Greenstone Wiki

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====== Support ======
Besides the information on this Wiki, there are also several other ways to get 
support for Greenstone. You can also check the [[troubleshooting]] page for common issues.

=====Greenstone Mailing lists=====
Join one of the Greenstone mailing lists. Instead of emailing the Greenstone team directly, it is strongly recommended that you join one of the mailing lists. This is beneficial both because you can receive responses from the Greenstone community at large, and also other users may be able to benefit from the questions you asked.

==== Regional mailing lists ====

These lists are run by other organisations, and are not monitored by the Greenstone development team.

  * **Spanish language list**. Please visit [[http://www.freelists.org/list/greenstone_es|http://www.freelists.org/list/greenstone_es]] to subscribe or view list archives. Post to <greenstone_es@freelists.org>.
  * **Arabic community list**. Please visit [[http://www.freelists.org/list/greenstone4arab|http://www.freelists.org/list/greenstone4arab]] to subscribe or view list archives.
  * **French language list**. Please visit [[http://www.freelists.org/list/greenstone_fr|http://www.freelists.org/list/greenstone_fr]] to subscribe or view list archives. Post to <greenstone_fr@freelists.org>.
  * **Portuguese language list**. Please visit [[http://www.freelists.org/list/greenstone_pt|http://www.freelists.org/list/greenstone_pt]] to subscribe or view list archives. Post to <greenstone_pt@freelists.org>.

==== Central English Mailing lists ====

These lists are run by the Greenstone development team, and are English language lists.

  * **Greenstone Users' List** This list is for general Greenstone 2 and 3 discussion. You need to be subscribed to post to this list. Visit [[https://list.waikato.ac.nz/postorius/lists/greenstone-users.list.waikato.ac.nz/]] for more information and to subscribe. Post to <greenstone-users@list.waikato.ac.nz>.
  * **Greenstone Developers' List** This list is for more technical discussions by people developing or modifying Greenstone. You need to be subscribed to post to this list. Visit [[https://list.waikato.ac.nz/postorius/lists/greenstone-devel.list.waikato.ac.nz/]] for more information and to subscribe. Post to <greenstone-devel@list.waikato.ac.nz>.


=====Regional support groups=====

Several regional groups exist that provide support for using Greenstone:

  * **[[http://adlsn.org|African Digital Library Support Network (ADLSN)]]** \\ African Digital Libraries Support Network (ADLSN) is a community of African practitioners and other interested actors with a common goal of supporting the preservation and dissemination of local digital content. They work through National Centres and Support Communities in the following countries: Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.
  * **[[http://greenstonesupport.iimk.ac.in/|Greenstone support for South Asia]]** \\ This support effort is undertaken by the Center for the Development of Digital Libraries (CDDL) at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Kozhikode in collaboration with the [[http://www.dlnetsa.org/ |Digital Library Network South Asia]] and the Greenstone development team in order to ensure effective promotion and support for Greenstone in South Asia. 
  * **[[http://cng.fahce.unlp.edu.ar/|Centro Nacional de Promocion de Greenstone]]** \\ Argentina's National Centre for the Promotion of Greenstone.


==== Forming your own regional support group ====
Do you want to form a support group for Greenstone users in your own country or region? 
Here are some activities you might consider.

  * Build a network of institutions in your region that are using Greenstone
  * Introduce Greenstone awareness and capacity building in the library and information science training programmes in the region
  * Exploit and encourage any existing support networks
  * Set up a website for Greenstone promulgation and support
  * Start an email list that provides regional support and help for Greenstone users in your own language (use the main Greenstone mailing list as a backup for difficult questions)
  * Undertake an inventory of Greenstone experts and collections in the region, and maintain it on the website
  * Organize a survey of existing and potential needs for Greenstone by institutions in the region
  * Consider a feasibility study of a regional Greenstone support organisation, identifying the human resources, equipment, financial and other operational requirements for its establishment and including a detailed implementation plan (business plan, implementation schedule and institutional/governance mechanisms)
  * Organize a meeting of Greenstone experts and potential sponsors in the region to discuss, modify as appropriate and adopt the feasibility study
  * Arrange to get the Greenstone interface translated into local languages.

It may be possible for you to obtain external funding for some of these activities. 
However, it should be clear from the outset that the Greenstone team has no sources 
of funding for this kind of thing in New Zealand, although we could certainly write 
a supporting letter if you were contemplating applying for external funding.

=== GSOA Feasibility Study ===

A Greenstone Support Organisation for Africa (GSOA) feasibility study was undertaken with UNESCO support in 2005, completed in 2006. It investigated the viability of an African, regional, self-sustained Greenstone Support Network. This led to the development of the Southern Africa Greenstone Support Network (SAGSN), which later was expanded to become the [[http://adlsn.org|African Digital Library Support Network]] (ADLSN).

  * [[http://wiki.greenstone.org/gsdoc/others/GSOA Feasibility Study.pdf|GSOA Feasibility Study]]
  * [[http://wiki.greenstone.org/gsdoc/others/GSOA Survey Instrument.pdf| GSOA Survey Questionnaire]]
  * [[http://wiki.greenstone.org/gsdoc/others/GSOA Survey French.pdf| GSOA Survey Questionnaire, French version]]


=====Blogs=====
  * [[http://www.greenstone.org/blog|Greenstone blog]]
  * [[http://planet.greenstone.org/| Planet Greenstone]] Aggregated blog posts about Greenstone from around the world.
  * [[http://arabicgsdlblog.blogspot.com/|Arabic Greenstone blog]]

===== Commercial Support =====

  * [[http://www.prodigioconsultores.com/| Prodigio Consultores]] offer professional services for Greenstone in Latin America. They are major contributors to Greenstone support in Spanish.

  * [[http://www.opalle.com/greenstone.html|Opalle Innovation]] offers professional advice, technical support, internationalization, hosting, and custom solutions for Greenstone 2 users.