Content
Managing Big Data at Highest Quality
Ex Libris manages centralized databases on behalf of our community members. The Alma Community Zone, SFX Knowledgebase and 360 Knowledgebase support our cataloging community with centrally maintained trusted, accurate and high quality metadata, supplied directly from content providers and updated daily.
The Central Discovery Index (CDI) powers all Ex Libris Discovery products with over 5.2 billion records generating reliable search results and easy access to full-text content from all providers.
Representing Diversity; Remaining Content Neutral
The Ex Libris Knowledgebases and Central Discovery Index (CDI) contain metadata from content providers across the globe, representing both large-scale providers and aggregators, as well as smaller, local content providers whose content is relevant for specific communities. This broad reach ensures all our libraries and their users have access to relevant, useful and trusted content, regardless of their location, language or other unique considerations.
Making Librarians’ Lives Easier
Let us do the heavy lifting and bring your users to the content they are looking for, by supplying shared metadata and convenient linking options.
At Ex Libris, we power our centralized knowledgebases and index to alleviate a load from librarians’ daily tasks, allowing them to concentrate on their areas of expertise and passions. Patrons benefit from convenient direct linking options to the full-text content, enjoying quick access and a positive experience.
Working on Tomorrow’s Content Today
At Ex Libris we continue to put content at the center of our activities, with a multi-year, long-term focus on Content and ensuring the highest quality and service to our community. The current Data Excellence initiative focus is:
- Alma Community Zone metadata enrichment.
- Provider information flow to improve openness with content providers.
- Generating more CDI QuickLinks for quick and easy access to full-text content for end users.
- Quicker turnaround for creation of new collections in the knowledgebases.
Strengthening Connections with Content Providers
Ex Libris’ relationship with Content Providers is critical to ensure that we create the best possible experience for our mutual customers and librarian community.
We are focused on deepening our collaborations with content providers worldwide, by increasing our transparency and openness with providers so that they have insight into our mutual customers’ experience.
Strengthening these relationships will improve the timeliness of ongoing content ingestion, as well as bigger-picture planning and cooperations.
Content
Managing Big Data at Highest Quality
The Central Discovery Index (CDI) powers all Ex Libris Discovery products with over 5.2 billion records generating reliable search results and easy access to full-text content from all providers.
Representing Diversity; Remaining Content Neutral
Making Librarians’ Lives Easier
At Ex Libris, we power our centralized knowledgebases and index to alleviate a load from librarians’ daily tasks, allowing them to concentrate on their areas of expertise and passions. Patrons benefit from convenient direct linking options to the full-text content, enjoying quick access and a positive experience.
Working on Tomorrow’s Content Today
- Alma Community Zone metadata enrichment.
- Provider information flow to improve openness with content providers.
- Generating more CDI QuickLinks for quick and easy access to full-text content for end users.
- Quicker turnaround for creation of new collections in the knowledgebases.
Strengthening Connections with Content Providers
We are focused on deepening our collaborations with content providers worldwide, by increasing our transparency and openness with providers so that they have insight into our mutual customers’ experience.
Strengthening these relationships will improve the timeliness of ongoing content ingestion, as well as bigger-picture planning and cooperations.
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Records in the Central Discovery Index (CDI)
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Bibliographic Records in Alma Community Zone
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Content Providers Worldwide
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Ex Libris maintains three Knowledgebases and one Central Discovery Index. These high quality metadata databases power all Ex Libris products, including Alma, Primo, Summon, SFX, 360 and more.
The Knowledgebases are maintained on the journal/book-level metadata. The Central Discovery Index (CDI) is maintained on the article/book-chapter metadata level. Ex Libris does not host full text content, while ensuring easy and intuitive access to the content on the relevant provider’s platform.
The metadata is supplied directly by Content Providers, otherwise Ex Libris searches for alternative methods to obtain or create the necessary metadata at high quality levels for the benefit of our institutions, libraries, catalogers, librarians and end-users.
The Ex Libris Content team manages the foundational metadata catalogs and databases that power all Ex Libris products. Ex Libris Content is essential for all librarian activities, from the Alma Community Zone (CZ) and the SFX and 360 Knowledgebases, to the massive Central Discovery Index (CDI). These Knowledgebases and Index are required for Alma and Primo/Summon to confirm availability of content, create links to it, and make it accessible to end users.
Ex Libris is highly transparent and open about our content coverage. All content managed and maintained by Ex Libris is cataloged and tracked in the Ex Libris Knowledge Center Content page. This includes the Alma Community Zone Collection List, as well as the Central Discovery Index (CDI) Collection List.
Yes, content neutrality is an important value for Ex Libris, ingrained into processed and workflows from start to finish.
Starting with community engagement and input on what metadata should be included in our databases, this ensures that the collection and content coverage is diverse and inclusive, spanning all languages, regional requirements and other local considerations.
Working closely with Content Providers across the globe, we are certain to have access to high quality metadata that covers all content types, formats, languages, and more.
Prioritization of content ingestion is based on community needs, requests and feedback, establishing a strong, customer-driven basis for relevant collection management.
Yes, Ex Libris follows content standards such as NISO guidelines, Library of Congress standards and MARC cataloging guidelines.
The Ex Libris Content team’s goal is to provide the best content services to libraries, content providers and library patrons. We do this by following our mission to provide content quality at scale, maintain neutrality and diversity, and support ease of connectivity for librarians.