(openPR) Academic institutions in North America join libraries across the globe in choosing Alma to manage the full spectrum of library operations
Chicago, IL—December 12, 2011. Ex Libris® Group, a world leader in the provision of library automation solutions, is pleased to announce the launch of the North American early adopter program for the Alma library management service. Initiated with an intensive two-day workshop in Chicago this October, the program enables its pioneering member libraries to become fully engaged with Alma’s final development—ahead of the solution’s general release in 2012.
Over 60 institutions across three continents have so far committed to adopting Alma through various collaborative and early adopter programs, including four Development Partners: Boston College; Princeton University Library; Purdue University Library; and K.U. Leuven, which includes the LIBIS library network.
Among the early adopters in North America are the following institutions:
• Boston University Libraries
• Fort Hays State University
• Midwestern State University
• North Dakota State University Libraries
• Northeastern University
• Texas Woman's University
• University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
• University of Minnesota Libraries
• University of Texas at Dallas
• Virginia Commonwealth University
“Becoming an Alma early adopter plays a major part in our strategy to transform our library systems,” commented North Dakota State University’s Dean of Libraries, Michele Reid. “Alma’s ability to integrate library processes with campus-wide systems aligns with our vision of the academic library as a center of excellence serving the whole institution. We are pleased to be in the vanguard of adopters of next-generation academic library systems in North America, and we look forward to sharing our own expertise and creativity with our fellow early adopters.”
Randall Thursby, CIO of the North Dakota State University System of which NDSU is a member, also welcomed the opportunity to become an Alma early adopter. “The program will enable North Dakota to maintain its competitiveness in higher education technology,” Mr Thursby remarked.
Almost all the early adopters have also decided to deploy the Ex Libris Primo® discovery and delivery solution, to enhance their users’ discovery experience in advance of realigning their current library systems into a unified resource management environment, with Alma.
“This is an important period in the lead-up to Alma’s general release next year,” remarked Mark Triest, President of Ex Libris North America. “As more academic and research institutions in North America decide to take their libraries into the next generation with Alma, the early adopters are taking the lead in the deployment of this fully cloud-based, collaborative and unified service for the world’s premier libraries.”
About Alma
By consolidating the disparate systems used by today’s libraries to manage electronic, print, and digital resources, the Ex Libris Alma solution accelerates libraries' move toward next-generation services. Alma’s cloud infrastructure helps libraries increase their efficiency through data sharing and collaboration. As a result, libraries can focus their resources on extending services within and outside their institution, while supporting the institution’s teaching and research missions.
About North Dakota State University
North Dakota State University is distinctive as a student-focused, land-grant, research university, ranked by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education among the top 108 public and private universities in the country. NDSU is in the elite category of "Research Universities/Very High Research Activity." NDSU is one of two flagship universities in North Dakota, with several programs ranked in the Top 100 by the National Science Foundation. NDSU has over 11,000 undergraduates and 2,000 graduate students.
For more information, see http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/
