Ex Libris announces Primo Charter Members Program

From Library Technology Guides

Newton, MA, January 17, 2007 - Ex Libris Group is pleased to announce the formation of the Primo Charter Members Program--providing a leading group of organizations with the opportunity to collaborate on the development of Primo.

Primo presents library users with a single unified solution for the discovery and delivery of all local and remote scholarly information resources - including books, journals, articles, images, sound, video and other digital content. Primo answers the library's need to provide users with up-to-date services and experiences in-line with their expectation for quick and efficient discovery and delivery of what they need, where and when they need it.

Primo Charter Members include Boston College, the College Center for Library Automation (CCLA - a consortium of 27 community colleges in Florida), the Cleveland Museum of Art, Iowa State University, the University of Iowa, and the University of East Anglia - institutions that share Ex Libris' vision and strategic direction and that have shown a strong and abiding interest in defining and influencing the future of library information systems.

These Charter Members are now part of a larger group forming the vanguard of Primo institutions that also includes Ex Libris' development partners, Vanderbilt University, the University of Minnesota, hbz (the University Library Center of North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany) and a Danish consortium of research libraries under the aegis of Danmarks Elektroniske Fag- og Forskningsbibliotek (Denmark's Electronic Research Library. that includes Det Kongelige Bibliotek (The Royal Library), Danmarks Tekniske Videncenter (The Technical Knowledge Centre of Denmark), Aalborg Universitet (Aalborg University), and Det Administrative Bibliotek (The Danish Administrative Library).

"The creation of a product like Primo constitutes a revolution in the discovery and delivery of scholarly information," commented Dan Trajman, President of Ex Libris, Inc. "Thus, Ex Libris found it important to have key institutions involved in the development, refinement, and testing—especially usability testing—of this world-class product."

Paul Soderdahl, Director, Library Information Technology at the University of Iowa, commented, "Primo is designed as the means for end-users to search, find, and get the information they need for their scholarly work wherever and whenever they need it. It is a pleasure to be a part of the team that has influenced, and will continue influencing, the development of this exciting new product."

"Exploring a range of social computing features, including tagging and reviews, will add value to the information seeking experience," commented Dr. J. Richard Madaus, Executive Director, College Center for Library Automation (CCLA). "CCLA is committed to providing our patrons with cutting edge products. We feel that Primo promises to provide added options in the discovery and delivery of information."

Bob Gerrity, Director of Library Systems at Boston College, added, "It is not every day that a product like Primo comes along - it is even rarer to be able to be a part of its development. As part of the Primo Charter Member Group, Boston College is able to help develop a product that we believe will become a standard offering - even a critical offering when libraries consider user-retention—in many libraries in the very near future."