Five Partners Join Ex Libris in Developing New Research Services Platform

JERUSALEM, Feb. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Ex Libris^®, a ProQuest company, is pleased to announce the establishment of a development partnership with Lancaster University, the University of Iowa, the University of Miami, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Sheffield. The partners will collaborate on the development of a new end-to-end research services platform, Ex Libris Esploro. This development program will give the partners a significant voice in shaping Esploro and its future roadmap, as well as an opportunity to engage with other development partners and the community of researchers.

Ex Libris Esploro leverages the cloud-based Ex Libris Alma^® platform. The solution aims to increase the impact of academic research by maximizing its visibility, efficiency, and compliance with regulations and policies and to help institutions better correlate research output and funding. Seamlessly integrated with existing research workflows, Esploro will enable institutions to capture research objects and enrich their metadata, unify and automate research data workflows, track publications, monitor compliance with government and funder requirements, and measure research impact through relevant KPIs and the analysis of cross-institutional benchmarks. Esploro will help unify workflows and bridge communication across multiple research stakeholders, including the library, the research office, and researchers themselves.

Carl Grant, associate dean of knowledge services and chief technology officer at the University of Oklahoma Libraries, explained, "As the ability to acquire grant money for research becomes ever more important, we believe that those who stand out at providing real impact for the money awarded will have a major advantage. At the University of Oklahoma Libraries, we intend to excel in this area, so we are particularly pleased to be one of the first North American universities to partner with Ex Libris in the effort to build a superior research data management platform. We see a real opportunity for Ex Libris to make a major and meaningful impact on research management through better support for metadata and taxonomy, sustained openness, the reuse of data, and the creation and administration of truly meaningful data management plans. We are eager to work with other leading partner libraries from around the globe in a collaborative effort that we believe will help research institutions achieve superior results."

Paul A. Soderdahl, associate university librarian at the University of Iowa, noted, "We look forward to working in partnership with other research universities and Ex Libris to help shape the new research services platform so that it meets the needs of our institutions. One of Iowa's strategic goals is to foster a campus culture in which our instructors, students, and staff can maximize their research productivity. A feature-rich integrated platform for collecting, describing, and promoting research outputs will help us reach that strategic goal."

The University of Miami's Charles Eckman, dean and university librarian, added, "We are excited by the opportunity to collaborate with Ex Libris on a research services solution based on the Alma platform. At the University of Miami, our research is a central concern, and as the requirements for data management and preservation have grown, we have felt an increasing need for a single platform that includes research data and output management, researcher profiles, and publication management. We hope to increase our support for our academic staff and graduate researchers with the new solution."

Masud Khokhar, assistant director of digital innovation and research services at Lancaster University, commented, "Lancaster University Library is thrilled to partner with Ex Libris for the research services platform. We look forward to working closely with Ex Libris and other development partners to shape a forward-looking, innovative, and user-focused product that has the potential to disrupt the research services management market."

The University of Sheffield's Tracey Clarke, associate director of academic and digital strategies, added, "We are pleased to take part in developing this important platform. The need to integrate research-related activities and budgets requires a broad solution that can connect easily to both research and library systems while still supporting the specific needs of academic research."

Ex Libris President Bar Veinstein noted, "Ex Libris is glad to launch this initiative with five leading institutions at our side. The development will benefit greatly from the expertise of these research libraries, ensuring that Esploro is tailored to the needs of researchers and institutions in today's challenging environment."

To learn more, visit the Esploro overview page.

About Lancaster University

Lancaster University is an internationally regarded leader in the provision of inspiring teaching and research. Recently named "University of the Year" by The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018 and awarded Gold in the 2017 Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), Lancaster has fostered a culture of emphasizing the student experience, teaching, and strong research. The University advances knowledge and understanding across a variety of disciplines and makes major contributions in arts and social sciences; management, health, and medicine; and science and technology. The thriving Lancaster community is culturally diverse, with research, teaching, and student exchange partnerships with leading institutions in 24 countries around the world. Staff and students from over 100 countries are attracted to our beautiful campus in North West England. For more information, see www.lancaster.ac.uk.

About the University of Iowa

A major research and teaching institution, the University of Iowa offers internationally recognized programs in a diverse array of academic, medical, and artistic disciplines. The University of Iowa has a faculty of 2,800 and a permanent staff of 16,000 serving 31,000 students, almost 40% of whom are from out of state and close to 10,000 of whom are registered in graduate and professional degree programs. The University of Iowa is home to the Writers' Workshop, the oldest graduate creative writing program in the country and the blueprint for many of the creative writing programs that now thrive on campuses worldwide. For more information, see http://www.uiowa.edu.

About the University of Miami

A private research university with more than 16,000 students from around the world, the University of Miami is a vibrant and diverse academic community focused on teaching and learning, the discovery of new knowledge, and service to the South Florida region and beyond. The University comprises 11 schools and colleges serving undergraduate and graduate students in more than 180 majors and programs. The libraries of the University of Miami rank among the top research libraries in North America with a combined collection of over 3.75 million volumes, with 95,600 current electronic and print serials.

About the University of Oklahoma

Attracting top students from across the nation and more than 100 countries around the world, the University of Oklahoma (OU) provides a major university experience in a private-college atmosphere. OU is number one nationwide in the number of National Merit Scholars enrolled in public universities and is in the top 10 nationwide in the graduation of Rhodes Scholars from public universities. OU has emerged as a pacesetter for public higher education in the United States; the Princeton Review ranks OU among the top 10 public universities in the nation in terms of academic excellence and cost for students. For more information, see http://www.ou.edu/.

About the University of Sheffield

In 1897, the Sheffield Medical School, Firth College, and Sheffield Technical School merged to form the University College of Sheffield, which became the University of Sheffield in 1905. The University now has over 26,000 students from more than 130 countries, with a faculty and staff of about 6,000. Academic departments are grouped into five faculties: Arts and Humanities; Engineering; Medicine, Dentistry, and Health; Science; and Social Sciences. The University Library has a reputation for innovation and a strong focus on customer satisfaction. Its digital and print services are delivered from five sites, including the award-winning Information Commons, an integrated learning environment for students. For more information, see https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/library.

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.

SOURCE Ex Libris

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