SLiMS is web-based Open Source Software (OSS) developed to meet the requirements of web-based library automation, from small to large scale. Because it is full-featured and still actively developed, SLiMS is suitable for libraries that have varied collections, several staff members and a networked environment, whether local network (intranet) or the Internet. Another SLiMS feature is that it is multi-platform, which means it can run natively in almost all Operating Systems that support the programming language PHP (http://www.php.net) and MySQL RDBMS (http://www.mysql.com).

SLiMS itself is developed on the platform of GNU / Linux and is running well on other platforms such as Unix * BSD and Windows. SLiMS is made up of web-based applications with cross-platform considerations and completely developed using Open Source Software, i.e : PHP Web Scripting Language, (www.php.net) and MySQL Database Server (www.mysql.com). To increase interactivity in such a desktop application, it also uses AJAX technology (Asynchronous JavaScript And XML). SLiMS also uses Open Source Software to add features such as PhpThumb and SIMBIO ( a development platform developed from the project Igloo). SLiMS is licensed under the GPLv3 which guarantees the freedom to obtain, modify and redistribute (rights to use, study, copy, modify, and redistribute computer programs). More details about GPLv3 can be read at http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html.

SLiMS version 1 and 2 were not released to the public because it was still being tested and was being refined. Since version 3, SLiMS has been considered stable enough to be released to the public and it is time-tested by the librarian community. Through peer-to-peer review by the public, SLIMS will become even more stable software and has more features that accommodating many needs. To view a demo and download SLIMS software, visit http://slims.web.id.

## General Features

1. Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) displays thumbnails on-the-fly. The thumbnail is useful for displaying the book cover. OPAC modes available include simple search (Simple Search) and advanced (Advanced Search)

2. Details are also available in XML (Extensible Markup Language) record format, standard MODS for web service needs

3. OAI - PMH features as standard data exchange

4. Features Z39.50, SRU and p2p services to enable copy-cataloging from various libraries

5. Efficient data management to minimize repetition of bibliographic data

6. Management master files for referential data such as GMD (General Material Designation), Collection Type , Publisher, Author, Location, Suppliers, and others

7. Circulation with the following features:
   - Transactions of borrowing and returning
   - Reserve collection
   - Flexible lending rules
   - Information on delays and fines
   
8. Membership management including members' pictures capture directly in the system

9. Collection inventory (stocktaking)

10. Reports and statistics

11. Management of periodicals

12. Supports the management of multimedia documents (.FLV, .MP3) and digital documents, particularly PDFs, in streaming form

13. SLiMS supports a variety of languages including formats that do not Latin scripts

14. Provides a variety of languages in the interface (Indonesian, English, Spanish, Arabic, German, Bengali, Thai, etc.)

15. Support to establish the parent catalog and federated search application: UCS and Nayanes

16. Library visitor counter

17. Member area, to view and download the collection was and never borrowed

18. Notification of delays and members orders

19. System module with the following features:

    - Configure global system

    - Modules Management

    - User Management (library staff) and Access level Groups

    - Setting holiday periods

    - Creation of automated barcodes

    - Backup utilities

and various other features that we can not cover in this introduction. Please continue reading the following chapters for full documentation.

