Open Source movement has tremendously influenced
Information industry, in particular the Digital Library
Environment where the Information Systems and services are
inevitable. This has helped the Library and Information
Centers in developing User Interface to render web based
services to the patrons. Wherever the network infrastructure
and the target users are in place, the design and development
of IR user interface using Open Source system for a specific
application is very much possible. This paper highlights the
role of Open Source Systems in detail and explains a prototype
IR User Interface which was developed in-house at Indira
Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam

Jayakumar, C

Rajendran, V

Somasekharan, M

Soundararajan, E

English

Librarians' Digital Library

 1
User Interface Design and Development: The role of Open Source Systems 
 
C. Jayakumar, E. Soundararajan, J.V.M. Joseph, V. Rajendran and M. Somasekharan 
Scientific Information Resource Division 
Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research 
Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu -603 102, India 
Email : jay@igcar.gov.in 
 
Abstract 
Open Source movement has tremendously influenced 
Information industry, in particular the Digital Library 
Environment where the Information Systems and services are 
inevitable. This has helped the Library and Information 
Centers in developing User Interface to render web based 
services to the patrons. Wherever the network infrastructure 
and the target users are in place, the design and development 
of IR user interface using Open Source system for a specific 
application is very much possible. This paper highlights the 
role of Open Source Systems in detail and explains a prototype 
IR User Interface which was developed in-house at Indira 
Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam. 
 
Keywords : Open Source Software; Online Information 
Retrieval; User Interface; Web based access; LAMP.  
 
1. Introduction 
 
Advances in Communication and Information Technologies have revolutionized the way 
users interact with Computer systems and are bringing a whole new set of task needs. 
Presently, Users prepare to have web enabled search interface to explore the Information 
resource which are developed for a networked environment. Basic Search Interface with 
cumulative results display satisfies the target users. Use of Open Source systems in an 
academic and research environment enable us to have full control of the design and 
development of the system from the user access point of view. 
 
2. User Interface 
 
In digital libraries, the web-based electronic databases have become important resources 
to the patrons for supporting their research and development activities. It provides 
functionality and ease of use superior to print counterparts. The search interfaces for 
these resources are aimed at helping users in retrieving results with high precision and 
recall value. An efficient information system helps in problem solving, research and 
decision making. 
 
The basic requirements of the users querying the collections are to: 
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• find and retrieve pertinent information through interfaces which are simple, 
intuitive and homogeneous; 
• retrieve documents meeting specific criteria, such as a given date, language, or 
type; 
• have the results of a browse or search presented in an easy-to-understand format; 
• view and download parts or all of documents retrieved. 
Scientific users also want, 
• Access information on a given domain, using a familiar classification scheme; 
• Proper metadata of the information retrieved (i.e. date, version and source). 
 
3. Open Source 
 
Open Source Solutions are the emerging trend today and started dominating the 
information industry. In particular, the libraries are the great beneficiaries of these open 
source technology. The following are some the benefits of open source systems are 
  
• Enables librarians and libraries to have more control over their information systems 
and services.  
• Provides the means to explore and implement ways of doing librarianship without 
the reliance on a software vendor.  
• Illustrates how librarianship can facilitate library services and collections that go 
beyond book lending.  
• Enables libraries to meet the quickly changing information needs, desires, and 
expectations of users.  
 
Fortunately for Digital Library Applications, there are lot of open source systems 
available namely DSpace, Green Stone Digital Library (GSDL), e-prints, fedora, Linux, 
XML etc. They are not only cost effective but also capable of handling DL challenges 
like content/metadata management, information dissemination etc. Extensibility is 
achieved from plug-ins that is available under GNU public license. The types of open 
source systems may include 
 
• Operating Systems 
• HTTP Servers and clients 
• SMTP Servers and clients 
• Database Systems 
• Programming Languages 
• XML Processors and other application software 
 
3.1 Linux Operating System 
Linux is a 64bit operating system that offers excellent utilities & applications such as 
Apache, Samba, MySQL, PHP, and Open Office etc. They greatly help in digitization, 
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electronic resource management, web publishing and other activities of digital library at 
nominal cost. Linux device drivers are easy to install and supports plug and play 
facilities. Linux is not only meant for the technically sound users, but also for wide 
spectrum of other users.  
3.2 Apache Web Server 
 
“A–Patch” which was the original name which later became Apache. Apache is a 
centralized repository of patches of codes required to fix bugs or add features of whatever 
wanted. The core group of volunteers all round the world known as Apache group 
coordinate and continue to develop the Apache project.  It is the most widely used web 
server on the Internet today and is the default web server of Linux. It runs on different 
architectures besides Linux including Solaris, Windows NT Sun OS etc. It is a stable, full 
featured, robust commercial grade web server. 
3.3 MySQL 
MySQL is a multithreaded Relational Database Management System (RDBMS). It is 
called so because it enables to build relations between various data tables. MySQL is  
easy to use database, which can be used as an API for C, Java, Perl, PHP and many other 
languages. The multithreaded processing prevents two threads from writing the same 
table at the same time. Another advantage is that all the threads execute individually 
though they share the same process space. Because of this separation, multiprocessor 
machines can spread the load of each thread across many CPUs. Most of the MySQL 
commands are the subset of Structured Query Language (SQL). MySQL supports various 
data types and many SQL functions  
MySQL Advantages 
 Stable and works with different platforms 
 Fast memory allocation systems, Join operations 
 Handles large data bases 
 ODBC Support for Win32 
 Full text indexing  & searching support 
 Support various character sets 
3.4 PHP 
 
PHP powers millions of websites with its high performance support to a range of 
operating systems, database systems, web servers, etc. It is simple to learn PHP and use. 
People can build dynamic HTML pages and develop database retrieval engines easily 
using PHP. It Supports: 
- OOPS 
- XML 
- Various image formats 
- Varieties of Databases and native MySQL 
- Powerful String Handling 
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- Provision to execute system commands 
PHP can be used with leading web servers like Apache, Microsoft IIS etc.  
 
4. LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP) 
 
LAMP is the abbreviation for Linux Apche MySQL PHP. Linux operating system serves 
as the core of web server installation in the LAMP model. The remaining components are 
the applications that run on top of Linux. The apache web server makes the Web pages 
available from Linux servers so that users can access and view the pages with their web 
browsers.. By integrating MySQL into a web sever environment, it becomes possible to 
develop a dynamic database driven web sites. MySQL databases can hold a wide variety 
of contents that can be made searchable through website search interfaces. By 
incorporating MySQL with apache, web contents can be updated more quickly thereby 
making the information available in real time.  
 
 
Fig. 1. Open Source Information System - LAMP 
 
 
The P in LAMP is for one or more of the following scripting and programming 
languages: PHP, Python or Perl. All the three languages can be used to build powerful 
interactions with databases such as MySQL. All the LAMP components are fully 
extensible and modular allowing for variety, customization and specialized development. 
LAMP model can be a applicable to digital library development environment. The 
flexibility and affordability of the LAMP model makes digital libraries and its services a 
reality. 
 
5. Information Resource Management  
 
The exponential growth of information and the new evolutionary technologies have made 
the information professionals to provide effective search and indexing functions for 
information access. Digital libraries should integrate a variety of information 
Linux 
Apache 
MySQL 
PHP 
 5
technologies and provide opportunities to organize and access large volumes of 
information from multiple repositories. Through this integration, the distributed 
heterogeneous resources spread across the network appear to be a single uniform 
federated source.  Metadata is one of the important concepts for the description, 
organization, exchange and retrieval of information in a networked environment. It is one 
of the critical components of digital resource developments and use, and is needed at all 
stages in the creation and management of resources. Well-formed metadata is the most 
efficient and effective tool for managing and finding objects in the complex information 
spaces. 
 
6. IGCAR Research Contribution (IRC) Repository 
 
IRC Repository contains the publication information of IGC Scientists and engineers. A 
switched network with fiber optic backbone of the organizational Intranet enables to 
deliver information services to the patrons on their 
 
 
Fig. 2  Search Interface 
 
Desktops. The users prefer a web interface to search and locate the information resource 
sitting right on their work place. Various Information Systems were developed in 
consultation with the users and their regular feedbacks were taken care of. A prototype IR 
user interface was developed using LAMP for the journal and conference articles 
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published by the scientists and engineers with metadata and links to full papers wherever 
possible within copyright limitations.  
 
 
 
Fig. 3 Results Display 
 
The search results were displayed as comprehensive list and bibliographic format. 
Dynamic link was made available to the full text from the local server or from the 
publisher’s site. Additional link leading to the individual journal home pages helps the 
users to browse the contents of the publication.  
 
7. Conclusion 
Open source Operating systems and software have enabled the academic and research 
organizations to design and develop information systems in-house, which gives the 
flexibility for customized user interface. Open Source Digital Library software is being 
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used widely to manage the digital collections and electronic databases. The developer has 
got leverage to choose from the freely available DL software or develop one using open 
source systems. The organizations where the network infrastructure and targeted user 
base are available, the development and implementation of such a system is possible. 
LAMP Technology enables the information professionals in achieving the design and 
implementation of Information Systems which can always be customizable, flexible and 
portable. The security and performance features of LAMP add value to the user interface 
and access. 
 
References 
 
1. Using LAMP Applications to make our library shine. Andrew White and Joseph 
Balsamo Computers in Libraries Vol.25 (5) p.6, 2005 
 
2. Rehat Linux System Administration Unleashed Thomas Schenl et al., BBP 
Publications, 2000 
 
3. Exploring behaviour of E-Journal users in science and technology : Transaction log 
analysis of Elsevier’s ScienceDirect OnSite in Taiwan Hao-Ren Ke, Rolf Kwakkelaar, 
Yu-Min Tai and Li-Chun Chen Library & Information Science Research Vo. 24, pp.265-
291, 2002. 
 
4. Digital Information Dissemination: A Comprehensive Approach. Soundararajan, E; 
Joseph, JVM; Jayakumar, C; Somasekharan, M; 22nd Annual Convention and 
Conference of Society for Information Science ( SIS 2004) Indian Institute of 
Technology, Chennai, 2004 
 
5. Networked Information Services: A case study of IGCAR Library Soundararajan, 
E;Joseph, JVM;Jayakumar, C; Venkadesan, S; Manlibnet National Convention, at XLRI, 
Jamshedpur, March 6-8, 2003 
 
6. Network Administration and Security in a Digital Library Environment Joseph, 
JVM;Soundararajan, E;Jayakumar, C;Venkadesan, S; Convention on Automation of 
Libraries in Education and Research Institutions (CALIBER -2003), Ahmedabad,Feb.13-
15, 2003 
 
7. Linux, the next generation operating system  Jehadheesan, R. Proceedings of the 
Conference DAE Vision of Information Exchange; November 13-14 2000. 
 
8. Information Resource Management on ANUNET (IRMA): The IGCAR Experience 
Joseph, JVM;Soundararajan, E; Jayakumar, C; Venkadesan, S; 
DAE Vision on Information Exchange (DAE-VIE  2003), VECC, Calcutta, Jan 30-31,  
2003 


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