April 28, 2016
Already selected by more than 650 institutions in 19 countries, 250 institutions are currently in various stages of implementation
Jerusalem, Israel—April 28, 2016. Ex Libris®, a ProQuest company, is pleased to announce that the 400th customer of the Ex Libris Alma® cloud-based resource management solution, Cardiff Metropolitan University, has gone live. Building on the solution’s unparalleled success, Ex Libris is now focusing on developing new services to address the next level of library needs and practices.
At this time, approximately 20,000 librarians in 19 countries are using the Alma service daily to manage all activities related to physical, electronic, and digital collections. Among Alma customers are 26 ARL libraries, over 20 consortia, and four national libraries. With its robust, scalable infrastructure and highly efficient professional services and cloud processes, the Alma solution is implemented rapidly and easily; by the end of 2016, over 550 institutions are expected to be live with Alma.
Adhering to the long Ex Libris tradition of openness and collaboration, more than 120 Alma REST APIs are openly available through the Ex Libris Developer Network. The APIs cover major areas of library management, such as acquisitions, user administration, fulfillment, and resource management. Using these APIs, the active Alma developer community creates additional services and automates many routine library tasks. Every day, Alma handles more than one million API transactions from hundreds of institutions.
Collaboration between Ex Libris and the user community takes other forms as well. Besides maintaining a close relationship with the Ex Libris user groups, Ex Libris promotes the exchange of ideas and encourages librarians worldwide to suggest new features for Alma. Almost 200 such suggestions have been posted on the Ex Libris Idea Exchange website since it was launched in September 2015, and many of these ideas are added to the Alma roadmap.
Julie Neenan, head of technical services at Cardiff Metropolitan University, the 400th Alma customer, said, Cardiff Metropolitan University’s investment in a new, highly developed system allows the university to provide further student-centered learning opportunities that are accessible, flexible, inclusive, and of the highest quality. The new cloud-based system, Alma, is being deployed across all Welsh higher education institutions, the National Health Service in Wales, and the National Library of Wales, and so will offer many transformational benefits for students, staff, and researchers.
”We are proud to be providing the most advanced library service on the market,” commented Matti Shem Tov, Ex Libris president. ”We have invested hundreds of man-years in developing Alma, which successfully addresses the diverse aspects of current library needs, and are now moving forward to focus on the world of tomorrow.”
About Ex Libris
Ex Libris, a ProQuest company, is a leading global provider of cloud-based solutions for higher education. Offering SaaS solutions for the management and discovery of the full spectrum of library and scholarly materials, as well as mobile campus solutions driving student engagement and success, Ex Libris serves thousands of customers in 90 countries. For more information about Ex Libris, see our website, and join us on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
About Cardiff Metropolitan University
Cardiff Metropolitan University is a thriving and modern university based in the capital city of Wales, Cardiff, providing research, education, and training opportunities of the highest quality. Ranked as the top UK university for overall international student support six years in a row, Cardiff Met educates students from over 140 countries worldwide.
