[ Introduction | Download | Documentation | Contact ]

Introduction

The Virtual Library System is a free Web-based system to build, manage and maintain efficiently medium to large collections of links and their meta information. It provides advanced full-text search capabilities as well as uniform access via categories to information on the Internet, reducing long paths leading to a few clicks.

Features

Easy to use:
- Information access via browsing categories and full-text search
- All administration with a standard Web-browser
Scalable:
- Supports unlimited number of independent libraries on one server
- Uses glimpse, a indexing tool that is successfully used with thousands of entries
- Automatic services like link-checking, execution of scripts,... automate most of the time consuming tasks to keep the collection up-to-date
Conform with Standards:
- Security: password encryption and SSL (optional)
- Dublin Core compliance.
- Easy to combine with the OAI protocol from the Open Archive Initiative using XML.
Easy to expand:
- Easy step-by-step adjustment of content, and design (only basic HTML knowledge necessary)
- Powerful interface to expand functionality with Perl-scripts

The report Software Engineering with Analysis Patterns describes the concept and design of the virtual library in detail.

Since 2001 we are developing a digital library prototype based on the virtual library system. It is currently used by the university library to offer printable thesis and working papers online.

Rewards

The Virtual Library was rewarded the 1. price at the Virtual University Innovation Competition 97 at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration.

The Virtual University^WU project (the reference implementation of the virtual library system) was nominated as a finalist for the Global Bangemann Award 1999 in Stockholm.

Applications

The Virtual Library has a very large range of applications due to its concept. It extends from simple pinboards to distributed libraries (virtual or digital), which can be used for many purposes. Some applications for supporting teachers and their teaching are:

Searchable inventory of courses, which are already available on the Internet
Pinboards for information exchange and cooperation within groups
Libraries for tools, manual, interesting links, information resources...
Organisation of project sessions by collecting project documention and feedback plus building an archive of already completed projects.
Searchable collection of digital documents.

Download and Development

Currently download is disabled!

Documentation

On-line help page for using a virtual library with screen shots
Documentation for installation, usage and expansion of the virtual library (under construction)

Please send your suggestions, error report etc. to hahsler@ai.wu-wien.ac.at

Contact

Contact me at http://wwwai.wu-wien.ac.at/~hahsler

Bibliography

Michael Hahsler. Software Patterns: Pinwände. Diplomarbeit, Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien, Augasse 2-6, A 1090 Wien, Österreich, November 1997.
Michael Hahsler. Analyse Patterns im Softwareentwicklungsprozeß mit Beispielen für Informationsmanagement und deren Anwendungen für die Virtuellen Universität der Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien. Dissertation, Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien, Augasse 2-6, A 1090 Wien, Österreich, January 2001.