CUSTOMIZATION OF DELPLUS

SOFTWARE OF DELNET
Dissertation submitted to the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts in
partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Postgraduate
Diploma in Digital Library and Data Management

SUBMITTED TO

Prof. RAMESH CHAND GAUR

Director (Library & Information) Kala Nidhi, IGNCA

SUBMITTED BY

AKHIL SHARMA

ANJALI KUSHWAH

GEETANJALI SINGH THAKUR

Kalanidhi Division
INDIRA GANDHI NATIONAL CENTRE FOR THE ARTS
NEW DELHI- 110001
2019-20
 DECLARATION

We, Akhil Sharma, Anjali Kushwah and Geetanjali Singh Thakur

hereby declare that this dissertation entitled “Customization of
Delplus Software of DelNet” is the outcome of my study
undertaken under the guidance of Dr. Ramesh Chand Gaur, Dean-
Director and head of Kalanidhi and co-guidance of Mr. Atul Pal,
project assistant Kalanidhi Division, Indira Gandhi National Centre
for the Arts, New Delhi. It has not previously formed the basis for
the award of any degree, diploma, or certificate of this Institute or
any other Institute or University. We have duly acknowledged all
the sources used by me in the preparation of this Dissertation.

09th September 2020

AKHIL SHARMA
Roll No. PGDDLDM2019002

ANJALI KUSHWAH
Roll No. PGDDLDM2019004

GEETANJALI SINGH THAKUR

Roll No. PGDDLDM2019006
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that this dissertation entitled “Customization of

Delplus Software of DelNet” is the record of the original work done
by Akhil Sharma, Anjali Kushwah and Geetanjali Singh Thakur
under our guidance and supervision. The results of the work
presented in this dissertation have not previously formed the basis
for the award of any degree, diploma, or certificate of this Institute
or any other Institute or University.

09th September 2020

(Prof. R. C. GAUR)
Kalanidhi Division,
IGNCA, New Delhi

3
 LIST OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgment
Abstract

CHAPTER - 1
a) Introduction
b) DELNET

CHAPTER - 2
a) Library Management Software
b) Proprietary and Open Source Software

CHAPTER - 3
a) The DelPlus
b) The version of the DelPlus
c) Special features

CHAPTER - 4
a) Objectives of the study
b) Literature review
c) Research methodology

4
 CHAPTER - 5
a) Installation of DelPlus
b) Required Hardware and Software Configuration
c) Server Installation procedure
d) Installation Process on a Server-Client
e) Running of DelPlus 2.0
f) Assigning Access Permissions

CHAPTER - 6
a) DELPLUS 2.0 in Operation
b) Modules of DelPlus
1. Acquisition
2. Cataloguing
3. OPAC
4. Circulation
5. Article Indexing
6. Serial Control
7. System Administration

Conclusion-

Bibliography

5
 Acknowledgment

I express my sincere appreciation to those who have contributed

to this project work and supported me in one way and without
any of them; this project work would not have been possible.
First of all, I thank my Father, Mother, and my siblings for their
encouragement at every step. I wish to place on records my
heartfelt and sincere thanks to my supervisor Prof. R.C. Gaur for
providing an opportunity to complete my project work. I
appreciate his contributions of time and ideas to make my work
productive and stimulating. My sincere gratitude is reserved
for Dr. Sudipta Biswas, Mr. Jasbir Sir, and Mr. Atul Pal for their
invaluable insights and suggestions. Finally wahrm thanks to my
all classmates for their support, suggestions, and help in the final
preparation of this work. I also thank the IGNCA staff for their
help.

6
 ABSTRACT

“DELNET was started at the India International Centre Library in

January 1988 and was registered as a society in 1992.” DELNET
stands for Developing Library Network. It is the first operational
library network in India. It was started as a project, financial and
technical assistance by the National Information System of Science
and Technology (NISSAT). DelPlus is a Library Management
Software. It is developed by Developing Library Network (DELNET)
to facilitate its member institutions. It was a big initiative for the
automation of libraries. Study of DelPlus manual and basic
requirement of the system to install, run, and assigning the
permissions. Divide the software into two, software and hardware.
we can say the software DelPlus is perfect library management
software (LMS) for a library. It is very easy to install, and also very
easy for library staff as well as users. No special practice is required
to run it and no need for third party maintenance.

Keywords:- Developing Library Network, Technology, software and

hardware.

7
 CHAPTER - 1

Introduction

Automation is a basic requirement of every profession. We want

automation in every function of our day to day life and by using our
output, calculate our resources easily, save our time and, finally
manage everything in the right order.

Now, if we talk about automation in the area of the library, it means

that we need to improve our efficiency have to manage all the
functions smoothly.

In this background, automation brings us to the software which is

called Library Automation Software or mainly Library Management
Software (LMS).

In light of the above discussion, DelPlus 2.0 LAN version has been
developed bearing in mind the size and operations of the libraries.
DelPlus 2.0 is designed for all types of libraries no matter they are
smaller or bigger. To modernize and resource sharing, through
networks the libraries in India, DELNET presents DelPlus 2.0, then
Library Management Software that conforms to international
standards and presents its applications in a user-friendly manner.

8
 DELNET
“DELNET was started at the India International Centre Library in
January 1988 and was registered as a society in 1992.”(About
delnet, 2020)

DELNET stands for Developing Library Network. It is the first

operational library network in India. It was started as a project,
financial and technical assistance by the National Information
System of Science and Technology (NISSAT).

DELNET has been established with the prime objectives-

1. Promoting resource sharing among the libraries through the
development of a network of libraries.
2. Collect, store, and disseminate information besides offering
computerized services to users.
3. Coordinate efforts for suitable collection development, and
4. Reduce unnecessary duplication wherever possible.

DELNET has been actively engaged with the compilation of various

Union Catalogues of the resources available in member- libraries.
It has already created the below lists-
 Union Catalogue of Books,
 Union List of Current Periodicals,
 Union Catalogue of Periodicals,
 CD-ROM Database,

9
  Database of Indian Specialists,
 Database of Periodical Articles,
 Union List of Video Recordings,
 Urdu Manuscripts' Database,
 Database of Theses and Dissertations,
 Sample databases of language publications using GIST
technology,
 And several other databases.

The data is being updated in these databases and is growing rapidly.

All the DELNET databases have been residents on DELSIS, in-
house software developed on BASISPlus, an RDBMS, the product
of Information Dimensions Inc. of USA which has been provided to
DELNET courtesy National Informatics Centre, New Delhi. (netugc
page about delnet, 2020)

10
 CHAPTER - 2

Library Management Software

Libraries rely on library management systems to manage asset

collections as well as relationships with their members. Library
management systems help libraries keep track of their documents
inventory and loans, and member subscriptions and profiles,
sometimes for multiple physical locations. This type of software can
be used by educational institutions’ libraries, as well as public or
private libraries. Library patrons use library management systems to
find, reserve, and loan documents while library staffs employ it to
manage the acquisition, cataloging, and inventory of documents.

Library management systems usually integrate with digital

information repositories to allow access to electronic resources.
Library management systems also need to integrate with accounting
solutions to manage payments and other financial transactions.

To qualify for inclusion in the Library Management category, a

product must:

1. Include a database that can be used to store and manage

information on different types of content assets (books,
magazines, movies, music records, and more) in different
formats (print, electronic, video, etc.).
2. Manage patron and member information including profiles,
present and past loans, payments, and penalties.
3. Allow users to find information from public sources like
OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog) or WorldCat, etc.
4. Manage asset inventory and loans across multiple physical
locations.
5. Provide statistics on loans, inventory, late returns, or lost
documents.
11
Examples of Library Management Software:

1. KOHA,
2. E-Granthalaya,
3. DelPlus, etc.

Proprietary and Open Source Software

There are two types of Softwares, Proprietary and Open Source

Software.

Proprietary software, also known as non-free software, or closed-

source software, is computer software for which the software's
publisher or another person retains intellectual property rights
usually copyright of the source code, but sometimes patent rights.

For examples- Microsoft Windows, DelPlus, Adobe Reader, Adobe

Photoshop etc.

Open source software is a type of computer software in which

source code is available in public domain under a licence in which
the copyright holder grants users the rights to use, study, change,
and distribution right to someone else for any purpose.

For examples- Linex, KOHA, DSpace, OJAS, etc.

12
 CHAPTER - 3

The DelPlus

DelPlus (Library Management Software)-

DelPlus 2.0 is Multi-User Library Management Software. It is

designed to cater to the needs of various types of libraries such as
University Libraries, College Libraries, Public Libraries, Research
Libraries, etc. This is software that is part of the library automation
of libraries. This project work will help the users to use the package
more easily. Every step is described in detail with appropriate
examples to give users better access to the modules. Now this time
we are fully moving to the automation of libraries, which was
started in the 1970s, where it was introduced in a few academic
libraries. DELNET also join this automation revolution by bringing
its library automation software, DelPlus.

DelPlus 2.0 comprise the following modules which support

various kinds of functions:
1) Acquisition
2) Cataloguing
3) OPAC
4) Circulation
5) Article Indexing
6) Serial Control
7) System Administration

13
It conforms to the international standards, viz. MARC-21 and
AACR-II. It also provides the display facility of a bibliographic
record in other standard formats.

The Version of the DelPlus

This is the second version of DelPlus which is known as DelPlus

2.0.

Special Features
a) Software is designed and developed exclusively to work in all
types of libraries including public libraries, academic libraries,
and special libraries, like the Engineering College Library.
b) DelPlus 2.0 is menu-driven with Graphical User Interface
(GUI). It is a user-friendly tool for the management of
libraries.
c) It has an effective administration and security system and
provides for a password both for the System Administrator as
well as the user.
d) Follows internationally recommended formats such as MARC-
21, US MARC.
e) Best for all types of libraries.
f) The software is Barcode enabled.
g) Reservation facility for materials.
h) Online monitoring of the status of documents.
i) Interactive facility for maintaining Library
Inventory/Database.
j) Generation of reminders to Vendor/Supplier/Binder, etc.
k) Generation of reminders and intimations to the members.
l) Advanced Backup and Recovery System.
14
m)Online listing of country and language information with
related codes.
n) Online Help System for all modules.
o) Multi-user facility allows different branch
libraries/sections/nodes of a library to function together
p) Provides Lists of Country Codes, Language Codes.
q) Bar-coded Stock Verification Facility.
r) Electronic and Manual Stock Verification.
s) Special Report Generation facility for AICTE approved
institutions.
t) Identity Card generation for members.
u) Export/Import in MARC format.
v) Report Generation for every module.
w) Advance search facility.
x) Advance Budgeting System.
y) No-Dues certificate generation.
z) Advance Article Indexing system with search
facility.(Updated DelPlus Manual , n.d.)

15
 CHAPTER - 4

Objectives of the study

1. The primary objective of this study is to provide a

general document about DelPlus 2.0.
2. Put all the information in a single document related
to the DelPlus.
3. Difference between the Open source software and
proprietry software.
4. To describe the process of installation of DelPlus
2.0.

Literature review

DelPlus is a Library Management Software. It is developed by

Developing Library Network (DELNET) to facilitate its member
institutions. It was a big initiative for the automation of libraries. It
is user interface software. It requires only a basic hardware system
configuration to run. I go through many research works about
DelPlus before doing this project. It was a wonder that no such
work is available who provides complete knowledge about this
Library Management Software. I found few articles who talks about
DELNET, and DelPlus Software but they give a brief about the
Document Delivery System (DDS), and Inter Library Loan(IIL)
facility of DELNET but they don’t give a knowledge which goes
through the step-by-step installation process and modules of this

16
particular software. Dr. Sangeeta Kaul(2006) published an article on
DelPlus software but that is an overview only.
So in such a way, we try to write a piece of work on it to make it
easier for its user, both patrons, and staff of this LMS.

Research methodology

 Study of DelPlus manual and basic requirement of the system

to install, run, and assigning the permissions.
 Divide the software into two, software and hardware.
 Confirm that the available hardware is enough capable to
install the setup.
 Took essential screen-shots to demonstrate the available
modules.

17
 CHAPTER - 5

Installation of DelPlus

1. Insert the CD-ROM disk labelled “DELPLUS 2.0” into CD-

ROM drive and double click on setup.exe file
2. A new screen will appear with small welcome window. Click
on OK button to continue.
3. The new screen will appear now, click OK on computer
fingured botton.
4. Click on <No to All> when you get a massage Do you eant to
keep this file?
5. Now the system will start transforming the files from the CD
to the hard disk of your computer. The progress of the above
opertation can be seen by the blue progress bar appearing at
the bottom of the scree. As the files get transferred to the
computer the length of the bar will start increasing. When the
bar reaches 100%, the installation process is complete and you
receive a message “Installation Successfully Completed”.
Click on OK button.
6. If you get the message “Do you want to restart your
Computer?” Click on Yes button.
7. Now your software installation process is over. After restart
the computer you can see an Icon named “DelPlus 2.0” on the
desktop. Double click to run this software on the server.
8. There is another option to run DelPlus 2.0 from Start button in
your Computer’s task bar.

18
Hardware and Software Requirements-
Minimum Hardware and Software’s requirements for
installing the DelPlus 2.0 on server and client system is as below-

On the Server system-

a. RAM- 256 MB HDD
b. Windows version- 95/98/2000, XP and above,
c. Colour monitor,
d. MS office XP/2000 or higher.

On the Client system-

a. RAM- 128 MB HDD,
b. Windows version- 95/98/2000 or above,
c. LAN connectivity(Procedure for install DelPlus Server and
Client, n.d.)

Instructions to Install DelPlus Server and Client through CD-

drive

There are two separate folders in your DelPlus-CD

1. DelPlus Server

2. DelPlus Client
19
Server Installation Procedure

a) For installation, double click on the Setup.exe file and a small

window will appear to click the OK button to continue the
process.
b) If the small window appears with the message: “Do you want
to keep this file?” Click <No to all> to continue installation.
c) This will start transforming the files from the CD to your
computer hard disk.
d) Restart your computer.
e) Now your installation process over. You can see DelPlus 2.0
shortcut icon at your desktop.
f) Run this shortcut now. (Delplus Server Installation
Procedure, n.d.)

Installation Process on a Server-Client

a) Open the client-server setup folder. Double click on

Setup.exe. It will start the installation.
b) Enter the name of your server (The server is the name of your
machine where you just install the server).
c) When the installation process is done, you will find the
shortcut of it on your other computers. Now insert the path of
the server as it is \\*server\DelPlus\DelPlus.exe.

d) There will be a folder named “DelPlus” on your computer

(C:\Drive). Share this folder and assign full permission to
everyone.

20
Running DELPLUS 2.0

Click the mouse on the “DelPlus 2.0” icon on your desktop. You
can run this software from the “Start Button” taskbar as well.

When you click on the “DelPlus 2.0” from the “Start Button”, the
following options get displayed as the sub-options of the DelPlus
These are:-
 DelPlus Application
 DelPlus Online Help
 DelPlus Connection Manager
 DelPlus ReadMe.txt
 DelPlus Backup
(click on DelPlus Application...)

If you are running DelPlus software first time then do some basic
settings by clicking on the Configure button. Your installation part
completely is done.

Assigning Access Permission

When you will start working on this software, you need to assign
some permission from Administrative Information by your Login
ID and password.
It is not important to give all access to modules to your office staff.
So, here we have opted in to the system administration module to
assign permission to a particular staff particular permission.

21
 CHAPTER - 6

DELPLUS 2.0 in Operation

If you run, DelPlus 2.0 for the very first time, put all the required
information into the welcome screen. Configure DelPlus through
Configuration option and click on Go for login window.
Now give the User Name and Password, which you have created
previously.
Now define the following fields-
1. Subject Entry
2. Language Name & Code
3. Country Name & Code
4. Library Information Serial Name etc.
By defining these fields, you can access this database throughout
the program.

DelPlus 2.0 insert all the required information into the welcome
window, configure DelPlus through Configure option. There is a
module of System Administrator; through it, you can customize this
software as per your requirements. Here you will also find options
like Master Database Maintenance. Through this MDM, you can
also define global values of different fields such as subject entry,
language code or name, country code or name, library information,
serial code or name, newspaper’s name, etc. Once you define all the
values, you can access this database or field throughout the project.

22
 Home Screen of DelPlus

(main page delnet, n.d.)

In this Home screen of DelPlus 2.0, you can see options i.e. login
options in the bottom right, current date, current time, and About
Us. By this option see information about Delnet and support team’s
contact numbers.

23
Main Menu

This is the main menu of DelPlus software which is having seven

options. You can choose your option as per your work is required.

When you login in the system, you will see the main menu of this
software has the following modules-

1) Acquisition
2) Cataloguing
3) OPAC
4) Circulation
5) Article Indexing
6) Serial Control
7) System Administration
24
Apart from these options, you will find some options on the right
corner of this screen like-
 Back, for logout from the work,
 Help, to take any help with its basic instructions,
 Min/max, to minimize or maximize your window. Although,
this option will be available only in the main window.
 WordPad, for saving any data in MS-word pad,
 Calculator, for calculation numbers and
 New Arrival option for your list of latest arrivals.
The importance of these options are, where ever you see these
option in any stage of the screen, the functions will remain the
same.

25
Acquisition-

(Acquisition, n.d.)
The acquisition is the most important module of DelPlus
software. It has six major options. These are Approval, Ordering,
Receiving, Order Status, Accession Register and Vendor. Each
option in this module has equal value.
Approval- This is meant for books, which are brought by vendors
for approval. By this option, you can generate a process of
Acquisition.
Ordering- This option provides the facility to order your books
through vendors as they are approved by the institutions.
Receiving- Receiving option is for the books you have received.
Here you can cross-check your order and the receiving items.
Order Status- By this option, you can check the status of your order
at any time. Here you come to know the ordered, received, pending
status of books.

26
Accession Register- This is the register where your final books
being accessioned in your library.
Vendor- Vendor option facilitates us to create a record of
purchasing agency so that we can easily order as per our
requirements. It also keeps records of our vendor agency, which is
very important for further purchase.

27
Circulation-

(circulation, n.d.)
The circulation module includes all the activities
required in a library. It has the facility to automatically generate
reminders for overdue items, calculate fine charges, and generate
corresponding reports. This module will help to have effective
control over circulation activities. It has the following options-
A. Registration of Members,
B. Issuing of books,
C. Returning of books,
D. Renewing of books,
E. Reserve facility of any material,
F. Cancel the reservation of any material

28
OPAC Search-

(OPAC, n.d.)
OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue) provides
various types of
search options. ‘Individual, Serial, Visual, Status, Article, Boolean,
Search All, and ‘Added Entry Search’. Click <OPAC> from Main
Menu and the ‘OPAC Search’ window will open.
The OPAC search option of DelPlus software provides you with
different types of search facilities. These options can be seen in the
above picture as they are eighteen and others are on the right side
of the screen like web browser, serial, status, article, Boolean,
question paper, member’s inquiry, and total catalogue records.

29
By the OPAC search facility, you can see any record as per your
requirements. It makes your search easy and smoothly facilitates you.
You can also save your findings in the Word-pad format. That
means if you are searching for any record and you are getting some
other records related to you, then you can save it for assisting your
scholar.

30
Article Indexing-

(article indexing, n.d.)

This module is developed to maintain a database
of various articles indexed in the library or collected from outside
sources.
This module includes the following activities of Article Indexing:

A. Article Entry
B. Article Search
C. Indexing
In this module, you create, modify, and delete any articles and
through the article search option you can easily search articles in
your database, and by the Indexing option, you can create an index
by author name, by title, and by subject.
31
Serial Control-

(Indexing et al., n.d.)

This module is developed to maintain a database of
volumes, series, and issues available in the library or collected from
outside sources.
This module includes the following activities of Serial Control:

a) Subscription- It is for subscribing to a new journal or

periodical. This option creates a Cardex database for all the
journals and periodicals.
b) Receiving- This option is used after subscription to receive
serial based on periodicity as defined in the subscription.
c) Renewal- By this option, you can renew your subscriptions of
any periodicals.
d) OPAC Search- This option is helpful to find out the serial
number of any volume or any issue.
32
e) Bound Volume- This option provides you options to bound
your volumes either by the ordering place, by receiving, or by
the accession numbers.
f) Article Indexing- This option provides the same facility as
Article Indexing Module.

33
System Administration-

(Labrador et al., 2010)

In the main menu, when you choose the
options system administration, you will further get many other
options as are listed below-

1. Master Database Entry

Circulation Material Distribution
Country Code and Currency Setting
Current Date Setting
Course and Department Master
Data Management
Fine Collection
Login Information
Member Category/Type Entry
34
 Material Type Data Entry
Material Status Definition
No-Dues Certificate
Send/Add Materials for Arrival/Display
Vendor Data Maintenance, etc.

2. Library Resources
Create Accession Register from Cataloguing
Receipt Block
Stop and Start Services
System Information

3. Grant/Revoke Permission
Permission On User
Permission On Material/Item

4. User Maintenance
Add New User
Delete Existing User

5. Administrator Maintenance
Information of Administrator

6. Budget Control
Budget Master for Current Financial Year
Budget Allocation

35
7. Data Export/Import
Data Export System
Data Import System

8. Stock Verification
Electronic Stock Verification
Manual Stock Verification

9. Report Generation
Accession Register Report
Acquisition Reports
Ordering Report
Approved
Receiving Reports
AICTE (All Indian Council for Technical Education)
Standards Report
Circulation Report
Member Report
Issue Report
Return Report
Dues Report
Cataloguing Report
New Arrivals Report
Vendor Report

10. Back Up & Recovery

36
 Cataloguing-

This module enables you to catalogue different types of material

using different formats,
i.e. MARC-21 FORMAT, and CCF. It provides two modes of
cataloguing, first is according to MARC-21 entry and, the second is
a normal entry.
At the top of the screen, a group of commands appears for user
interaction. Each command button has a special purpose. These are
below:

1. Add For creation or New MARC record.

2. Save Save the entered record.
3. Modify To change existing record.
4. Update Save the modified record.
5. Delete To remove existing record.
6. Duplicate copy To make more copies of existing records.
7. Save duplicate copy Store records of duplicate copies.

8. View To see the records based on some criteria.

9. Repeatable To see the repeatability of a record.
View
10. Cancel To stop operation midway.
11. Back To revert to the main menu.

Add New Record

Here you can add a new record through two (2) options:

(i) Direct or Backlog Entry (Retro-conversion facility)

(Cataloguing of existing books.)
(ii) Cataloguing of Accessioned Books
(Cataloguing books coming from accession register.)
37
 (Fig: Cataloguing Sheet of DelPlus Library Management Software)

-Modify Existing Record

-Duplicate Copies/More Copies

-Delete Existing Record
-Repeatable Entry
View Existing Records- You can view the records by Record
number, by
Accession number, or by the List records.

38
Conclusion-

In conclusion, we can say the software DelPlus is perfect library

management software (LMS) for a library. It is very easy to install,
and also very easy for library staff as well as users. No special
practice is required to run it and no need for third party
maintenance. You can customize it as per your requirement and can
customize it as per the requirement of your library. We can say it is
very staff and user friendly. Anyone can run it. Very easy options
are available in it if we compare it with any other library
management software.

39
Bibliography-
About delnet. (2020). http://delnet.in/about-us.html

Acquisition. (n.d.).

article indexing. (n.d.).

circulation. (n.d.).

Delplus Server Installation Procedure. (n.d.).

Indexing, A., Management, C. B., & Management, E. (n.d.). Serial
Control (pp. 1–15).

Labrador, M. A., Pérez, A. J., Wightman, P. M., Labrador, M. A.,

Pérez, A. J., & Wightman, P. M. (2010). System Administration. In
Location-Based Information Systems (pp. 159–182).
https://doi.org/10.1201/b10149-10

main page delnet. (n.d.).

netugc page about delnet. (2020). http://www.netugc.com/developing-

library-network-delnet

OPAC. (n.d.).

Procedure for install DelPlus Server and Client. (n.d.).

Updated DelPlus Manual . (n.d.).

40