Distributing Digital Libraries on the Web, CD-ROMs, and Intranets: Same information, same look-and-feel, different media

Abstract: The Greenstone system from the New Zealand Digital Library provides a new way of making collections of information available in the same form over the World-Wide Web, on CD-ROM, or on local Intranets. Exactly the same information is available in each case, and exactly the same interface is used to access it. The New Zealand Digital Library is accessible over the Web and offers a wide variety of information collections. Sub-collections can be written to a CD-ROM, which can be used on a standalone PC by a single user. A local Web browser suffices to access the information on the disk just as though the PC were connected to the Internet. Simultaneously, if there is a network connection, the same disk acts as a network server to make exactly the same information available to others who need only use their standard Internet browser software. This technology has great appeal for many users, particularly those in developing nations where non-local Internet access can be precarious or prohibitively expensive. 1