May 1, 2007
Primo is the bridge that enables libraries to revolutionize user experience while continuing library infrastructure evolution
Jerusalem, Israel—May 1, 2007. Ex Libris Group today announced that the Company’s Primo unified solution for the discovery and delivery of library resources, regardless of format and location, is now in general release. Addressing the expectations of today’s library users for quick, easy, and effective searching and retrieval, Primo is the first step toward a new architecture of library information systems.
We are extremely pleased with Primo, as it will enable our library to connect with users with an up-to-date user experience,” explained Jody Combs, director of the digital library at Vanderbilt University, a Primo development partner. “As a preferred starting point for users in search of information, Primo will deliver trusted and reliable resources to users while assisting us in exposing the widest range of assets in our extensive collection through a common discovery interface, added Combs.
We need to provide our users with access to a wide variety of library resources in the course of their ordinary workflow, rather than expecting them to come to a library Web site, says Christina Meyer, interim co-associate university librarian for information technology at the University of Minnesota, a Primo development partner. We look forward to embedding Primos search capabilities in places like our heavily used institutional portal and course pages. Primo meets our users expectations for both ease of use and sophisticated discovery by exposing rich library metadata in new ways.
“Primo, like the other Ex Libris products, was developed in collaboration with our customers–an approach that ensures that these products meet current and future market expectations,” noted Matti Shem Tov, president and CEO of Ex Libris Group. “Primo is the bridge that enables libraries to revolutionize the user experience while continuing the evolution of the library infrastructure.”
Primo development partners were brought on board during the earliest stages of the systems design. After endorsing the Primo product vision, members of the Primo charter program joined Ex Libris and the development partners to help fashion a next-generation solution that is unmatched in the library marketplace.
The Primo discovery and delivery system enables libraries to present their collections in an entirely new way, providing users with the ability to access a wealth of authoritative information from a single point. This information is an aggregation of locally held collections of various types–print, digital and electronic—which may include the library catalog, digital repositories, course management systems, and remote resources such as abstracting and indexing databases and e-journal collections. Out-of-the-box, Primo integrates with various library systems such as the Ex Libris ALEPH 500® and Voyager® systems and the SirsiDynix Unicorn system.
Primo provides various linguistic capabilities and, when relevant, suggests alternative search terms–helping users to focus on the most appropriate results. Delivery options complete the discovery process. The Primo system displays an availability statement for each result along with a get it button that links the user to the most appropriate service for the specific context, such as a method for obtaining the actual material if it is available online or for obtaining information about the location of a physical item.
Incorporated in the Primo user experience are multiple elements adhering to Web 2.0 concepts, such as social computing features, including tags, ratings, and reviews that members of an institutions user community can share with each other or with communities in other institutions.
About Ex Libris Group:
Ex Libris Group is a leading worldwide developer and provider of high-performance applications for libraries, information centers, and researchers, with installations around the globe. Ex Libris Groups flagship ALEPH 500 and Voyager integrated library solutions are in use at over 3,000 sites worldwide. Other products from the Ex Libris suite, deployed at more than 1,300 sites, focus on the digital library and offer state-of-the-art, user-centric solutions for managing electronic resources and digital assets and providing informed access to them.
To learn more about Primo, see www.exlibrisgroup.com/primo.htm.
