Press Release
University of Pennsylvania Libraries Put Rare Books and Historical Documents Online with Olive Software
Library System Demonstrates Technical Agility and Renewed Relevance through Digitization
Philadelphia, August 14, 2007 – The University of Pennsylvania Libraries have selected Olive Software to help digitize rare and special collections into a fully indexed and searchable online archive. After completion of the project, which commences this summer, scholars worldwide will be able to use the Internet to find, access, and perform text searches on rare documents from the University of Pennsylvania, rather than just view digital images online or request reproductions via mail or fax.
The University of Pennsylvania Libraries, which has 15 libraries with more than 5 million volumes and a 300-person staff, chose Olive ViewPoint as the solution that fit best into their digital architecture, which relies heavily on metadata in the METS schema (the Metadata Encoding & Transmission Standard which provides a mechanism for encoding descriptive, administrative, and structural metadata for digital library objects.) The first research library system to work with ViewPoint, the organization selected the software after a long review process. Library executives stressed the need for a technology solution that would allow them to manage the project in-house, given the large quantity of legacy material at stake.
“We looked hard at the Olive solution and found it addresses the many facets of our digital projects and meets the high standards we have for our collections,” said Carton Rogers, Vice Provost and Director of the Penn Libraries. “The idea that we can have a 17th Century edition of Hamlet online and fully text-mapped is really exciting; we’re looking forward to seeing just how far-ranging the effects of this project will be.”
The launch of this project helps the University of Pennsylvania Libraries fulfill the ambitious goals they are setting for themselves in the digital realm. With a vast store of rare and unique printed material, including the H.H. Furness Memorial Shakespeare Library, the Penn Libraries will increase access to treasures that will amaze existing audiences and attract new readers globally.
“This project will really transform the role of research libraries, not only within the academic community, but in the world,” said Yuval Rachmilevitz, president and CEO of Olive Software. “With Olive Software, the University of Pennsylvania Libraries are putting literary and historic heritage online, to be as easily accessible and searchable as anything found on the Internet.”
The University of Pennsylvania Libraries plan to install Olive Viewpoint this month, and believe the system will be live and ready to launch in the fall. The initiative is being made possible by a gift from Library Overseer Bernard Goldstein specified for technology in libraries.
The University of Pennsylvania Libraries join many institutions that have already chosen Olive to provide online access to historic materials, including Oxford University, Penn State University, and The Brooklyn Public Library.
About The University of Pennsylvania Libraries
The University of Pennsylvania Library system is one of the oldest academic
libraries in the nation, with some of its earliest books acquired as a
gift to the college from Benjamin Franklin. Today, fifteen libraries and
a high density storage facility serve the University of Pennsylvania’s
twelve schools and dozens of academic centers. These libraries, staffed
by 393 professionals, collectively house more than 5.8 million volumes,
43,000 serials, nearly four million microforms, and distinctive rare book
and manuscript collections. The University of Pennsylvania Library system
is a pioneer in digital access; providing access to some 15,000 full-text
journals and databases, more than 300,000 electronic books, an online
catalog of more than three million records, and digitized images numbering
in the tens of thousands. Collections such as The Furness Shakespeare
Library, one of the world’s best repositories of the Bard’s
writings, and The Occident, the first Jewish publication in the U.S. and
the most important record of American Jewish life in the middle decades
of the nineteenth century, are just two of the resources attracting scholars
and visitors from around the world.
About Olive Software
Olive Software (www.olivesoftware.com) is the leading provider of digital
publishing solutions that allow organizations to publish rich, interactive
and searchable media by automatically transforming documents into intelligent
content components, or micro content. By unlocking the information within
documents, Olive better enables publishers to meet the immediate demands
of the evolving Web, empowering them to redefine traditional markets for
their information. Olive Software is based in Santa Clara, California,
with sales offices in New York, Washington DC, Denver, Los Angeles, London,
and Paris, and R&D facilities in Israel.
Media Contacts:
Sasha Frey
Marketing Director, Olive Software
+1 720.747.1220
sashaf@olivesoftware.com
Joe Zucca
Asst. Director for Management Information Services and Communication
The University of Pennsylvania Libraries
+1 215.573.4643
zucca@pobox.upenn.edu