Library automation company Ex Libris Group has released a new system for collecting and preserving cumulative knowledge in digital format.
Ex Libris Rosetta, for digital libraries, allows national and academic libraries and archives to collect and preserve cumulative knowledge in digital format.
The Rosetta system supports the acquisition, validation, ingest, storage, management, preservation and dissemination of different types of digital objects while enforcing the relevant policies that can vary from one institution to another. The program was previously called the digital preservation system (DPS).
Users both within and outside of the institution can contribute to the system.
Under the system, objects are first loaded to a depository, in which the validity and origin of the assets are verified, enabling the institution to record when, how, and by whom the item was created. These assets are then enriched, to ensure that the institution has all of the descriptive and technical metadata needed to preserve the assets for the long-term. Finally, digital resources are saved in a sustainable format, and continually evaluated to guarantee their ongoing usability.
Ex Libris CEO Matti Shem Tov said, “Digital preservation and the ensuing Ex Libris Rosetta product are key elements in our product strategy".
The program was successfully installed in November at Ex Libris's development partner, the National Library of New Zealand, and is now being offered to libraries worldwide.
Jerusalem-based Ex Libris maintains a customer base of thousands of sites in more than 70 countries, on six continents.
Ex Libris was bought by US private equity firm Leeds Equity Partners for a reported $150-200 million in August.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 8, 2009
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