Ex Libris Group is pleased to announce the release of Ex Libris Rosetta for digital libraries, which will provide national and academic libraries and archives around the world with a solution to support their task of collecting and preserving cumulative knowledge in digital format for the enjoyment and use of generations to come. Just as the Rosetta Stone held the key to enabling early 19th century scholars to understand Egyptian hieroglyphic script, which died out in the fourth century AD, Ex Libris Rosetta provides today’s libraries with the infrastructure and technology needed to preserve and facilitate access to and understanding of the digital collections under their guardianship–in perpetuity.
Ex Libris Rosetta 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. Numerous people within and outside of the institution can contribute to 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.
Based on the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) model and conforming to Trustworthy Repositories Audit and Certification (TRAC) criteria, this end-to-end solution offers full security, auditing, and integrity checks that maintain the safety of collections over time. A set of tools including Application Programming Interfaces (API) and deep linking through persistent identifiers, enable institutions to make their collections even more easily accessible to users.
In parallel with Ex Libris Rosetta going live at the National Library of New Zealand in November 2008, Ex Libris has launched the Ex Libris Rosetta Charter Program, which will foster strategic collaboration between Ex Libris and its customers on the ongoing design of the Company’s digital preservation system. Institutions interested in becoming charter members are welcome to contact Ex Libris at rosettachartergroup@exlibrisgroup.com.
“Digital preservation and the ensuing Ex Libris Rosetta product are key elements in our product strategy,” Matti Shem Tov, president and CEO of Ex Libris Group, commented. “We are proud to have brought to market this solution which will help libraries around the world to ensure ongoing accessibility to the digital collections in their care for the benefit of users today and in the future. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with customers to further extend and enhance Ex Libris Rosetta.”