Jerusalem, Israel — May 26, 2021
With the integrated, cloud-based systems from Ex Libris, the university library is now enjoying greater efficiency and lower costs
Jerusalem, Israel—May 26, 2021. In 2020, the University of Aberdeen went live with the Ex Libris Alma® library services platform and Ex Libris Leganto® course reading list solution. These two cloud-based services are integrated with the Ex Libris Primo® discovery and delivery solution, which the University has been using for a number of years. The Alma platform replaced the Aleph integrated library system and DigiTool digital asset management system, both from Ex Libris, a ProQuest company.
Prior to the Alma implementation at the University of Aberdeen, separate standalone systems were linked together. Maintaining and upgrading the on-premises infrastructure, was a significant overhead for the University. With the integration of the cloud-based systems and Alma’s streamlined management of electronic, print, and digital resources, library staff now have the potential to develop more innovative services. In addition, Alma’s advanced analytics enables University of Aberdeen to take smarter decisions with their collection management and library operations.
The move to the cloud has eliminated local infrastructure expenditures and has been of immense value during the pandemic, when students and staff have needed to do more of their work from home.
The Leganto course reading list solution has been a game-changer for the University’s teaching staff, librarians, and students, providing strong support for remote teaching and learning—support that has been particularly important in the challenging circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using Leganto, lecturers create, manage, and disseminate course reading lists; the library staff carries out digitization, copyright clearance, and other actions as required; and students enjoy easy access to the reading list content at any time and from any device.
The Digital Resources component of Alma complements Alma’s physical and electronic services—integrating workflows into the university’s print and electronic resource management environments, providing detailed analytics of digital material usage, and safeguarding data with robust security measures. Furthermore, the University of Aberdeen library is now well positioned to enhance scholarship and teaching through strategic opportunities that are available with the University’s new library systems, such as support for the International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF).
University Librarian Simon Bains commented, “This system upgrade was urgent to bring the University of Aberdeen’s infrastructure in line with best practices and to open up opportunities for strategic development. The migration has brought many benefits to the University. With its digital resource management capabilities, the Alma platform supports our digital scholarship ambitions, and Alma Analytics will enable us to make data-driven decisions that will help drive down costs.
“The move to the cloud has eliminated local infrastructure expenditures and has been of immense value during the pandemic, when students and staff have needed to do more of their work from home. We deployed the Leganto solution just in time to support mission-critical reading list activity as part of the University’s blended learning response to the pandemic. Our successful partnership with Ex Libris to deliver this long and complex project has positioned the library well to play a major role in the university’s ambitious Aberdeen 2040 strategic plan.”
Ofer Mosseri, ProQuest and Ex Libris corporate vice president, general manager EMEA, said, “Ex Libris is proud to be collaborating with the University of Aberdeen library, one of the most prominent research libraries in the United Kingdom, in implementing the next-generation Alma library services and Leganto reading list solution. We shall continue to support the university library in this major step that it has taken, and we look forward to seeing its contribution to the international Alma community.”
About the University of Aberdeen
Established in 1495, and named Scottish University of the Year 2019, the University of Aberdeen is the fifth oldest in the UK and is consistently ranked in the top 200 of the world’s universities.
The University is renowned for its world-leading research in health, energy, food and nutrition, and environmental and biological sciences. The University also has an outstanding track record for arts and humanities research.
With a community of students and staff encompassing 120 nationalities, the University of Aberdeen has a global outlook and reach.
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.
Media Contact
press@exlibrisgroup.com
