The end of the 2023 is approaching and it’s been another successful year for Alma. The combination of new features and functionality, additional customers choosing and implementing the service, and a vision to further leverage forward-looking technology is taking Alma to a new level in the area of library unified resource management.
Development for Alma customers continued throughout the year at a robust pace, with quarterly enhancements helping library staff become more efficient and effective. Over 400 enhancements were delivered, with many coming from ideas originating within the user community and significant Involvement from customers across the development process.
Alma users benefit from:
- Simpler workflows due to new user interfaces throughout Alma
- More efficient e-resource management capabilities
- Increased flexibility and automation across metadata and resource management
- Better search and browse capabilities
- Easier management of physical resources
- Superior insights for collection development and assessment
Beyond making unified resource management better, Alma continues to grow, with more than 180 libraries choosing Alma in 2023 and over 130 implementing the service. This brings the total number of libraries selecting Alma to over 2500, representing libraries of all types and sizes around the world. This includes libraries selecting the new Alma Starter service, which offers libraries a flexible approach to e-resource management (ERM) to work alongside their current integrated library system (ILS).
This expanding customer base is critical to the success of helping Alma, and individual members, flourish and grow. More customers means more enhancement ideas, additional new features, and increased sharing of best practices. The large active user community further delivers valuable industry expertise to ensure Alma leverages advanced technologies. As an example, customers are deeply involved in increasing cataloging efficiency with linked open data.
Contact us to learn more about improvements to Alma in 2023, discover what it means to be part of the Alma community, and how you can library manage resources easier and more effectively.
