Building Digital Collections Using Open Source Digital Repository Software: A Comparative Study

The last decade a great number of digital library and digital repository systems have been developed and published as open-source software. The variety of available software systems is a factor of confusion when an organization is planning to build a repository infrastructure to host its collections. To simplify the decision process five widely used open-source repository software systems are compared, namely DSpace, Fedora, Greenstone, EPrints and Invenio. In addition to the comparison of these software systems and their characteristics' description, the authors propose the most suitable systems for different cases of digital collections. Using five collection paradigms that represent case studies of different content and functionality, an organization can be directed to select a repository software matching its criteria.