Category: Press Release

Press Release – Index Data to become first ReShare Certified Service Provider

Boston, MA and Copenhagen, Denmark – June 20, 2019

Project ReShare and Index Data are pleased to announce that Index Data will become the first Certified Service Provider for the ReShare consortial resource sharing platform. A software company specializing in creating innovative products and tools for the library ecosystem, Index Data will offer hosting, implementation, and support services for consortia that adopt the ReShare platform

For the past year, Index Data along with academic, consortial, and commercial partners has engaged with Project ReShare, a groundbreaking effort to build a new, Open Source resource sharing platform for and by the library community. Initially focused on patron-initiated consortial borrowing, the ReShare partnership intends to develop the platform into all aspects of library resource sharing.

Sebastian Hammer, President of Index Data says, “Project ReShare is a strategic collaboration between important organizations in the library space, but more importantly, it is an unparalleled gathering of passionate and talented individuals. ReShare is a powerful example of what can be accomplished through open collaboration. At Index Data, we believe that open technology infrastructure is the essential substrate of a vibrant service ecosystem; one that fosters innovation and puts the patron in the center by eliminating roadblocks to interoperability. We participate in Project ReShare because collaboration is in our DNA as a team and because we firmly believe that we are at our best when we work together.”     

As a ReShare Service Provider, Index Data will contribute technical and community resources to the project, as well as contributing financially to community activities.  In the coming months, Index Data will work closely with the ReShare Steering Committee to develop open and transparent pricing models, negotiate caps on annual increases, and offer discounts to ReShare community members.

This partnership exemplifies the benefits of ReShare’s community-ownership approach, which brings together libraries, consortia, software developers, and open source advocates to collaborate on a shared vision for library resource sharing. As a leading development partner for ReShare, Index Data has already made significant contributions of staff time and resources to the project and cultivated a deep expertise in its software, workflows, and user needs.

Index Data expects to go live with initial ReShare consortial customers in 2020.

Background

Index Data has built solutions based on open source software since it was founded in 1994 and has created and released dozens of open source tools over the years. Its recent experience as lead development partner for the FOLIO project has led the company to develop a very strong perspective on the use of open source software as a means of building communities of intent, and for genuinely sharing ownership of technology across different kinds of organizations. Contact info@indexdata.com for more information, or visit us at booth #2941 at the American Library Association Conference in Washington, DC.

About ReShare

The ReShare Community is a group of libraries, consortia, information organizations and developers, with both commercial and non-commercial interests, who came together in 2018 to create Project ReShare – a new and open approach to library resource sharing. The ReShare Community has a bold vision for building a user-centered, app-based, community-owned resource sharing platform for libraries to set the standard for how we connect library patrons to the resources and information they require.

Contact info@projectreshare.org for more information.

###

Media Contact:
Jill Morris
Executive Director, PALCI
info@projectreshare.org

ReShare Certified Service Provider Press ReleaseDownload

Press Release – Project ReShare Launches

Project ReShare Launches: Community-owned Library Resource Sharing Platform Attracts Significant Contributions

A group of leading library and information organizations has come together to create Project ReShare – a new and open approach to library resource sharing systems. ReShare aims to inject new life into this space by developing a community-owned resource sharing platform.

ReShare’s open source software will be built with a modular architecture focused on user-centric design. Organizations can adapt the system to their specific needs and experiment with new service models. Users will have the option to install the platform locally or select a preferred vendor for hosting and support. ReShare’s Apache 2.0 software license will allow libraries, developers, and vendors to innovate freely. Project ReShare is currently seeking membership in the Open Library Foundation, which will own the project’s intellectual property.

The greatest asset of Project ReShare is its robust community. Libraries, consortia, developers, vendors, and open information advocates are collaborating with a shared vision of strengthening the health of libraries’ resource sharing ecosystem. The community’s structure and governance minimizes barriers hindering innovation in current resource sharing solutions, and gives equal voice to all stakeholder groups.

Project ReShare’s Steering Committee includes representatives from Duke University Libraries, the Greater Western Library Alliance (GWLA), Index Data, Ivy Plus Libraries, Knowledge Integration, the Mozilla Foundation, the National Széchényi Library (Hungary), North Carolina State University Libraries, Northwestern University Libraries, the Open Library Environment, the Pennsylvania Academic Library Consortium, Inc. (PALCI), the Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN), the University of Chicago Library, the University of Houston, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Members of the community are contributing leadership, expertise, and resources to the ReShare project. PALCI is providing $100,000 to kickstart UX design and development. Index Data adds several staff to lead project planning and software development. Other partnering organizations are dedicating developer time, infrastructure support, and in-kind contributions. The Steering Committee will soon announce ways for other organizations to contribute toward ReShare’s vision.

To all involved, ReShare represents a unique opportunity to solve today’s problems and tomorrow’s challenges. “The only way libraries can address all our patrons’ information needs is through partnerships with each other,” says Jill Morris, Associate Director of PALCI and Project ReShare’s Steering Committee Chair. “This partnership is about re-imagining how we work together. ReShare opens up channels for strategic collaboration among libraries, across consortia, and with vendors and other organizations, which simply didn’t exist before.”

“A community-based, open platform for library resource sharing – and for deep collaboration around collections and discovery – has been the Holy Grail of interlibrary lending for well over a decade,” shares Joe Lucia, Dean of Libraries at Temple University and member of PALCI’s Board of Directors. “ReShare carries the promise of becoming that system, and of engaging the library community broadly, both in technical innovation and in opening up the wealth of our holdings to students and scholars in powerful ways.”

That enthusiasm is shared by Index Data co-founder Sebastian Hammer. “Resource sharing is central to the future of libraries, both in terms of managing access to print, and in new models for digital services. Project ReShare is bringing together a dream team of partners in a mutual commitment to open innovation and collaboration. We are thrilled to be a part of it.”

Work on Project ReShare is underway. The Steering Committee has outlined the functional requirements for ReShare’s software, and defined the community’s expectations and structure. Software development will continue through the next year with plans for implementation and the first round of testing in the fall of 2019.

For more information about Project Reshare, please contact Jill Morris, Project ReShare Steering Committee Chair at info@projectreshare.org.

###

Media Contact:
Jill Morris
Associate Director, PALCI
info@projectreshare.org