In 2024, Librarians and Archivists with Palestine initiated research into Ex Libris, an Israeli company that produces software that is widely used in libraries and archives. Learn more about our research below.

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During the Nakba of 1948, Zionist forces violently displaced and dispossessed 750,000 Palestinians of their land, property, and belongings to create the state of Israel. Despite United Nations Resolution 194, which declares that “refugees wishing to return to their homes […] should be permitted to do so”, Palestinian refugees are still prohibited from returning to their land, from which Israel forcibly removed them. 

al-Maliha is one of more than 500 Palestinian villages that Israel ethnically cleansed during the Nakba. Today, Israel calls this stolen land ‘Malha Technology Park’ or ‘Jerusalem Technology Park’; this is where Ex Libris is headquartered. See our companion document on the Ex Libris headquaters here.

TIMELINE

1983: ALEPH, an integrated library system (ILS) is built by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, then transferred to a for-profit venture: Aleph-Yissum.

1986: Ex Libris is organized to market ALEPH, an integrated library system (ILS) developed by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

1980s: Israeli state funding is provided to libraries who adopt ALEPH; this leads to Ex Libris’ ILS monopoly in all seven Israeli universities.

1995: Ex Libris and Aleph-Yissum merge; Ex Libris is now in use by 200 libraries internationally.

2015: ProQuest acquires Ex Libris.

2020: An American Libraries report states that Ex Libris is the leading provider of tech for academic and research libraries, with nearly 3,000 installations of Alma, Aleph, and Voyager integrated library systems, in addition to other products.

2021: Clarivate acquires ProQuest.

PRODUCTS

Alma	CampusM Library	Serials Solutions
Aleph	Rapido	Ulrich’s Serials Analysis System (USAS)
Voyager	Esploro	LISA: Library and Information Science Abstracts
Primo	Converis	Ulrichsweb
Summon	Pivot-RP	EndNote
Leganto	SFX	RefWorks
CampusM	SFX Global Knowledge Base	ProQuest/Ex Libris/Clarivate databases

COMPLICITY

Israeli universities are known accomplices to Israel’s occupation, settler-colonialism, and apartheid. This includes their:

• Research and development of weapon systems and military doctrines;
• Participation in military training;
• Discrimination against Palestinians;
• Stifling of political dissent;
• Direct involvement with the occupation of Palestine through building and maintaining illegal settlements.

When we invest in Israeli companies, we continue “business as usual”. By investing, we are giving Israel the greenlight to continue violating international law through their occupation, settler-colonialism, and apartheid. Economic relations with Israel also provides the government with tax revenue that is used to continue oppressing Palestinians.

PRESENT DAY

Today, Ex Libris sells numerous products used across libraries and archives. Ex Libris’ market dominance can be felt across nearly 3,000 North American libraries and archives. Its products are often adopted wholesale by university systems or regional consortia.

Academic libraries:

• OhioLINK (88 institutions in Ohio)
• University of California Libraries
• Yale Library
• Harvard Library
• University of Pennsylvania – Penn Libraries
• Columbia University Libraries
• Brown University Library

Ex Libris is a high-level corporate donor to the American Library Association; in return, the ALA heavily champions and promotes Ex Libris to its members. When we invest in Ex Libris, we materially support Israel’s apartheid, colonization, and illegal occupation of Palestine.

Are these the values that library workers stand for? 

Why boycotting matters

Boycotts have long been an effective expression of protest through voluntary abstention from products, organizations, countries, etc. Boycotting was instrumental in ending apartheid in South Africa, which included abstention from South African goods, sports, and universities, as well as companies and organizations that were complicit in South African apartheid. 

The Israeli economy is particularly vulnerable to international economic boycotts, due to its dependence on international trade and investment. The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) Movement pressures the Israeli government to adhere to international law and end its systematic and historic oppression of Palestinians. The BDS Movement calls for the academic, cultural, and economic boycott of Israel until these conditions are met.

As library workers, we can participate in the economic boycott of Israel in many ways, including by boycotting Ex Libris.

Decolonization has recently become a focus of libraries, archives, and other information organizations, as we begin to acknowledge, investigate, and attempt to undo colonialist practices. It is essential that we understand and act with the knowledge that settler-colonialism is a global project. The historic and ongoing colonization of Turtle Island is deeply connected to Israel’s colonization of Palestine. If we are to commit to working against colonization in information organizations across Turtle Island, we must also commit to working against Israel’s colonization of Palestine.

Collectively, library workers have the power to effect change in our field. Together, we can stand for values of equity and decolonization, as we stand against apartheid and colonization.

See full citations for this research here.

Further Reading

Palestine Remembered. (2024). Welcome to al-Maliha  – المالحه (אל-מאלחה. Palestine Remembered.

Palestinian BDS National Committee. (n.d.). Economic Boycott. BDS Movement. 

Palestinian BDS National Committee. (n.d.). Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel. BDS Movement.

Popowich, S. (2021, May 18). BDS and Library Technology. Sam Popowich.

Staniunas, D. (2024, January 3). A case for library/archives boycott and divestment: ExLibris. Medium.