POMONA, CA. — October 18, 2005— Auto-Graphics, Inc. (AUGR.PK) is proud to announce the availability of AGent Digital Collections, a web-based collection preservation and delivery product designed to assist small and medium-sized public libraries, academic institutions, and cultural heritages with the creation and display of their digital collections within a short period of time. Auto-Graphics offers a fully hosted, affordable and scalable solution for libraries seeking to preserve their community's history by making their priceless maps, photographs, sound recordings, and all other digital files available for users to search and enjoy online.
Auto-Graphics is offering free storage with its ASP fully hosted licensed service option to help libraries save the time and extra cost of hosting their own system or employing additional IT staff. The system is designed for immediate collection development and public display. Once a user logs in, digital files can be uploaded and cataloged in minutes using the simple data entry web form (an optional advanced metadata editing tool is also available for the more experienced catalogers). Once the record is uploaded to the hosted server, it becomes instantly available for public view through the library's website. The library's collection can also be made universally available for searching as a Z39.50 target.
For customers just starting out, Auto-Graphics, along with its partner network, can provide everything needed to create an entire digital collection from start to finish, with all of the necessary hardware, software, cataloging, and support services to scan, digitize, index, search, and display historical documents in various electronic file type formats. These services are also available separately to accommodate digitization projects already "in the works." Auto-Graphics' AGent Portal federated search tool can also be added to allow a patron to search the library's newly created digital collection with its local catalog or other subscription electronic resources for a greater research experience.
"We are proud to offer a functional and affordable product that allows all libraries – small and large - to instantly get into the digital collections game, bringing significant value to their communities as cultural preservationists. AGent Digital Collections, unlike other digital preservation and delivery products, provides libraries with free hosting and the immediate ability to upload images and begin building their digital collections," commented Albert Flores, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Auto-Graphics.
Founded in 1950, Auto-Graphics provides a broad range of library services, including resource sharing and portal software services to create, manage, publish, and access information using the Internet. Auto-Graphics has played a leading role for over 50 years in turning the rapid technological developments into advanced products and services that are currently used by more than 10,000 libraries in North America. For more information, visit www.auto-graphics.com.
