November 22, 2005
Newton, MA
Ex Libris is pleased to announce that the Philadelphia Special Collections Libraries (PACSCL) has chosen ALEPH 500 as its integrated library system ASP solution.
The PACSCL consortium is comprised of 28 member libraries with collections that include over 3,000,000 rare books, 200,000 linear feet of manuscripts and archival material, and 9,000,000 works of art on paper. The six participating members that will be migrating to ALEPH represent some of Philadelphias landmark research libraries and museums and include The Athenaeum of Philadelphia, The Library Company of Philadelphia, The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Rosenbach Museum and Library, and The Wagner Free Institute of Science.
Ex Libris Aleph 500 ASP solution will allow these diverse institutions to link their holdings in a collaborative work environment and leverage that access through a series of portals linked from their websites. The funding for the project is being provided through a grant awarded by the William Penn Foundation and administered by The Philadelphia Museum of Art. Additional funding for data conversion has been provided by the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundataion.
David Moltke-Hansen, President of The Historical Society of Pennsylvania and Chairman of the PACSCL Board, said, PACSCL is unique among American library consortia by virtue of the numbers of its special libraries, large and small, and by the worldwide reputation of so many of its members. We came together because of our shared conviction that these collections play an important role in scholarship and in order to enhance the publics access to this shared cultural heritage.
Mr. Moltke-Hansen added, The future success and development of this cooperative network is dependent on having a more robust public interface – one that also provides open access through a shared system. We were unanimous in our agreement that Ex Libris was the best fit for our needs because of its expertise in rare book and manuscript libraries and archives and its remarkable client base.
Susan Pastore, Vice-President of Sales, said, PACSCLs migration to ALEPH 500 ASP is yet another significant milestone for Ex Libris. It is demonstrable proof of how our ASP solution can be an attractive option for many institutions, especially for smaller or highly specialized libraries that may opt to take advantage of Ex Libris menu of managed services options. Ex Libris can deliver a system with the data already completely migrated, and Ex Libris can also deal with ongoing server and system management. These options represent a cost-effective, streamlined approach to ILS migration, and beyond.
About PACSCL:
The 28 member libraries and archives of the Philadelphia Consortium of Special Collections Libraries collect, care for, and share with a world-wide audience collections that, in their depth and variety, comprise an internationally important body of rare and unique materials for students, scholars, and lifelong learners at any level.
PACSCL member libraries hold rich collections of materials on national, regional, and local history; the natural and social sciences; world history, literature and religion; art and architecture; and business and industry. PACSCL member institutions include the nation’s oldest circulating library; the libraries of some of the country’s most prestigious universities, museums, and learned societies, important government archives, and a noted public library.
For additional information on PACSCL, please see www.pacscl.org
About Ex Libris ASP Services:
Ex Libris offers three levels of ASP and Managed Services for ALEPH customers. ALEPH ASP includes application hosting with managed services for system set-up and configuration. ALEPH LSP provisions local service support for customers that host their own server and ALEPH OSP includes managed services for operating systems and Oracle database management. Ex Libris also offers ASP solutions for their SFX and MetaLib products. Collectively, over 60 U.S. customers have purchased one or more of Ex Libris ASP products.
About Ex Libris:
Ex Libris is a leading worldwide developer and provider of high-performance applications for libraries, information centers, and researchers. ALEPH, the Ex Libris integrated library solution has been installed at over 1250 sites in 57 countries. MetaLib®, the information portal for library collections and SFX, the content-sensitive linking solution for heterogeneous electronic resources in the scholarly information environment, have collectively been purchased by more than 900 institutions in 36 countries. DigiTool, a solution for the construction of digital collections, and Verde, the new electronic resource management (ERM) system, round out the Ex Libris product suite.
