Ex Libris Group: Delivering a Unified Digital Experience for Higher Education

In the rapidly changing research and learning environments, institutional libraries are touching new paradigms to meet the evolving needs of users with improved and innovative services. “With the digital transformation of libraries, new services are emerging as the focus shifts to a greater online presence and as physical spaces become available,” begins Eric Hines, President, Ex Libris North America. “These include Google-like discovery solutions and rich, customized mobile applications as well as 3D printing and rapid prototyping, video production, website design, and many others.” Founded as an internal project at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1980, to develop a new Library Management System, Ex Libris is making it easier for libraries to discover and manage their print, electronic, and digital resources in an effective and efficient manner. The company assists libraries by ensuring that knowledge is discoverable and accessible and can be cost effectively delivered to students, researchers, and faculty in a proactive way. With the majority of students preferring apps over portals, the future of student engagement is apps. “Effective use of mobile technology gives students access to what they want and when they want it, driving engagement and enhancing student experience,” delineates Hines.

When Ex Libris acquired campusM, a SaaS platform, “we saw an opportunity to increase the delivery of important services across mobile devices,” illustrates Hines. campusM offers a mobile application, which provides a one stop shop to review courses, check out books, navigate the campus, engage in classroom polling, and other activities. The platform offers true native apps, including most device functionality such as GPS, offline working, and cameras. It has the ability to draw on analytics for the wide range of interactions students make with their mobile devices. “Using data from attendance in lectures, in-class engagement and use of learning facilities such as the Learning Management Solution and the library, an institution can build a picture of a student as an individual learner,” says Hines. The use of analytics ensures that universities are investing in the right resources to support and supplement faculty in their course design and delivery.