June 6, 2007
Jerusalem, Israel
This revolutionary end-to-end trusted digital preservation system will be available commercially
_x000D_Ex Libris Group is pleased to announce that the Company has signed a multi-million dollar agreement to develop a digital archive and preservation system with the National Library of New Zealand. Under this agreement, Ex Libris Group will develop a commercial digital preservation system to address the needs outlined by the National Library of New Zealand for its National Digital Heritage Archive (NDHA) Programme.
_x000D_The National Library of New Zealand initiated the NDHA Programme to find a solution for storing, preserving, and providing access to the ever-growing digital heritage collections under the library’s guardianship.
_x000D_“We are honored to have been chosen by the National Library of New Zealand to serve as a partner in their innovative program, because digital preservation is a key factor in the development and enhancement of the solutions in the Ex Libris Group product suite,” said Matti Shem Tov, president and CEO of Ex Libris Group.
_x000D_“The NDHA Programme is an innovative project to preserve precious national cultural heritage assets for future generations to explore and enjoy,” commented Penny Carnaby, chief executive of the National Library of New Zealand.
_x000D_“The ground-breaking NDHA will realize a solution to the global need for digital preservation technologies, acknowledged by New Zealand’s own Digital Content Strategy, and we’re excited about working with Ex Libris Group to the benefit of the international library community.”
_x000D_“Products from Ex Libris Group run in 28 national libraries around the world,” added Mr. Shem Tov. “On the basis of input from these institutions, we believe that the resulting large-scale, trusted preservation system will meet the cultural heritage preservation and management needs of these libraries now and in the future.”
_x000D_The digital preservation system design is based on requirements that were drafted by the National Library of New Zealand and initially announced under the project name Kronos. During the last six months, Ex Libris Group and the National Library of New Zealand have worked together closely to ensure the design of a revolutionary end-to-end trusted digital preservation system that will be made available commercially.
_x000D_The work will continue in collaboration with an international peer review group (PRG) made up of recognized thought leaders and innovators from library and academic communities. The group has served as an independent resource for the NDHA Programme, consulting on the scope and design of the initiative and its compliance with emerging industry standards. Consultation with the PRG will ensure that the system conforms to general access and archiving trends so that it may be broadly applied.
_x000D_In line with its enterprise technology strategy, the National Library of New Zealand will operate the digital preservation solution on Sun Microsystems Inc. hardware. The National Library of New Zealand is acknowledged as a Sun Center of Excellence for Digital Futures in Libraries. The hardware and software will be designed to be scalable over time as the digital collections grow.
_x000D_“We are very excited at the prospect of new relationships with partners in the library information sector and the strengthening the NDHA Programme as a consequence of this agreement,” noted Carnaby.
_x000D_At a special introductory event, Ex Libris Group will showcase this system to choice institutions focused on digital preservation. The event will take place at the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, DC, in June 2007.
_x000D_About the National Library of New Zealand:
_x000D_The goal of the National Library of New Zealand is to enrich the cultural and economic life of New Zealand and its interchange with other nations by collecting, preserving, and protecting documents, particularly those related to New Zealand; making these accessible in a manner consistent with their status as documentary heritage; and working in collaboration with local and international institutions with similar purposes.
_x000D_For additional information on the National Library of New Zealand, see http://www.natlib.govt.nz/.
_x000D_About Ex Libris Group:
_x000D_Ex Libris Group is a leading worldwide developer and provider of high-performance applications for libraries, information centers, and researchers, with installations around the globe. Ex Libris Group’s flagship ALEPH® 500 and Voyager® integrated library solutions are in use at over 3,000 sites worldwide. Other products from the Ex Libris suite, deployed at more than 1,300 sites, focus on the digital library and offer state-of-the-art, user-centric solutions for managing and providing informed access to electronic resources and digital assets.
