After enduring a severe cyber attack, the British Library is now in the process of restoring its main catalog online. This is a significant milestone as the catalog contains 36 million records of printed and rare books, maps, magazines, and sheet music.
Despite this progress, access is currently limited to a “read-only” format, and it may take until the end of the year for the National Library’s services to be fully restored.
Sir Rory Keating, the library’s chief executive, confirmed that the full restoration of all services will be a gradual process. This has been particularly challenging for researchers who rely on the library’s collections for their work and livelihood.
The devastating cyber attack, which occurred on October 31st and was claimed by the ransomware group Rhysida, caused the main catalog to be inaccessible online and led to the theft of some employee data.
Upon restoring the online catalog, users will have the ability to search for materials. However, the process for checking inventory and ordering materials for use in the library reading room will differ from before. Users will also need to visit the library in person to view offline versions of the specialized catalog.
The library has also acknowledged the financial impact of the attack, stating that significant spending will be required to rebuild its digital services and complete the technological recovery. Additionally, concerns have been raised about the impact of the attack on payments to authors through the UK’s public lending rights system.
Despite the challenges ahead, the library is committed to restoring its services to their full capacity and continues to work with cybersecurity experts to address the aftermath of the attack.
Source: www.theguardian.com
