The August 2026 Alma™ Feature Release introduces new capabilities designed to help libraries simplify everyday workflows, improve discoverability, and collaborate more effectively. Enhancements across metadata management, user experience, consortia, and collection development bring greater automation, flexibility, and efficiency to library operations.
The release brings greater flexibility and automation to library workflows. A new customizable crosswalks platform enables institutions to tailor metadata transformations, such as MARC 21 and UNIMARC, to local requirements, improving consistency across import, publishing, and search workflows.
The Alma user experience continues to evolve with a new Physical Items experience, available as an opt-in. Faster searches, redesigned item lists, enhanced navigation, and improved viewing and editing workflows help staff find information and take action more quickly. Search is also becoming more intuitive with new ’did you mean’ suggestions, a community-requested enhancement that helps users quickly correct search terms and improve resource discoverability.
Collaborative Networks benefit from new capabilities designed to strengthen coordination and consistency across consortia. Network Zone resources can now be added directly to course reading lists while displaying availability across member institutions, while new network-level fulfillment limits enable consistent policies, such as maximum loans or requests, to be applied across the network. A new consortial communication tool also enables direct, role-based communication between Network Zone operators and member institutions, helping improve coordination and support.
Collection development workflows gain additional intelligence to support retention and deselection decisions. Libraries can now match print titles to available electronic portfolios and see whether that access is perpetual. Rialto further supports informed acquisition decisions by performing a real-time search to identify when a market-offered book is also available as open access.
The August release also reflects the important role of the Alma community in shaping the product’s continued evolution. Among the new capabilities are 12 Idea Exchange enhancements, representing 2,928 community votes and demonstrating how customer feedback translates into meaningful product improvements.
Together, these updates advance Alma’s ongoing focus on streamlined workflows, intuitive user experiences, and stronger collaboration across libraries and consortia.
Explore the full list of August features in our Release Notes on the Ex Libris Knowledge Center.
You can view the August What’s New videos on the Knowledge Center.
The next quarterly release is scheduled for November 2026.
