Library Technology Guides

Alma Starter from Ex Libris: the latest innovation to meet library e-resource management needs. Ex Libris, Part of Clarivate, announced the continuing evolution of its Alma library resource management solution to better address current and future library resource management needs. Alma, a unified platform being successfully used by more than 2500 libraries worldwide, can now be adapted by libraries so they can leverage its suite of electronic resource management services to work alongside their integrated library system. [Full Announcement].

Alma August 2023 Feature Release: streamlining the user experience and empowering users. Ex Libris announced the deployment of the Alma August 2023 Feature Release. This is a bumper release in what has been a bumper year of new of developments in 2023, now totaling close to 150 new features and approximately 60 new enhancements. 25 items, directly stemming from ideas contributed by our user community on the Idea Exchange platform have been developed and completed this year. The August Feature Release sees the incorporation of 11 of these Idea Exchange items. [Full Announcement].

Alma roadmap update: look ahead. Ex Libris presented the latest version of the Alma Roadmap for 2023 and 2024. This updated roadmap brings a range of new features and functionalities across various aspects of Alma, including Acquisitions, Metadata Management, Resource Management, Fulfilment, and more. [Full Announcement].

Three Liberal Arts Colleges in Maine select Alma and Primo for a shared library services platform. Libris, part of Clarivate, is pleased to announce that three prestigious liberal arts colleges in Maine – Bates, Bowdoin and Colby Colleges – selected Ex Libris Alma and Primo to improve their library services, and provide a better user experience for students, faculty, and staff. The colleges will go live on their new system this summer. [Full Announcement].

University of Electro-Communications adopts Ex Libris Alma Library Services and Primo Discovery Service to enhance access to academic resources. Ex Libris, part of Clarivate, announced that Japan's University of Electro-Communications (UEC) has selected the Ex Libris Alma library services platform and Primo discovery solution to upgrade the university's library system. UEC is the first national university in Japan to adopt the Alma platform. [Full Announcement].

Bayerische Staatsbibliothek entscheidet sich zur Modernisierung ihrer Bibliotheksdienste für Alma von Ex Libris. Ex Libris, ein Unternehmen von ProQuest, gibt bekannt, dass Deutschlands größte Forschungs- und Universalbibliothek, die Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (BSB), die Umstellung auf die cloudbasierte Ex Libris Alma-Plattform für Bibliotheksdienste vollzieht, nachdem diese bisher fast 20 Jahre lang über ein zunehmend komplexes und begrenztes lokales System bereitgestellt wurden. [Full Announcement].

Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (Bavarian State Library) chooses Ex Libris Alma platform to modernize library services. Ex Libris, a ProQuest company, announced that Germany's largest universal and research library, the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (Bavarian State Library, or BSB), is making the transition to the cloud-based Ex Libris Alma library services platform after almost 20 years of providing library services through an increasingly complex and limited local system. [Full Announcement].

Japan's National Institute of Informatics paves the way for Japanese libraries of the future with Ex Libris Alma services. Ex Libris, a ProQuest company, announced that the Ex Libris Alma® library services platform has been selected by the National Institute of Informatics (NII) in Japan, an interuniversity institute that promotes research in information-related areas. The decision was based on strategies defined in the 2019 Vision on Future Scholarly Information Systems, prepared by Japan's Future Scholarly Information Systems Committee under the auspices of the Council for Promoting Collaboration between University Libraries and the National Institute of Informatics. [Full Announcement].

More than Two Million Alma Analytics Reports Were Run in March 2021. Ex Libris, a ProQuest company, is excited to announce that users of the Ex Libris Alma library services platform have set a new record: more than two million Alma Analytics reports were run in March 2021. The number of reports that are run is expected to continue at this level or even increase in the coming months. [Full Announcement].

MnPALS. Cooperating Libraries in Consortium (CLIC) to join Consortium of MnPALS Libraries. The six academic institutions that comprise Cooperating Libraries in Consortium (CLIC) have completed contracts to join the Consortium of MnPALS Libraries. The system migration will begin in March, and the institutions will go live on the MnPALS environment in Summer 2021. As part of this strategic transition, the CLIC consortium will officially dissolve on August 31, 2021. [Full Announcement].

Community College League of California. Community College League of California reaches agreement with Ex Libris to sustain the Library Services Platform. The Community College League of California announced a new three-year agreement with Ex Libris for the Library Services Platform (LSP), providing a smooth transition to sustain the effort this fiscal year. The LSP Program is a California Community Colleges systemwide project that recently implemented a shared library software solution for 110 participating colleges. Students can now utilize a single search for physical library materials, library database subscriptions, e-books and Open Educational Resource (OER) materials. [Full Announcement].

Universidade Estadual Paulista becomes the first institution in Brazil to select Ex Libris Alma. Ex Libris, a ProQuest company, announced that Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp) (São Paulo State University) has selected the Ex Libris Alma library services platform to unify the management of its physical and electronic library collections and provide seamless access to the digital collection, an aggregate of more than three million items. For the 34 member libraries, the Alma platform will replace the Ex Libris Aleph system, which has served the institution for more than two decades. Unesp is the first Brazilian university to implement Alma cloud services. [Full Announcement].

Tulane University Libraries to adopt Ex Libris Alma library services platform. Ex Libris, a ProQuest company, announced that Tulane University has selected the Ex Libris Alma library services platform. The move to the new platform will enable the university’s libraries to unify the management of their electronic resources and make them as easily discoverable as possible. [Full Announcement].

California Community Colleges. Cloud-based library platform keeps California Community College Libraries operational during COVID-19 crisis -- System is now live at 110 California Community Colleges. The statewide Library Services Platform project successfully transitioned an unprecedented single-year cohort of 110 participating California community college libraries to the shared platform in January 2020. This rapid and timely adoption positioned college libraries to immediately adapt to remote work and learning practices following a statewide shelter-in-place order in March due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. [Full Announcement].

National Library of Israel goes live with Ex Libris Alma platform to power the library's far-reaching initiatives today and into the future. Ex Libris, a ProQuest company, is pleased to announce that the National Library of Israel has gone live with the Ex Libris Alma® library services platform, which will now be handling the management of the library's sizeable, and growing, collections; promoting collaboration with local and international institutions; and supporting the library's move to its remarkable new home.The National Library of Israel holds the largest collection of knowledge and unique materials focused on Jewish civilization and the history and culture of Israel, in addition to vast collections on Islam and the Middle East. Perhaps more than any other institution in the Jewish world, the library encompasses a wealth of research on the Jewish experience over the last three millennia. Expanding the library's collaboration with local and international libraries and heritage institutions and exposing its collections to new audiences around the globe are key elements of the library's mission. [Full Announcement].

Swiss Library Service Platform. Le Consortium des bibliothèques universitaires suisses rejoint la SLSP. Nous y voilà: le 1er janvier 2020, le Consortium des bibliothèques universitaires suisses rejoindra la SLSP. Les universités cantonales, le Domaine des EPF, les hautes écoles spécialisées et la Bibliothèque nationale ont fondé ce consortium en l’an 2000. Depuis lors, la bibliothèque EPF a dirigé le consortium dans le cadre d’un projet. La transition vers une organisation permanente fait l’objet de discussions depuis quelque temps. Avec la SLSP, le cadre idéal a été trouvé. C’est pourquoi le consortium a été intégré dès le début aux demandes de projet de la SLSP. Fin août, le conseil d’administration de la SLSP a approuvé le passage du consortium à la SLSP. [Full Announcement].

Swiss Library Service Platform. Consortium of Swiss Academic Libraries. on 1 January 2020, the Consortium of Swiss Academic Libraries will switch to SLSP. In 2000, the cantonal universities, the ETH Domain, the universities of applied sciences and the National Library founded the consortium. From the outset, the ETH-Bibliothek led the consortium as a project. The transition to a permanent organisation has been under discussion for some time. With SLSP, the right vessel was found, which is why the consortium was integrated into the project proposals for SLSP from the outset. At the end of August, the SLSP's administrative board approved the consortium's transition to SLSP. [Full Announcement].

German NRW Consortium chooses Ex Libris Alma library services platform. Ex Libris announced that the North Rhine-Westphalian Library Service Center (hbz) has signed the contract with Ex Libris on behalf of the North Rhine-Westphalian (NRW) consortium in order to introduce the Alma library services platform to the 43 member institutions of the consortium. The Alma platform will replace eight different systems currently in use. [Full Announcement].

Bukkyo University selects Ex Libris Alma library services platform. Ex Libris announcef that the Bukkyo University library has selected the Ex Libris Alma library services platform. It will be used in conjunction with the Ex Libris Summon discovery service, which the university implemented in 2011. [Full Announcement].

University of Hawai'i System selects Ex Libris Alma Platform. Ex Libris announce that the University of Hawaiʻi System has selected the Ex Libris Alma library services platform, which will be integrated with the library's Ex Libris Primo discovery and delivery solution. [Full Announcement].