News

June, 2019 – Boston, MA and Copenhagen, Denmark

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.

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.

Charlotte Whitt of Index Data will be supporting the FOLIO participation at ELAG 2019. FOLIO is an ELAG partner this year. There will also be a presentation on “Improving FOLIO Architecture” by Julian Ladisch and Martina Tumulla. If you are at ELAG, drop by the FOLIO booth and say hello.

Index Data will be at ALA Midwinter in the Washington State Convention Center on January 25th through the 28th, and we would love to talk with you about our projects using technology to re-imagine how services are offered to your users.

In Presentations

Sebastian Hammer joins Peter McCracken from Cornell University for a session about FOLIO’s impact on the library marketplace in the Symposium on the Future of Libraries.  See if this quote from the session description whets your appetite:

What do you think a future library marketplace should it look like? Should it contain just a few giants (or, worse, just one), dominating the space and having sufficiently broad control that they significantly impact what you can and cannot acquire? Or would you prefer a broad range of content providers and vendors, offering a vibrant marketplace of products and ideas?

In an enormous marketplace like general retail, individual buyers don’t have much impact. I may choose to not buy from Amazon, but my decision will have no impact on Amazon’s bottom line. But in a small space like the library market, where each buyer represents so much more than an individual consumer in the broad marketplace, the actions of just a few libraries can impact the direction and development of that marketplace. Library decision-makers have the ability to impact the marketplace by thoughtfully determining how they spend money.

We believe that, if designed with care, the FOLIO Marketplace will be just such a dynamic place, where individuals and institutions can help shape our community’s future. The FOLIO Marketplace, and the manner in which FOLIO is being developed and distributed, changes how libraries can acquire the resources they need to keep providing newer and better services to their patrons.

Interested?  Join Sebastian and Peter on Saturday, January 26 from 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM in the Washington State Convention Center, Room 606.

On the Exhibit Floor

When we are not in presentations or meetings with clients, you can find us on the exhibit floor in booth #2611.  We are located just inside the exhibit hall from the ALA Store and ALA Lounge.

At the FOLIO Aster Release Party

Index Data joins the Open Library Foundation community in celebrating the Aster Release of the FOLIO software.  The release party will be Saturday, January 26 from 7:30 – 10:00 PM at the Pike Brewing Company on 1415 First Avenue in Seattle.  Whether you’ve actively participated in the project or want to see what a fun group we are, please RSVP and join us on Saturday evening.

On Your Schedule

We would love the opportunity to talk with you on your schedule.  Whether it’s our work on FOLIO, our efforts in Project Reshare to help launch a community-owned resource sharing platform, or our renowned discovery tools, we’re here to journey with you as you think about how technology impacts your services.  Please contact one of our team attending Midwinter to set up a time:

• Lynn Bailey, CEO
• Sebastian Hammer, President and co-founder
• Mike Gorrell, Director of Hosting Services
• Peter Murray, Open Source Community Advocate

A group of leading library and information organizations, including Index Data, 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.

To read the full press release, go to http://www.palci.org/news/project-reshare-launches-community-owned-library-resource-sh.html