MAY 6, 2009 – For several years, Kirtas Technologies has provided digitizing systems, services and software to university and public libraries, corporations, government agencies, and other organizations requiring outstanding quality digital images for their rare and out-of-print books, manuscripts and other important documents.

So why wouldn’t we offer that same high-quality, digital imaging workflow to museums, art galleries, historical societies and archives around the world? With the addition of SkyView—the company’s first digitization system for oversized documents and materials—these organizations can now digitize not only books in their libraries or that are part of an exhibit collection, but also large maps, photographs, works on paper, postcards, oversize books, books with foldouts, and even three-dimensional artifacts for cataloging purposes and the creation of online exhibits.

In addition to the company’s debut at AAM Expo, Kirtas announces that Natalie Russo has joined the company as an imaging expert with experience in museum photography and fine-art reproduction.

Prior to joining the Kirtas team, she worked as a photographer at the Yale University Art Gallery; the Museum of Modern Art, in New York City; and the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, Connecticut.

“I’m very excited to be a part of the Kirtas team,” Russo said. “My entire education and work experience has been focused on high-quality, digital imaging. To now be working for a company that shares that passion and sees the significance and importance of it is really thrilling for me.”

One of the highlights of her career thus far, was working at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. Russo spent two years working on the collection relocation of photographs, art and artifacts from the museum’s location in the Bronx to its new home in Washington, D.C.

Russo attended Rochester Institute of Technology. She holds a Master’s in Print Media with a concentration in Color Science focusing on digital imaging work flows and fine art reproduction. She also has a Bachelor’s degree in Photography.

About Kirtas Technologies
Kirtas Technologies has pioneered and perfected the technology used today in quality, high-speed, nondestructive mass digitization. A proven workflow ensuring superior image quality, advanced search capabilities, unique archiving technology, and extensive metadata enabling multiple output options that stand the test of time are what set us apart and keep Kirtas at the forefront of the digital revolution. Learn more at www.kirtas.com

Equinox Software and PTFS Europe Form Evergreen Partnership
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Norcross, GA – May 5, 2009
Equinox Software Inc. and PTFS Europe are pleased to announce a partnership for Evergreen software in Europe. Evergreen, the consortial-quality, open source library automation software, has an increasingly strong presence in North America, with many Evergreen libraries contracting for support and other services through Equinox Software. The partnership between Equinox Software and PTFS Europe provides European libraries the option of selecting a regional company with decades of experience in library management systems for local Evergreen implementations and ongoing support.
"Most libraries are simply not resourced to carry out a system migration or its ongoing support without further help. That is precisely what we can provide,” said Nick Dimant, Managing Director of PTFS Europe. Dimant added, "Embracing open source is about more than just the software. It is about a new way of working, an emphasis on partnership and collaboration with customers. In the current harsh economic climate the financial benefits of moving to open source are also clear.”

"We are delighted to work with Nick and the PTFS Europe team in supporting Evergreen in Europe,” said Bob Molyneux, Vice President of Business Development with Equinox Software. “We believe they will be a strong partner in extending the Evergreen community as it begins its expansion outside of North America."

About Evergreen
Evergreen is consortial-quality, open-source library software initially developed to support Georgia PINES, a resource-sharing consortium with over 270 public libraries. Evergreen was designed from the ground up to be robust, fault-tolerant, service-oriented, and standards-based. Evergreen nimbly evolves to meet the needs of very large, high-transaction, multi-site consortia, while elegantly scaling down to the smallest library sites.
The growing, multinational Evergreen development community has shepherded Evergreen through a series of carefully-planned releases that have further strengthened Evergreen’s consortial capabilities while adding popular and useful functionality. Evergreen 2.0, due out in 2009, will add acquisitions, serials, and reserves to Evergreen’s outstanding functionality.
From its debut in September 2006, Evergreen has earned acclaim and praise from users worldwide, including a Technology Collaboration Award from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Over one hundred library systems are now running Evergreen, including consortial projects such as Michigan Evergreen, Evergreen Indiana, and British Columbia SITKA, as well as libraries such as Kent County Public Library in Maryland, Marshall Public Library in Missouri, the National Weather Center Library, and the University of Prince Edward Island.
Other libraries contracting with Equinox software for future Evergreen services include King County Library System (a public library system in Washington State), the thirteen libraries of Natural Resources Canada, North Texas Regional Library System, and South Carolina LENDS, an 11-library consortium. A number of libraries “go it alone” with Evergreen by providing their own migration and support, which further demonstrates the power, ease, and reliability of this state-of-the-art library software.
For more information about Evergreen, see http://evergreen-ils.org.

About PTFS Europe
PTFS Europe is implementing and supporting the Evergreen and Koha open source library management systems as well as distributing and supporting the software products of PTFS, Inc., the leading provider of digital archiving solutions in North America. PTFS Europe is able to provide the full range of services needed to implement a library or digital archival
solution, including project management, installation, configuration, data conversion, scanning and digitisation, training and ongoing customer support. For libraries who would prefer to outsource their IT provision, PTFS can also host Evergreen via its Software as a Service (SaaS)
facility.
For more information on PTFS Europe, see http://ptfs-europe.com/
Press Contact for PTFS Europe: Nick Dimant, nick.diman@ptfs-europe.com,
+44 (0) 800-756-68-3

About Equinox Software, Inc.
Founded by the original Evergreen designers and developers, Equinox Software is a growing team of skilled developers and other professionals who provide comprehensive support for Evergreen, the consortial-quality, open source Integrated Library System (ILS). Equinox develops, supports, trains, migrates, integrates, and consults on Evergreen, and engages with the rapidly expanding Evergreen community. Instead of one-size-fits-all support, Equinox works closely with libraries to ensure Evergreen is implemented in the manner that best fits their individual needs.
In addition to support, custom development and integration services, Equinox offers complete Evergreen hosting packages for libraries wishing to outsource their ILS infrastructure. Equinox also provides consulting services for libraries seeking more insight into the value proposition of open source software.
Press contact for Equinox Software: Corinne Hall, corinne@esilibrary.com, 678-269-6113
For more information on Equinox Software, please visit http://www.esilibrary.com.

Evergreen is open source software, freely licensed under the GNU GPL. Evergreen and the Evergreen logo are trademarks of the Georgia Public Library Service.

EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing allows readers to see into the future with an “electronic brain”… but are we the first to find this technology?

The BBC recently reported that Britain has developed an “electronic brain” — a web technology that not only revolutionizes the way individuals surf the net, but the way knowledge is gathered.

This web based technology, nicknamed “Alpha”, is projected to be as important as Google. Think of what would happen if Google (search engine) and Wikipedia (information database) decided to merge their technologies. The outcome would be an amalgamation of information all in one place when you want to search.

It seems as though the stuff of science fiction novels is finally coming to light. In June 2009, EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing is releasing a book that explores just this — a web based technology that can view and understand everything on the internet. Entitled “The Oracle Paradox”, this story encompasses the essence of Alpha — an all knowing program that can see, hear, and read every byte of information that is connected to the internet.

How might Alpha effect your future? Picture Amazon’s predictions that state “If you enjoyed this product, you might enjoy…” mingling with Alpha. The result is Oracle — an artificial intelligence that can predict people’s behavior based on habits.

But what happens when the technology supersedes its programming and the predictions cease to make sense?

To see the predictions of where this technology might lead us, read “The Oracle Paradox” by Stephen L. Antczak.

Links:
The Oracle Paradox: http://www.edgewebsite.com/books/oracleparadox/op-catalog.php
Alpha: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8026331.stm

Justyn Perry
Marketing Manager
EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing
403.254.0160
www.edgewebsite.com