Collaborative Networks

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Return to Alma Roadmap Highlights Overview

Collaborative Networks

Overview

Alma supports consortia by providing a platform for working together and sharing resources while allowing members to independently and separately manage their own library needs.

Roadmap

2026 H1	2026 H2	2027 H1
Share Online Services Order: Shared Network Zone choices in Institution Zone Support Services by Central Office Central Configuration Dashboard - Activate Linked Open Data formats, Homepage Notifications, Collection Development Usage Calculation & Resource Sharing/Rapido Configurations User Groups in a Fulfillment Network Protection of Shared Rules in a Consortia Real-Time Update of Linked Accounts Add Network Zone Titles to Course Reserve	Consortial Communication Tool Management and Usage of Proxies in the Network Zone Allow Consortia Members to work on a set of records in Network Zone Central Configuration Dashboard - Manage License Terms, Roles and Registration, Terms of Use and Policies, and Rota Templates	"Held by" Information Searchable at Network Zone Level Birds Eye View of Consortia Configurations

2026 H1

Share online Service Order - Shared Network Zone choices in Institution Zone

Idea Exchange

What’s New	Highlights	Impact
Using the "Share Online Service Order", Consortia members will be able to define the order of the Link Resolver electronic services for electronic collections managed in the Network Zone or the institution. The Central office will be able to distribute the Share Online Service Order configuration to members.	Member administrator will be able to manage the Share online services configuration by combining e-resources coming from both Network and Institution zones. Network Zone operator will be able to distribute the Share Online Services Order configuration from the Central Configuration Dashboard to members.	This enhancement will empower both centralized and decentralized administration: Member administrator will gain flexibility to blend network and local services in a user-friendly order. Network Zone operators will be able to guide best practices and enforce standards through centralized sharing tools. This will support better end-user experiences, strengthen collaborative workflows, and advance the consortium’s ability to manage shared and local electronic resources in harmony.

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Support Services by Central Office

What’s New	Highlights	Impact
Empower the Consortia Central Office by providing support services to its members using maintenance tools and problem-troubleshooting utilities.	The central office will be able to perform a defined set of maintenance and troubleshooting tasks that were typically performed by Clarivate support.	The central office will be empowered by services that can be provided to its members. This new feature will enable the Central Office to handle and support its Consortia members in a timely manner.

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Central Configuration Dashboard - New Added Tables

What’s New	Highlights	Impact
We continue our ongoing development of the new Central Configuration Dashboard by adding new tables. The consortia central office will have more centralized operational policies.	The following information will be added to the new Central Configuration Dashboard: Activate Linked Open Data formats page to expand the exposure of Linked Open Data across the network. Homepage Notifications for management & distribution Usage Calculation mapping table in a brand new Collection Development section to offer a central management & distribution across members without the need to opt-in locally in the Data Sharing profile. Partner Sectors, Partner Organization Type and Partner Account Allowances code tables for Resource Sharing and Rapido.	The central office will be able to work more efficiently, reducing time spent applying central policies.

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User Groups in a Fulfillment Network

What’s New	Highlights	Impact
Institutions will be able to create different locally linked accounts dependent on the patron’s user group in the source institution.	Linked account rules will be configurable per the user group value in the source institution. This will enable assigning different user groups in the target institution based on the patron's user group in the source institution.	Consortia members will gain enhanced configurability in setting network-level fulfillment policies for different user types.

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Protection of Shared Rules in a Consortia

Idea Exchange

What’s New	Highlights	Impact
The consortia central office and its members will be able to protect their shared rules (Normalization rules, Merge rules, Authority Headings rules, Brief level rules and Indication rules) from being edited or deleted by other members.	Shared Rules will now be marked as Protected and will remain fully visible and executable by Institution Zone users, but cannot be modified or removed. Only Network Zone users with appropriate permissions can edit or unprotect these rules, or the Member users that have created this shared rule, ensuring that only the creator can make changes.	This development will introduce a critical layer of protection for Shared Rules within consortia environments by allowing the Central Office or the member creating the rule to protect it. It will support a more controlled, standardized, and scalable metadata management environment across the network.

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Real-Time Update of Linked Accounts

What’s New	Highlights	Impact
Linked account updates will happen in real time.	The refresh of linked accounts across institutions will take place in real time when the record is updated in the source institution.	Libraries will be able to make use of more up-to-date user account information across the network.

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Add Network Zone Titles to Course Reserve

What’s New	Highlights	Impact
Today, Consortia members, at their Institution Zone level, can add a citation to a course reading list through a repository search limited to the local titles. They are unable to add Network Zone titles to their course reading lists. The Course Reserve reading list will offer the possibility to add Network Zone titles.	Member institutions will be able to add both Institution Zone titles and Network Zone titles to their reading list in Alma Course Reserve.	Members will now have access to all their titles (locally and centrally managed) in their Course Reserve reading list.

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2026 H2

Consortial Communication Tool

What’s New	Highlights	Impact
Consortia member staff users will be able to create and send messages directly to Network Zone operators from within Alma. Network Zone operators will centrally manage and respond to these communications.	Alma-native communication between Consortia Members and Network Zone operators Dedicated entry point directly from the Alma Homepage Centralized management and response of member communications at the Network Zone level Role-based access ensures only authorized users can initiate communication Keeps Alma-related questions and collaboration within the system where the work is performed	This feature will reduce friction in day-to-day consortia operations by enabling contextual, in-product communication between members and Network Zone operators. By allowing staff to request assistance without leaving Alma or switching tools, it will improve response times, increase operational efficiency, and strengthen collaboration across the network while complementing, not replacing, existing external communication tools.

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Management and Usage of Proxies in the Network Zone

What’s New	Highlights	Impact
It will be possible to define and use proxies at the Network Zone level and distributed to all Consortia members. This will enables Collaborative Networks to define and maintain shared proxy configurations centrally, when using the same proxies in the entire network, instead of configuring identical proxies separately in each Institution Zone.	Central definition and management of proxy entities in the Network Zone Automatic distribution of Network Zone-defined proxies to all Consortia members Eliminates the need to duplicate proxy configurations across Consortia members Institution Zones Enables the use of Network Zone–defined proxies for electronic resources managed in the Network Zone Supports collaborative networks using shared proxy infrastructures across multiple members	This enhancement will simplify proxy management in collaborative networks by introducing a single point of configuration at the Network Zone level. By reducing duplication, configuration effort, and the risk of inconsistencies between Institution Zones, it will improve operational efficiency for both Network Zone administrators and Member administrators. In addition, it will allow greater flexibility in using proxies which are not the default when defining electronic resources in the network.

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Allow Consortia Members to Work on a Set of Records in the Network Zone

What’s New	Highlights	Impact
Consortia member catalogers will be able to create and manage sets of Network Zone bibliographic and authority records, run normalization processes on those records (with appropriate privileges), and export the resulting sets for external use.	Ability to create sets of Network Zone BIB and AUTH records, independent of local Institution Zone holdings Support for running normalization rules on Network Zone record sets Privilege-controlled access ensures normalization actions are restricted to authorized users Option to export Network Zone record sets for further processing or sharing Enables collaborative catalog maintenance at the consortia level	This feature will empower consortia members to perform centralized catalog maintenance and quality control directly in the Network Zone. By allowing authorized catalogers to normalize and export shared bibliographic and authority records, it will improve metadata consistency across member institutions, reduce duplicated effort at the Institution Zone level, and strengthen collaboration within the network.

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Central Configuration Dashboard - New Added Services

What’s New	Highlights	Impact
We continue our ongoing development of the new Central Configuration Dashboard by adding new services to the Network Zone operators. The consortia central office will have more centralized operational policies.	The following options and services will be added to the new Central Configuration Dashboard: Managing License Terms centrally and distributing License terms to members. Managing Roles and Registration from the Central Configuration Dashboard. Management and Distribution of Terms of Use and Policies. Managing Rota templates centrally.	The central office will be able to work more efficiently, reducing time spent applying central policies.

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2027 H1

"Held by" Information Searchable at Network Zone Level

What’s New	Highlights	Impact
Up until now, while “Held by” information is visible at the Network Zone level when viewing title records, it cannot be used as a search or filtering criterion. Identifying title records held by a specific consortia member requires a multi-step process, typically involving Analytics reports followed by the creation of itemized sets in the Network Zone.	Enhanced Network Zone discovery capabilities that enable Central Offices to search and/or filter title records based on “Held by” information directly within the Network Zone, providing more flexible and immediate access to member-level inventory insights.	This enhancement will simplify network-level collection analysis and operational workflows, reducing reliance on external reporting and enabling Consortia Central Offices to work more efficiently when managing, analyzing, and supporting member collections.

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Birds Eye-View of Consortia Configurations

What’s New	Highlights	Impact
Today, Consortia Central Offices lack a simple way to gain an overall view of how their network members are configured, making it difficult to proactively support institutions and identify inconsistencies across the network.	A centralized, high-level view that enables the Central Office to see and compare key member configurations at a glance, helping surface differences, gaps, and areas that may require attention across the network.	This enhancement will support more proactive and informed consortia management, enabling Central Offices to assist Consortia members more effectively and respond more quickly to configuration-related issues.

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