Before adopting Rialto Collection Development, ULiège Library’s workflows were complex and highly fragmented.

“Once staff become familiar with the interface and workflow, the benefits quickly become apparent. Rialto Collection Development offers a more structured, transparent and efficient alternative to spreadsheet-based processes, helping libraries modernise workflows and manage collections more effectively” (François Renaville, Head of Library Systems at ULiège Library)

ULiège Library operates across four campuses in three cities in Belgium, with 16 library branches and a remote storage facility. Managing a collection of more than 1.3 million non-serial items, the library faces challenges related to duplication and decentralized collection practices.

Laurence Richelle is Metadata and Resource Management Coordinator, and François Renaville is Head of Library Systems at ULiège Library.

While neither of them is directly responsible for collection development or acquisitions, their roles involve ensuring the optimal use of the library systems and platforms used across the institution. This includes supporting the implementation of new functionalities, identifying opportunities for process improvement, and, when necessary, reviewing existing procedures and workflows to ensure that libraries can make the best possible use of the tools available to them.

Previous approach reduced visibility across the network and made consistent, data-driven decision-making more challenging.

• Each library branch followed its own processes with limited coordination
• Recommendations and data were managed in Excel spreadsheets outside Alma
• Staff lacked a single, up-to-date view of projects and decisions
• Collaboration across teams was difficult
• Significant manual effort was required to manage information

When speaking to Renaville François he noted: “As a result of historical collection practices and the decentralised nature of our library network, a substantial number of duplicate copies remain across our collections. This makes collection analysis, deduplication and retention decisions particularly important.” (François Renaville )

The Rialto collection development workflows, available to all Alma institutions, enable librarians to save time and collaborate more effectively across teams and other institutions.

Currently libraries can use two main collection development workflows:

Retention – which enables libraries to identify resources that should be kept ensuring the integrity of their collections

Deselection – which assists librarians in finding which resources they afford to eliminate.

These workflows can already be used to perform other critical library functions such as assisting with relocation of resources to other locations in the libraries or to remote storages.

These are the first 2 Rialto workflows in a series of collection development workflows that will expand Alma’s capabilities to help library staff make smarter decisions with less manual effort. Resulting in recommendations with actionable capabilities already in the Alma ecosystem based on relevant Alma roles.

By implementing Rialto Collection Development within Alma, ULiège Library introduced a more structured and centralized approach.

Key capabilities that made an impact:

• Consolidating recommendations and workflows directly within Alma
• Using project-based workflows to organize work
• Leveraging labels, facets, and sets to prioritize and track decisions
• Working with real-time, up-to-date data in a single environment

This eliminated the need to switch between spreadsheets and system records, creating a unified workflow for collection development activities.

Faster decisions and greater visibility

Improved efficiency

“Rialto enables us to process large volumes of material more efficiently while maintaining access to current and reliable data. (François Renaville )

Streamlined duplicate management

Rialto makes it easier to identify duplicate copies across locations and storage facilities, supporting more effective collection optimization.

“In particular, it has streamlined duplicate management by making it easier to identify copies held across multiple locations and storage facilities. Because information is readily available within Alma, staff can respond more quickly to collection management priorities without relying on manually maintained spreadsheets. While some complex cases still require verification, especially when older bibliographic records are involved, the overall process remains considerably more efficient.” (Laurence Richelle)

Better decision-making

Staff can now quickly access critical information—such as holdings across locations without investigating each title individually, enabling more informed decisions.

“Tasks such as identifying duplicates, reviewing holdings across different library locations, creating targeted lists for physical processing, and managing weeding activities have become faster and more structured. As a result, decision-making is more efficient because most of the information needed is immediately available within the workflow.” (François Renaville )

Increased visibility and collaboration

Team members can see each other’s progress, labels, and decisions, reduce duplication of effort and improving coordination.

“Staff can work with up-to-date data in a single environment, eliminating the need to move between spreadsheets and Alma records. The project-based workflow, combined with labels, facets and sets, makes it much easier to organise, prioritise and track decisions. Tasks such as identifying duplicates, reviewing holdings across different library locations, creating targeted lists for physical processing, and managing weeding activities have become faster and more structured. As a result, decision-making is more efficient because most of the information needed is immediately available within the workflow.” (Laurence Richelle)

Greater confidence

Having relevant data readily available within the workflow improves confidence in decision-making and ensures more consistent outcomes.

“Although our use of Rialto Collection Development is still relatively recent, it has already improved our ability to make informed decisions. Staff can quickly identify duplicate copies, view holdings across different library locations, and access key information without having to investigate each title individually in Alma. (François Renaville )

This is ULiège Library’s story of transforming collection development with Rialto.