Impact Factor : 6.225 
PAPER ID:IJIM/V.2(I)/31-37/4
AUTHOR: Mani Bhusan Roy and Dr. Naresh Kumar
TITLE : OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE FOR LIBRARIES WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO INDIA
ABSTRACT: The paper, while giving the introduction of the concept, describes the Open Source Software (OSS) and explains the meaning of the term OSS, giving some of the definitions, the typical terms used to explain it and also elaborates some of the important issues with reference to the explanation of the OSS. It discusses the reasons why the librarians and the libraries need the OSS model in current scenario, same. It further discusses in details, the important issues of OSS development and librarianship and Open-Source and Usability. The paper enumerates the important characteristics of the OSS and the criterion for selection of correct OSS as per the individual requirements. It describes important OSS, being presently used worldwide with special reference to the popular OSS used in Indian library environment, highlighting important characteristics/features, merits, etc. of the software’s. critical issues and challenges in OSS environment are also discussed. The paper further highlights the future of the OSS and concludes with an assessment of widely used OSS.
KEYWORDS: Open Source Software (OSS), Indian library.