December 1, 2017

This fall, the Drexel University Libraries completed an agreement with Ex Libris, a ProQuest Company, to subscribe to its Alma Library Services Platform.  An innovative library management system, Alma integrates with Summon, the search engine tool currently used to identify and locate the Libraries’ collections and licensed information resources. Implementation is scheduled to begin after January 1, 2018 and is expected to take several months to complete. 

For Drexel students, faculty and staff, this will streamline both finding and accessing scholarly resources they need for their learning, teaching and research. Additional tools under development will also enable members of the Drexel community to link into the latest practices for managing research data.

Alma will replace the Libraries’ current library management system, Millennium, which has been in use since 1998. Millennium has become less effective in allowing the Libraries to expand the various automated functions critical for the Libraries’ staff to efficiently manage electronic resources and databases, metadata descriptions, discovery and circulation services, reserves and resource sharing services. These activities increasingly involve multiple formats—including print books and journals, audio recordings and visual images—and require greater capacity for managing research data and digital assets.

With the implementation of Alma integrated with Summon, the Libraries offers a platform for the future information and research needs of the Drexel community.

For more information about Ex Libris and to read the full press release, visit http://www.exlibrisgroup.com/category/Press_Releases