Chicago, Illinois — June 21, 2019
The combined products will streamline workflows and support intraconsortial collaboration through resource sharing and analytics
Chicago, Illinois—June 21, 2019. Ex Libris®, a ProQuest company, is pleased to announce that the library consortium led by the Northern Michigan University library has selected the Ex Libris Alma® library services platform and Ex Libris Primo® discovery and delivery solution to replace the group’s Ex Libris Voyager® and Summon® systems.
The consortium, which includes Northern Michigan University, Lake Superior State University, Finlandia University, and Gogebic Community College, is located in the large, remote Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Promoting collaboration across the large distances is a key priority, as is actively supporting the local communities.
We need a next-generation system to meet the needs of our next-generation students and the community.
The cloud-based solutions were selected for their software-as-a-service architecture, frequent updates, and a reliable product roadmap. Consortium-specific features will include a shared catalog, collaborative acquisitions, and centralized administration.
With the sharing of the catalog and metadata, the consortium will reduce the overhead of metadata management while increasing the visibility of collections among member institutions. The members will be able to link local holdings and inventory information to shared, central metadata records while also adding local field extensions.
A range of policies, such as those relating to the general system configuration, user accounts, vendors, funds, purchases, vendor import profiles, and resource sharing will be administered at the consortium level, enabling member institutions to either inherit the policies or operate autonomously.
Consortial analytics in the Alma platform will aid the consortium in assessing system-wide resource sharing, collection development, and the usage of resources, all in support of data-driven decisions.
“Olson Library is excited to migrate from Voyager to Alma and Primo,” said Leslie Warren, Northern Michigan University’s dean of library and instructional support. “We need a next-generation system to meet the needs of our next-generation students and the community.”
“Ex Libris welcomes Northern Michigan University and the consortium to the Alma and Primo user communities,” added Eric Hines, president of Ex Libris North America. “Alma analytics will offer extensive insights for the individual members of the geographically dispersed system, as well as provide valuable information about the operations and collections of all participating members.”
About Northern Michigan University
Northern Michigan University (NMU), located in historic Marquette, Michigan, is a dynamic, public university known for its undergraduate research opportunities, award-winning leadership programs, and cutting-edge technology initiatives. NMU has about 7,700 undergraduate and graduate students. It offers about 180 academic programs ranging from one-year certificates to the doctoral degree. For more information, see nmu.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.
