Ex Libris Alma Certified for Shared Cataloging with Italian National Library Service Network

 June 28, 2017

Bologna, Italy—June 28, 2017. Ex Libris^®, a ProQuest company, is pleased to announce that the Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo Unico delle biblioteche italiane e per le informazioni bibliografiche (Central Institute for the Union Catalogue of Italian Libraries and for Bibliographic Information), or ICCU, has certified the Ex Libris Alma^® library services platform for use with the shared cataloging service of the Servizio Bibliotecario Nazionale (National Library Service), or SBN. The certification encourages collaboration between libraries, a key capability of the Alma platform.

SBN procedures enable Italian libraries to work independently while participating in a cooperative national system that provides shared cataloging. When a member library of the network acquires an as yet uncataloged document, that library catalogs it in the SBN Central Index. Member libraries that need to catalog the same document subsequently can capture its bibliographic description and add their own location.

Alma was awarded a level-three certification, which means that libraries can collaborate via the Alma platform and use it to contribute to and benefit from the SBN Central Index. The certification also validates Alma’s author and uniform title authority files for use with the SBN system.

ICCU Director Simonetta Buttò said, ”With the certification of Alma, Italian libraries can be certain that the data provided and consumed by Alma is validated as compliant with our system. Thus, users working within the Alma community and network zones will also benefit from the SBN Central Index.”

Ofer Mosseri, corporate vice president and general manager of Ex Libris EMEA, commented, ”This certification is a welcome development for us in the important Italian market, where many customers are already using Alma and an increasing number of institutions are seriously considering it. The recognition by the ICCU highlights the quality of Alma and offers our Italian customers greatly expanded SaaS-based library services.”

The Servizio Bibliotecario Nazionale (National Library Service), or SBN, is the network of Italian libraries promoted by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism, with the cooperation of regional administrations and universities. It is coordinated by the Central Institute for the Union Catalogue of Italian Libraries and for Bibliographic Information (ICCU). The member libraries are grouped together in local hubs, including some that manage all their services through automated procedures. The hubs are linked to the SBN Index system, which is managed by ICCU and contains the collective catalog of the publications acquired by the SBN libraries. Through SBN procedures, libraries can work independently while participating in a cooperative national network.

For more information about the SBN, see our website in English or Italian.

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.