Facilitate Groundbreaking Discovery
Scholarly success depends on intuitive discovery of ground-breaking insights and information across your library’s collections. The Primo discovery solution is investing in revolutionary technologies like conversational search to optimize outcomes for library users and staff.
Primo
The Discovery Experience Users Expect
Give patrons access to a wealth of trusted scholarly materials and the most relevant mix of resources related to their research, including smart recommendations, in a single search interface, anytime, and from any device.
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Maximize Your Library Resources
Expose a wealth of content and resources to your patrons via the Central Discovery Index, increase the use of unique library content via showcases and special collections, promote the visibility and accessibility of your library services via QuickLinks and other features, and demonstrate value to decision-makers through advanced analytics.
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Building Today for Tomorrow’s Users
Give your patrons the Next Discovery Experience built to meet their needs and expectations, using best-fit AI technology, conversational discovery and designed for user convenience.
ExpandThe stars are aligned, and we are actively working towards the Next Discovery Experience, including development of:
- New UX for Primo Pages
- Linked Data Experience
- User Engagement Analytics
- Taking Advantage of New AI Technology
Support the Art of Librarianship
Increase productivity with end-to-end library workflows and advanced integrations with Alma and other library solutions. Easily customize Primo discovery services to influence how collections are explored and displayed, benefitting from the tightly integrated resource management and discovery solutions, enabling libraries to boost productivity, enhance the user experience, and shift focus to strategic services.
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Embedding discovery in the academic ecosystem
Connect your discovery interface with Alma’s resource management system, research solutions, teaching and learning platforms, student mobile apps, and other tools, with Primo’s out-of-the-box product integrations and open APIs.
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Enhancing Patron Engagement and Intuitive Discovery with Primo Research Assistant
A generative AI-powered library discovery solution enables to engage patrons better and empowers them to intuitively search, explore, and take maximum advantage of trusted library materials.
Based on a RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) architecture and grounded in the extensive Ex Libris CDI (Central Discovery Index), Primo Research Assistant provides a starting point to users for their research, including source referencing and appropriate attribution for the authors.
Read Less
Primo
The Discovery Experience Users Expect
Give patrons access to a wealth of trusted scholarly materials and the most relevant mix of resources related to their research, including smart recommendations, in a single search interface, anytime, and from any device.
Maximize Your Library Resources
Expose a wealth of content and resources to your patrons via the Central Discovery Index, increase the use of unique library content via showcases and special collections, promote the visibility and accessibility of your library services via QuickLinks and other features, and demonstrate value to decision-makers through advanced analytics.
Building Today for Tomorrow’s Users
Give your patrons the Next Discovery Experience built to meet their needs and expectations, using best-fit AI technology, conversational discovery and designed for user convenience.
Expand >
The stars are aligned, and we are actively working towards the Next Discovery Experience, including development of:
- New UX for Primo Pages
- Linked Data Experience
- User Engagement Analytics
- Taking Advantage of New AI Technology
Support the Art of Librarianship
Increase productivity with end-to-end library workflows and advanced integrations with Alma and other library solutions. Easily customize Primo discovery services to influence how collections are explored and displayed, benefitting from the tightly integrated resource management and discovery solutions, enabling libraries to boost productivity, enhance the user experience, and shift focus to strategic services.
Embedding discovery in the academic ecosystem
Connect your discovery interface with Alma’s resource management system, research solutions, teaching and learning platforms, student mobile apps, and other tools, with Primo’s out-of-the-box product integrations and open APIs.
Enhancing Patron Engagement and Intuitive Discovery with Primo Research Assistant
A generative AI-powered library discovery solution enables to engage patrons better and empowers them to intuitively search, explore, and take maximum advantage of trusted library materials.
Based on a RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) architecture and grounded in the extensive Ex Libris CDI (Central Discovery Index), Primo Research Assistant provides a starting point to users for their research, including source referencing and appropriate attribution for the authors.
Based on a RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) architecture and grounded in the extensive Ex Libris CDI (Central Discovery Index), Primo Research Assistant provides a starting point to users for their research, including source referencing and appropriate attribution for the authors.
Our customer stories
“[Rapido] makes the process as seamless as accessing items in the library’s own collection.”
Jennifer Young East Tennessee State University
“We were looking for certain requirements and Alma met all those criteria.”
Van Duong Royal Melbourne Hospital
“It’s much easier to manage the content and troubleshoot errors, with everything in one system and CZ updates coming every week.”
Elizabeth York Rutgers University
“With all the change we have seen … you can’t wait too long to adapt. Every five years, at least, you have to put everything on the table and rethink, from scratch.”
François Renaville University of Liège
“Primo was the one place where we could integrate all the different resources that we have and give differentiated access to the different user groups.”
Knut Bøckman Royal Danish Library
"I don't think we would have been able to do a lot of the things that we've done without that type of customization framework."
Allen Jones The New School Library and Archives
“Alma and Primo have not only made our lives easier from the librarian back end, but the clients — our students — are also very happy.”
Mary Turnbull Cairnmillar Institute
Explore how SBART improves user experience and increases visibility using Alma & Primo
SBART
"When you take a look at Alma and what Alma can do and how that can be restructured that can open your mind to new possibilities."
Julie Kane Washington & Lee University
"We've been able to do a lot of streamlined workflows with the same amount of staff, and we really appreciated working with the tools."
Pascal Calarco University of Windsor
“Find out why an academic library at a specialist college transformed its services and operations through Alma, Primo and Leganto."
Laura Pilsel Harper Adams University
Supporting the Imperial College Library Mission with Ex Libris Higher-Ed Cloud Solutions
Katherine Rose, Katharine Thompson, James Garry Imperial College, London
Demonstrating and Deepening the Library's Value with Ex Libris Higher-Ed Solutions
Helen Woolfries Kingston University London
Primo at KU Leuven: The New Primo UI and the Primo Community
Mehmet Celik Senior Business Consultant, KU Leuven
Primo at City University of New York: Higher Usage of Electronic Resources and Better Indexing
Allie Verbovetskaya Web and Mobile Systems Librarian, City University of New York
Our team of experts looks forward to hearing from you
Ex Libris Announces Development and Ongoing Release of Next Discovery Experience
Click here to learn more about the Ex Libris Next Discovery Experience and its four continuous and evolving pillars:
– New UX for Primo pages
– Linked Data experience
– User engagement analytics
– Creating new experiences with AI discovery assistance
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Primo’s Latest News & Blog
Check out the wealth of content
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Records in the Central Discovery Index (CDI)
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Searches weekly
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Content neutral
Ex Libris Webinars
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Alma Analytics for Network Zone Consortia
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10 Jul 2024
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WorldCat Connexion Setup
This session will help you feel comfortable with connecting Alma to OCLC for cataloging. We'll cover both adding WorldCat as an external search resource as well as integrating Alma...
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10 Jul 2024
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Physical Item Templates
Introducing the new ability to save an item as a template, and use it to pre-populate new items – this new development will save a lot of time and effort for physical resource oper...
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17 Jul 2024
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New Manage Patron Services Page Circulation Desk
The Manage Patron Services page is being completely redesigned in order to leverage new layout capabilities to support a more streamlined workflow at the circulation desk. This is ...
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23 Jul 2024
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Rapido Monthly Update
A monthly webinar covering the latest monthly release, community activities, and frequently asked questions.
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Consortia Central Configuration dashboard for distributing s...
In this session we would like to walk through the main features of this new dashboard for Collaborative Networks.
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28 Aug 2024
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Rapido Monthly Update – Aug 2024
A monthly webinar covering the latest monthly release, community activities, and frequently asked questions.
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04 Sep 2024
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New “All titles search” User Experience
Join us to get an early look at what’s coming and make sure you and your library are prepared (and excited!) for the change.
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2024 Alma Analytics Become an Expert: Overview and Introduct...
This session will include:
Accessing and "consuming" analytics
Roles
ETL - Extract, Transform, and Load
Folder structure of ready-to-use reports
Dashboards
Create a report
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2024 Alma Analytics Become an Expert: Physical Inventory and...
This session will include:
Default, ready-to-use reports and dashboards that analyze physical inventory and fulfillment
Creating custom reports that analyze physical inventory an...
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2024 Alma Analytics Become an Expert: Electronic Inventory, ...
This session will include:
Default, ready-to-use reports and dashboards that analyze electronic inventory, usage, and acquisitions
Creating custom reports that analyze electronic...
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2024 Alma Analytics Become an Expert: Creating and Managing ...
During this session we will show how to:
Create a new analytics dashboard
Edit a default dashboard
Create a dashboard prompt
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2024 Alma Analytics Become an Expert: Creating and Managing ...
This session will focus on the following:
How prompts are used in analytics reports
How to create a prompt in an Alma Analytics report
How to refine your prompts
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2024 Alma Analytics Become an Expert: Filters and Functions ...
This session covers how to create Filters for:
Contents of a specific position of a control field in Alma Analytics
Strings with both uppercase and lowercase
Multiple filters pe...
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2024 Alma Analytics Become an Expert: Analytics Objects
This session includes how to:
Add Analytics Widget to Alma Home Page
Create Analytics Dashboard Object Accessible from Analytics Menu
Create Report Object
Create Scheduled Repo...
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2024 Alma Analytics Become an Expert: Useful Tips in Analyti...
In this final session we will cover how to:
Save a customized Alma Analytics column for future reports
Add a logo to the top of a report
Create an Alma set from an analytics re...
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Templates, Display Settings, and Claiming
This series will cover the print serials management process from start to finish
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Increasing Adoption and Engagement with your Leganto Service
This session will provide tips for engaging with instructors about Leganto, and give you new strategies to help market Leganto on your campus.
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Getting the Most out of Leganto Analytics
This session covers best practices for reviewing Leganto analytics, key questions to ask, the new analytics dashboard, and ways to turn findings and student usage-data into strateg...
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06 Jun 2024
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Moving Libraries Forward: Managing change amid technology sh...
Discover how peers in your field are not just keeping pace with but leading the way in the evolution of libraries through strategic change management and the adoption of cutting-ed...
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06 Jun 2024
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Fiscal Period Closure
This session will review the fiscal period rollover process in Alma including ledger rollover and PO line rollover. Alma has tools that help you roll over subscription orders, stan...
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Digitization and copyright
This session provides an overview of the various digitization and copyright configuration options in Leganto, and the resulting implications for library workflows. It does not cove...
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29 May 2024
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Rapido Monthly Update – May 2024
A monthly webinar covering the latest monthly release, community activities, and frequently asked questions.
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30 Apr 2024
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A Conversation with Dr. Safiya Noble: New challenges in DEI,...
Our special guest speaker, Dr. Safiya Umoja Noble, from UCLA, will talk about the new challenges in DEI, technology and libraries.
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24 Apr 2024
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Rapido Monthly Update – Apr 2024
A monthly webinar covering the latest monthly release, community activities, and frequently asked questions.
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27 Mar 2024
Upcoming
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Rapido Monthly Update – Mar 2024
A monthly webinar covering the latest monthly release, community activities, and frequently asked questions.
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28 Feb 2024
Upcoming
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Rapido Monthly Update – Feb 2024
A monthly webinar covering the latest monthly release, community activities, and frequently asked questions.
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More about Primo
Our Services
All the Ex Libris consultants, trainers and experienced developers partner with with you to tailor your solutions.
Cloud
Services
Services
Our revolutionary cloud services deliver exceptional reliability and the highest levels of security and data privacy across all institutional data, systems and processes.
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Content
Services
Services
We continuously grow and innovate our content services to support discovery and provide easy access to relevant information, optimizing every aspect of the research and learning experience.
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Professional
Services
Services
Our best-in-class professional services provided by our global teams ensure on-time and on-budget project implementation and we are with you very step of the way with on-going advice, training, and support.
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Support
Services
Services
We are committed to ensuring a high level of satisfaction among our customers. Our dedicated support services team attends to your specific configurations and needs on time, every time.
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FAQ
A library discovery service is a powerful search tool provided by libraries to enable users, such as students, faculty, and researchers, to search and discover a wide range of library resources from a single interface. These resources can include books, e-books, journals, articles, databases, multimedia items, and more.
Library discovery tools assist users in finding and accessing various resources available within library collections. These tools encompass a range of platforms and systems designed to streamline the search process. For instance, library catalogs serve as comprehensive databases with information about books, journals, and other materials. Discovery layers and relevancy ranking offers a unified interface for searching across multiple library resources, including catalogs, databases, and digital repositories. Interlibrary loan systems facilitate the borrowing and lending of materials between libraries.
Primo streamlines access to library resources through a single, always-updated discovery solutions interface for all types, formats and providers. The library discovery service also supports information literacy with contextually related recommendations alongside search results and the option to explore collections managed in Alma. In addition, a virtual Patron Library Card can display holds, requests, fines and messages.
Researchers benefit from comprehensive library resource discovery solutions, with search results including contextually related recommendations for further research. Such relations can be created through a citation trail, book and article recommendation services, book reviews and interlinked book chapters. Patrons can also navigate library collections independently, with a virtual browse functionality, to find associated items.
The integration of Primo with Alma simplifies backend processes for discovery, reducing the time needed for setup, configuration, data updates, and more. Libraries can boost productivity and shift focus to strategic services, including increasing library outreach through a customized discovery experience and maximizing resource investments. Library holdings can also be easily exposed to the web through an SEO-ready metadata structure.
5.2B records in the Central Discovery Index of scholarly and academic resources of all kinds – journals, articles, books, videos, music, and more; local library catalogs and repositories, including electronic and print journals; Open Access content; commercial resources; and all ProQuest content. The Primo library discovery service platform includes a link resolver for electronic, digital and physical holdings, and the capability to search within journals for specific articles.
Yes. First, as a solution on the Ex Libris Higher Ed Platform, Primo is tightly integrated with Alma. Second, Primo offers a rich set of APIs for seamless integration with institutional and third-party systems. Primo meets faculty, researchers and students where they are, with branded discovery solutions and customization options (with Primo Studio Extend) that improve the user experience.
Primo library discovery service tightly integrates with Alma and other Ex Libris management, teaching & learning, resource sharing, and student engagement services. Integrations with other ProQuest and Clarivate services – such as Web of Science, RefWorks, EndNote, Syndetics Unbound, etc. – are also available. Primo discovery searches include access to ProQuest content by default and the Primo solution automatically updates in response to developments in Alma.
Yes. Collaboration takes place through established channels such as the Product Working Groups, NERS and Idea Exchange, as well as through focus groups and ad-hoc discussions. Input from the community is a key driver of development, while users share innovations through the Primo Studio Extend forum.
Yes. Libraries sharing management of metadata, acquisitions, resources, and other services can easily allow patrons to search across their network. How patrons search other institutions, what holdings they see, and how requests are handled can be defined by members of the network. For example, patrons might be allowed to request materials directly from other libraries while signed into their own local Primo site.
Primo library discovery service lives on the Ex Libris Higher Ed Platform, where it enjoys all the data security and privacy measures of the Alma environment and other Ex Libris products. For example, unique content is protected by the Amazon S3 cloud storage service, file integrity is continually verified, and any checksum discrepancies are automatically corrected. These safeguards are integral to Alma, relieving the library of all set-up and maintenance worries.
Absolutely not! Primo’s easy-to-use, intuitive end-user interface can be branded and seamlessly embedded in your institution’s learning management system. Librarians manage course materials and administer the Primo library discovery service through Alma, the system that they use every day. Further, implementation support is provided to all libraries, and additional resources to support the process, such as tutorials, guides and how-to documents are available as well.
Certainly. The Ex Libris Central Discovery Index (CDI) includes multiple Open Access and OER collections – such as Open SUNY, OpenStax, and Open Textbook Library – which are fully discoverable in Primo.
Records are updated in Primo in real time, without the need for export processes or reliance on OAI or FTP. Inventory changes are immediately integrated, and newly cataloged items are visible to patrons within minutes. Similarly, conditions for searches on a defined subset can be set and local metadata fields can be defined for display and search without the need for re-indexing before release to patrons.