OhioLINK, Ohio’s academic library consortium, announces the selection of Ex Libris Alma, part of Clarivate as the consortium’s next shared library services platform. The new cloud-based platform will enhance library user experiences and services, improve efficiencies for day-to-day operations, and streamline collaboration and consortial functionality. The implementation process for OhioLINK’s 117 member libraries is expected to take up to two years.
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In addition to Alma, OhioLINK will implement Primo VE and a suite of related products, including Leganto, Rapido, and Library Mobile, that will enhance services for users, library staff, and administration. Leganto will add core integration with on-campus learning management systems.
“This investment bolsters Ohio’s higher education technology infrastructure,” said Randy Gardner, Chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE). OhioLINK is a member of the Ohio Technology Consortium, a division of ODHE. “Supporting our academic libraries’ expanded role in educating students and R&D innovation in fields such as biomedicine, agriculture, and advanced manufacturing is essential.”
OhioLINK’s Executive Director Amy Pawlowski led the creation of the consortium’s selection and planning process and negotiated the contract for the new library services platform.
“Libraries have made tremendous shifts to supporting research, teaching, and learning through electronic resources over the last 20 years,” Pawlowski said. “We are excited to be collaborating with Ex Libris on a system that will manage the full range of our collections, as well as expand services to support faculty and students.”
Ken Burhanna, Dean of Libraries at Kent State University, served as chair of OhioLINK’s ILS Selection/Planning Team. “Our team’s decision was based in how well the systems met current and future consortium and library needs, including the user-focused priorities defined in OhioLINK’s 2020 whitepaper,” Burhanna said.
Yariv Kursh, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Ex Libris and Innovative said, “It is a testament to our partnership that OhioLINK has chosen to extend our relationship beyond being an Innovative customer and join the growing Alma community of over 2,500 institutions spanning the globe.
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“Our mission is to provide our customers more unified library workflows by incorporating AI and Linked Data solutions that make it easier for researchers, faculty, and patrons to take full advantage of the libraries’ extensive collections and the rich metadata that surrounds them. We are delighted that OhioLINK is joining us in this mission.”
The OhioLINK consortium has worked for more than 30 years to ensure that all member libraries have expanded access to shared print and electronic resources at greatly reduced pricing. Capital funding awarded in June 2022 leverages OhioLINK’s cooperative purchasing power and shared technical expertise for its 89 member institutions.
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