that are attractive and easy to use. Moreover, they are easi ly maintainable and can be augmented and rebuilt entirely automatically. Th e system is extensible: software "plugins" accommodate different document a nd metadata types. Greenstone incorporates an interface that makes it easy for people to create their own library collections. Collections may be buil t and served locally from the user's own Web server, or (given appropriate permissions) remotely on a shared digital library host. End users can easil y build new collections styled after existing ones from material on the Web or from their local files (or both), and collections can be updated and ne w ones brought online at any time.