Austrian Library Network Selects Ex Libris Alma

Hamburg, Germany—October 27, 2015. Ex Libris^® Group, a leading global provider of cloud-based solutions for higher education, is pleased to announce that the Austrian Library Network (OBV) has decided to adopt the Ex Libris Alma^® resource management solution. Among the 14 member libraries that are participating in the first implementation phase are the Austrian National Library, the University of Graz, Vienna University of Technology, the University of Innsbruck, the University of Vienna, and Vienna University of Economics and Business.

The thorough selection process, an official public tender with a negotiated procedure that was published in advance, was carried out by 14 institutions who entrusted management of the process to the Austrian Library Network and Service Ltd (OBVSG). The institutions involved were: OBVSG; the Austrian National Library; Johannes Kepler University Linz; the University of Graz (Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz); Vienna University of Technology; the University of Innsbruck; the University of Vienna; the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna; Vienna University of Economics and Business; St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences; the Chamber of Labor for Vienna; the Republic of Austria, represented by the Federal Minister for Education and Women’s Affairs; the Medical University of Vienna; and the University of Salzburg. The project to implement Alma in these 14 institutions starts in early 2016 and is scheduled to be completed in 2018. The other 57 members of the network—one of the largest in Europe—will have the option to implement Alma over the coming years.

Tightly integrated with the Ex Libris Primo^® discovery and delivery solution, which the Austrian Library Network implemented in 2009, Alma will equip these libraries with a future-oriented solution for managing their electronic, digital, and print resources. Flexible and open, Alma will integrate smoothly with internal and third-party systems.

Having used the Ex Libris Aleph integrated library system for 15 years to maintain the Austrian central catalog, OBV members were keen to move forward with a cloud-based solution that would enable them to manage electronic, digital, and print collections via advanced, seamless workflows and with the help of a strong set of analytics. ”In the past, we used homegrown solutions to get e-book metadata into the central catalog and limited separate solutions for e-journals,” said Wolfgang Hamedinger, managing director of OBVSG. ”We had no software solution for our electronic resources consortium—and were working with limited reporting functionality.”

”With the move to Alma,” he continued, ”we will gain full integrated management of our print, digital, and electronic media while taking advantage of collaborative networks to improve our operations and consolidate workflows for the e-resource network. In addition, using the comprehensive, flexible reporting in Alma Analytics, our organization will be able to plan resources and services better.”

”Alma is a proven system, and we are convinced that it will support our member libraries and OBVSG for many years and assist the network’s members in fulfilling their core task: collaborating to provide high-quality resources, development, and services for our users,” concluded Mr. Hamedinger.

“We are delighted to welcome OBV to the Alma community,” said Ofer Mosseri, corporate vice president and general manager of Ex Libris Europe. ”OBV’s rigorous selection process enabled us to demonstrate that Alma is a perfect solution for collaborative networks, consortium service providers, and member institutions of the latter. We look forward to continuing our strong relationship with OBV and its members and helping them maximize the use of Alma and Primo for many years to come.”

The Austrian Library Network (abbreviated in German as OBV) is the largest network of scientific and administrative libraries in Austria with 70 participants, representing 90 individual institutions – including the Austrian National Library, the university libraries and the colleges of education; individual ministries, numerous technical colleges and other important collections (e.g. Austrian Academy of Sciences, AK Wien, MAK and the Sigmund Freud Foundation). The web-accessible database includes 12 million titles with 21 million copies and 0.8 million journals and is accessible at https://search.obvsg.at/OBV.

The Austrian Library Network and Service Ltd (OBVSG) is the service and operational management arm of the Austrian Library Network. In addition, OBVSG is an Application Service Provider (ASP) for the implementation and operation of local library systems (currently about 55 institutions), local search engine portals (currently 17 institutions) and the Visual Library service platform (retro-digitization, publication server etc.). It offers in the areas of software development and system integration, a number of proprietary products that complement the rest of its service portfolio.

Ex Libris is a leading global provider of cloud-based and on-premises solutions for higher education. Offering SaaS implementations for the management and discovery of the full spectrum of library materials, as well as mobile campus services for driving student engagement and success, the Company serves over 5,600 customers in 90 countries. Ex Libris solutions are deployed at 43 of the top 50 universities worldwide and more than 40 national libraries.

With the Ex Libris Alma^® resource management service and Primo^® discovery and delivery solution, libraries lower operational costs, increase efficiency, and add value to their institution through diverse new services and collaboration with other libraries and organizations. The Ex Libris campusM™ mobile platform enables universities to deliver a unified digital experience, promoting student engagement while providing mobile access to campus-wide information and services.

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