Chicago, Illinois — November 12, 2019
The University Library has selected Ex Libris Alma and Primo to provide a more powerful platform to support its impressive collection
Chicago, Illinois—November 12, 2019. Ex Libris®, a ProQuest company, is pleased to announce that the University of Michigan Library has selected the Ex Libris Alma® library services platform and Ex Libris Primo® discovery and delivery solution to provide innovative services to the school’s diverse constituents.
The University of Michigan Library is one of the largest research libraries in the United States, with almost 13 million volumes, 137,000 current serials, and more than 4.2 million annual visits. This scale and the library’s rapid growth rate were key business drivers for the strategic move to modern, cloud-based computing standards and capabilities, including multitenant software as a service (SaaS), and the selection of the Alma platform. Michigan has been a power user of the Ex Libris Aleph® library management system for more than 15 years.
We are pleased to make this move to the next-generation Alma platform and are looking forward to the new capabilities and opportunities it will open up for us.
With the new system, the library will expand its current capabilities, including electronic resource management and analytics, and explore new features, such as linked data and collaborative collection development. Additionally, integrated authority control will boost efficiencies in staff workflows.
Leveraging the Alma Analytics module, the University of Michigan Library will be able to demonstrate the broad impact of its library services, improve workflow efficiency and service quality, and strengthen data-informed decision making.
To connect with digital collections and repositories and the Ex Libris Central Discovery Index, the library will use the Primo discovery tool on its Flint campus and an open-source solution on its Ann Arbor campus. The Alma platform will be a key part of the library’s holistic strategy for integrating systems and services across its expansive web enterprise and infrastructure.
The University of Michigan is looking forward to actively partnering with and engaging in the Alma and Primo user community through the Ex Libris Users of North America (ELUNA) group. “Ex Libris has been our partner for some 15 years in providing reliable services and operations at scale on the Aleph platform,” said Maurice York, Associate University Librarian for Library Information Technology at the University of Michigan. “We are pleased to make this move to the next-generation Alma platform and are looking forward to the new capabilities and opportunities it will open up for us as we continually evolve our services to the university.”
“Ex Libris welcomes the University of Michigan, a world-class research institution, to the Alma and Primo user communities,” added Eric Hines, president of Ex Libris North America. “With its massive collection, the Michigan library will benefit from operational efficiencies and advanced features built into the Alma system.”
About the University of Michigan Library
The University of Michigan Library is one of the world’s largest academic research libraries and serves a vibrant university community that is home to 19 schools and colleges, 100 top ten graduate programs, and annual research expenditures approaching $1.5 billion a year. For more information, see https://umich.edu/.
About Ex Libris
Ex Libris, a ProQuest company, is a leading global provider of cloud-based solutions that enable institutions and their individual users to create, manage, and share knowledge. In close collaboration with its customers and the broader community, Ex Libris develops creative solutions that increase library productivity, maximize the impact of research activities, enhance teaching and learning, and drive student mobile engagement. Ex Libris serves over 7,500 customers in 90 countries. For more information, see our website and join us on LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.
