Minnesota Consortium MnPALS Selects Ex Libris Alma and Primo Solutions

CHICAGO, IL, June 23, 2017 – Ex Libris^®, a ProQuest company, is pleased to announce that the MnPALS consortium has selected the Ex Libris Alma^® library services platform and the Primo^® discovery and delivery solution to streamline workflows for all types of resources and to increase the discoverability of those resources by patrons and staff users of the consortium’s member institutions.

The consortium sought a unified set of services that would integrate the management of electronic resources and the functionality of a link resolver, as well as allowing its diverse membership, which includes large state universities, private colleges, small two-year colleges, and state government libraries, to streamline records and bibliography management workflows while creating a user interface that best meets each library’s needs. Particularly important for MnPALS was the ability to drive better decisions and insights using the powerful analytics included in Ex Libris Alma and Primo.

The Ex Libris track record in library consortia and the strong Alma offering of consortial features were major factors in the consortium’s decision. In addition, as a cloud-based platform, Alma with Primo will spare Minnesota librarians the burden of carrying out time-consuming tasks. With the solid architecture and strong security practices of the Alma service, all MnPALS libraries will benefit from high availability and robust data protection.

Johnna Horton, director of Library/Media Services at South Central College in Mankato, Minnesota, commented, “After an intensive examination of available software, our consortium members chose Ex Libris Alma, largely because the library services software integrates so smoothly with the Primo discovery service. This integration allows our library staff members to serve our patrons in a more streamlined manner, to offer them the robust functionality expected for current research needs, and to enable each consortium member to create a discovery interface that best meets the needs of its user community.”

“Ex Libris is looking forward to working closely with the MnPALS libraries,” said Eric Hines, president of Ex Libris North America. “We are a long-standing provider of library solutions to many of the institutions represented in this consortium and are eager to help this group collaborate and thrive.”

About MnPALS

MnPALS is a program of the colleges and universities of Minnesota State. Initiated at Mankato State University in 1978, the program was a Minnesota State University System undertaking and adopted the name PALS, originally an acronym for Project for Automated Library Systems.

MnPALS now serves all of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. Services are also provided to private college and university libraries, state government libraries, public libraries, school libraries, and special libraries, totaling more than 60 organizations. MnPALS oversees a myriad of services to support higher education all across the state of Minnesota.

About Ex Libris

Ex Libris, a ProQuest company, is a leading global provider of cloud-based solutions for higher education. Offering SaaS solutions for the management and discovery of the full spectrum of library and scholarly materials, as well as mobile campus solutions driving student engagement and success, Ex Libris serves thousands of customers in 90 countries. For more information about Ex Libris, see our website, and join us on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

About ProQuest (http://www.proquest.com)

ProQuest is committed to supporting the important work happening in the world’s research and learning communities. The company curates content that matters to the advancement of knowledge, assembling an archive of billions of vetted, indexed documents. It simplifies workflows so that people and institutions use time effectively. And because ProQuest connects information communities, complex networks of systems and processes work together efficiently. With ProQuest, finding answers and deriving insights is straightforward and leads to extraordinary outcomes.

ProQuest and its companies and affiliates – Ex Libris, Alexander Street, Bowker – stand for better research, better learning, better insights. ProQuest enables people to change their world.