GREENSTONE OPEN SOURCE DIGITAL LIBRARY SOFTWARE IN THE CONTEXT OF ARABIC CONTENT

The aim of this paper is to explore Greenstone open source digital library software which considered to be one of most essential open-source Content Management Systems (CMSs) that are available for use in creating, organizing, and managing Arabic content on the Internet. It focuses on the appropriateness of the system for Arabic content from different perspectives, such as its ability to support the Arabic language and to sustain and maintain different file formats. It also aims to examine Greenstone software and discuss its weaknesses and strengths in terms of managing Arabic digital content. Greenstone search facilities were tested and evaluated in this study using a quasi-experimental approach. The National Oil Cooperation standalone CDS/ISIS database in Libya (NOC) was converted into web interface using Greenstone software to explore the systema€ s functionality and to test its search and browse facilities. This database consists of 3400 Arabic bibliographic records. As previously stated, this paper aims to assess Greenstone retrieval facilities in the context of Arabic digital content to provide a full picture of the systema€ s suitability for the Arabic language and to highlight its limitations and strong points in the overall process of information retrieval.