Content-as-a-service platform with the alfresco open-source enterprise content management system

The National Library Board (NLB) of Singapore embarked on a holistic programme over the last few years to transform the access and discovery of digital library resources for the 'connected generation'. Uniquely Singapore materials are collected, both from institutions and man-on-the-street, and if necessary digitized for easy access. A flexible, scalable, robust, and yet cost-effective content management service (CMS) is critical to the success of the programme. To enable maximum reach for the rich-media content, the CMS has been envisaged from the inception as a ‘content-as-a-service’ platform that is loosely-coupled with the online services that would consume the content via application programming interfaces (APIs). This service architecture has allowed NLB to develop content micro-sites that are search engine friendly and optimized for multi-screens on all devices with the responsive web design framework. NLB selected the Alfresco Community Edition, an open source Enterprise Content Management system, as its content management platform in 2010. The platform has been successfully used in key content-rich NLB services, including Infopedia, BookSG, PictureSG, MusicSG, HistorySG, the Standards Portal and the Singapore Memory Portal.