Upgrade to the University of Birmingham's Library Management system - Alma and Primo applications

The University intends to award a contract for up to five years for the upgrade and maintenance of its current library management system (LMS) to Ex Libris, a specialist in software for the library sector. This system is owned, supplied and supported exclusively by Ex Libris.

Since first procuring the Ex Libris LMS in 2013, the University has made a substantial investment in Ex Libris' systems in terms of working processes and staff training. The University has decided to upgrade from Ex Libris' Aleph, SFX, MetaLib, Verde and Primo products to their Alma and Primo products and extend the contract period. The University is due to open an international branch campus in September 2018, for which an LMS capable of being run via cloud-based SaaS will be required. Given the requirement for comprehensive testing in advance of a September opening date, the timescale does not support a full procurement process. In order to achieve the necessary timescales, the University has identified that it needs to work with its existing supplier. The University has additionally identified that the high costs associated with changing LMS supplier are incompatible with the budget and staff capacity available, and therefore when considering the relative benefit, the cost of changing supplier at this time would outweigh the advantage which might accrue.

The University has identified that for reasons of timescale and to achieve its aims within available staff capacity and alongside its core business activities, the products supplied by Ex Libris are the only ones capable of meeting the University's requirements and this is the only viable option for the University at this time.