The Bibliothek am Guisanplatz (BiG) in Switzerland has a diverse user community, serving the Federal Administration and the Swiss Army as well as the general public. With its network of 22 affiliated libraries and extensive collections, they needed a scalable, efficient library system which would additionally offer an appealing online presence to serve the needs of their customers. These complex requirements made Alma and Primo a natural choice for the network.

The libraries worked closely with the Ex Libris project management team to plan and execute the optimal design. As a result, the system sports an intuitive search interface for users with links to electronic full text, an easy option to place holdings requests for physical items, and article recommendations via the bX Recommender. On the administrative side it provides librarians with effective tools to manage the collections and make them easily discoverable by users. The close integration between Primo and Alma allows for a seamless flow between management and discovery processes.

Daniel Kohler, Head of Coordination at the Alexandria Network, shared some of the network’s goals for their implementation of Alma and Primo: “The long-term strategy of BiG and of the Alexandria network is focused on the needs of our customers—the Federal Administration, the Swiss Army, and the interested public. With Alma and Primo we have laid the foundations for improved services that will enable us to attract and retain satisfied end users.”

The Ex Libris professional services team received some well-deserved praise from Mr Kohler. “We are very pleased with the project management provided by the Ex Libris team in Hamburg, the way this complex project was implemented, and the cooperation with our team members.”

Well done to BiG and to the local Ex Libris team for their achievement—the first Swiss institution to go live with Alma!

For more information on this project please contact us.