Library automation solutions provider Ex Libris Group, Israel, has announced that the third installment of the Alma library management service is now available to development partners. Released on schedule, the third release is being deployed to partners in the Ex Libris cloud environment and represents a milestone on the road to the solution's general release, planned for early 2012.
Highlights of the third partner release include advanced integration with the library's discovery layer; support for multiple cataloging formats; complete acquisition workflows, from ordering to invoicing and receiving; workflows for user-driven digitisation on demand; support for e-resources standing order and the ability to activate selected titles from a package of resources; and role-based user dashboards.
Like all Ex Libris solutions, the features for this release were defined in close collaboration with development partners-Boston College; Princeton University Library; Purdue University Library; and K.U. Leuven, which includes the LIBIS library network. The development partners in-depth feedback on the first two installments, along with their experience using the current release, will enable Ex Libris to improve and streamline Alma's handling of the full spectrum of library workflows.
As the development of Alma has progressed, Ex Libris has begun coordinating a number of collaborative partner programmes, including focus groups, regional early adopters, and targeted working groups. As part of a series of activities in preparation for the general release of Alma, Ex Libris will be running 'readiness' workshops throughout 2011.
These workshops will help institutions gain an understanding of the Alma workflows, the implications for the libraries' current processes, and the benefits that the institutions can reap from this next-generation library management service.
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