Hamburg, Germany — November 5, 2019
The Alma platform will serve as the basis of a cloud-based, unified solution for over 40 consortium members
Hamburg, Germany—November 5, 2019. Ex Libris®, a ProQuest company, is pleased to announce that the North Rhine-Westphalian Library Service Center (hbz) has signed the contract with Ex Libris on behalf of the North Rhine-Westphalian (NRW) consortium in order to introduce the Alma® library services platform to the 43 member institutions of the consortium. The Alma platform will replace eight different systems currently in use.
The libraries belonging to the consortium found that the Alma platform offers the most advanced capabilities available today for consortia. Replacing the heterogenous, complex structure of the current library systems, the Alma platform will provide an integrated landscape that serves large and small member libraries alike.
We are excited to adopt Alma—a new system offering new possibilities—which will facilitate the management of complex services for all members of the NRW consortium, regardless of size. 
Dr. Silke Schomburg, head of hbz, explained, “We are excited to adopt Alma—a new system offering new possibilities—which will facilitate the management of complex services for all members of the NRW consortium, regardless of size. We selected Alma for a number of reasons, including its advanced, future-proof technology, its accessibility, and its compliance with the privacy requirements set by the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Additionally, we value the well-established Ex Libris community and look forward to participating in the Alma forum.”
Ofer Mosseri, corporate vice president and general manager of Ex Libris EMEA, said, “Ex Libris is delighted that the NRW consortium has opted for the Alma platform as the basis of the consortium’s future library services. The Alma platform’s flexibility and capabilities for supporting consortia with a broad range of member libraries will serve as a model for other consortia in Germany and across Europe. We are excited to welcome the NRW consortium to the Alma community.”
About Hochschulbibliothekszentrum des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen (hbz)
The Hochschulbibliothekszentrum des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen (hbz), or North Rhine-Westphalian Library Service Center, is based in Cologne, Germany. The hbz functions as a central development and service body for universities, universities of applied sciences, and specialized libraries and for data processing centers both within the state of North Rhine-Westphalia—Germany’s largest state—and outside it. The hbz offers a variety of products and services, the most important of which are the hbz union catalog, the DigiBib Digital Library, electronic inter-library loan (ILL) service, regional and national consortial management of electronic content, German and Austrian library statistics, Digital Peer Publishing (DiPP), digitization, linked open data, and long-term preservation services. The hbz is one of the 43 members of the mentioned consortium and functions as its executive leader.
About Ex Libris
Ex Libris, a ProQuest company, is a leading global provider of cloud-based SaaS 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.
