Clarivate Plc (NYSE: CLVT) has been selected by the Bibliographic Agency for Higher Education (Abes) under a multi-year agreement to modernize France's national academic library system, according to a press release from the company.

Abes operates Sudoc, a national shared cataloging system containing over 15 million bibliographic records across a network of 3,000 libraries, and supports higher education and research institutions throughout France.

The new platform will use Clarivate's Alma, Rapido, and Primo products to replace legacy systems currently used for the national union catalog and interlibrary loan service. The cloud-based solution will combine library services, resource sharing, and AI-powered discovery tools. The transition will also support a move to a linked-data model aligned with international standards.

Abes stated in its official announcement that the selection was "a pragmatic decision, dictated by the unavoidable reality of the global document computing market," adding that the agreement "guarantees exceptional value for money for the agency and its networks."

Bar Veinstein, President of Academia and Government at Clarivate, said the partnership would "support the Agency's strategic priorities to advance library services, information accessibility and resource sharing, including unlocking the potential of AI-powered discovery for users."

The agreement expands on existing Clarivate services already provided to more than 70 academic institutions in France at the institutional and regional level through Alma and Primo.