With all that is going on these days, we almost forgot that Ex Libris DARA’s (Data Analysis Recommendation Assistant) 1^st birthday was celebrated little over a month ago!

DARA provides Alma customers with recommendations to improve workflows and optimize how you use Alma.

Watch this short “DARA at the office” video with some updated statistics:

And here are some of the great DARA statistics from the past year!

Meeting the Twin Challenges of Complexity and Monotony

Library workflows cover a lot of tasks and activities, such as resource management, fulfillment, acquisitions, configuring Alma options, and the like. These are in addition to search, recommendation and reference activities on behalf of patrons and academic staff. All these library workflows involve some routine, manual tasks that are part of a librarian’s daily agenda. Sometimes, multiple staff members perform individual tasks as part of a single workflow that continues over an extended period of time. Both complexity and monotony can contribute to inefficiencies and human errors that often creep into library processes, which in turn impact service to patrons and institutional effectiveness. Today, there is a growing readiness among librarians and library managers to adopt the most advanced technologies to optimize library workflows and upgrade their value proposition.

Meet DARA, Alma’s Data Analysis Recommendation Assistant

• DARA is Alma’s smart decision-support engine, driven by adaptive technology that brings machine learning into the library.
• DARA recommends Alma workflow efficiencies, suggests features, and validates custom configurations.
• DARA leverages smart algorithms and analysis to tailor its guidance for each library.
• With seamless integration, DARA can implement many of its recommendations with a single click.

The Impact of DARA

• Optimizing processes and workflows with DARA improves overall operational efficiency.
• Libraries using Alma maximize their ROI with cost-cutting DARA-driven optimizations.
• Librarians save time with more efficient processes, which reduce or eliminate mundane routine tasks and mitigate human error.
• Librarians can focus on higher-value complex tasks and strategic library initiatives, increasing overall job satisfaction.
• DARA provides greater insight into library processes, which can be leveraged for better configuration decision-making.

Happy birthday DARA!