Academic Library Insights: February 2026

Discover the latest resources to enhance your knowledge and stay on top of developments in the library community.

Entries for the Clarivate Library Innovation Awards are closing next week!

As Yaniv Levi Korem, Vice President of Product Management at Clarivate, puts it: “Participating in an award like this is more than just recognition — it’s an opportunity to celebrate your people, share your story, and inspire others across the library community.”

The awards shine a spotlight on libraries that turn great ideas into real impact for their users and communities and we’d love to see your story included. Submissions are encouraged to highlight achievements in community outcomes, patron engagement, student success, operational excellence, digital inclusion, accessibility, sustainability, or other areas central to library missions.

If you need any more information or guidance on how to enter details, please visit the Clarivate Library Innovation Awards page or email LibraryAwards@clarivate.com.

Clarivate Library Innovation Awards: Submit here

Introducing Alma Specto: Reveal your library's hidden collections with Academic AI

We are excited to announce that Alma Specto is now officially available for all libraries. Built on the Alma library services platform, Alma Specto is a next-generation digital asset management platform that helps you reveal your library’s hidden collections and makes it easier to manage, showcase and preserve your digital assets.

Like Meg Colbert, Assistant Dean of Libraries, University of Maine and Merrill Library Coordinator, University of Maine at Machias, said: “As an early adopter of Alma Specto, University of Maine Libraries valued the opportunity to help shape a platform designed specifically for libraries and cultural heritage collections. What stood out most was Alma Specto’s ability to integrate rich digital content directly into the library ecosystem, rather than isolating it in a separate repository. For our librarians, faculty, and users, this means improved discovery, stronger preservation workflows, and a more seamless experience connecting scholarship, teaching, and collections in one place.”

Whether you’re looking to unlock hidden collections, streamline operations or future-proof your digital assets, Alma Specto delivers the tools and intelligence you need. See it for yourself and request your demo today.

Demo: Request here

How Community Feedback is Shaping Alma Analytics

Every library relies on data to understand its community, make smarter decisions and tell a more powerful story about its impact. That is why we are excited to share a new blog post that highlights how your feedback is directly influencing the development of Alma Analytics.

The blog explores several enhancements inspired by this feedback, including improvements that support more meaningful reporting, predictable title updates that help with planning and clearer documentation. What makes this story so important is that it highlights a true partnership. Alma Analytics continues to grow because librarians are vocal about the challenges they face and the outcomes they need. This collaborative approach ensures that updates are not just new features but meaningful improvements that support the daily work of collection development, resource sharing, budgeting, assessment and strategic planning.

If you are interested in how analytics tools evolve or want to see how your own feedback can shape the roadmap, this is a great read.

Blog: Read here

From Classroom to Collection: Keeping Pace with Course Demand

Students expect immediate access to course materials. Faculty expect flexibility. Academic libraries are expected to deliver both, even as syllabi change, courses are updated late, budgets are tight, and workflows become more complex.

In From Classroom to Collection: Keeping Pace with Course Demand, we explore the growing challenges libraries face when supporting teaching and learning at scale. Traditional and fragmented ways of handling course material requests no longer work. When requests come through separate emails, spreadsheets, and manual processes, it becomes harder to make timely and informed acquisition decisions. As a result, materials may not reach students when they need them most.

The post highlights the value of a continuous workflow that connects reading list creation with acquisitions and fulfillment. By integrating Leganto and Rialto within Alma, libraries gain a unified view of course materials, library holdings, usage context, and budget information. This shared view helps teams make faster and smarter decisions about what to purchase, which format to choose, and when to act.

The result is fewer manual steps, less friction for faculty, and faster access to essential teaching materials for students.

If your library is rethinking how it supports course demand or looking for better ways to connect the classroom with the collection, this blog offers practical insights into why integrated workflows matter more than ever.

Blog: Read here

Academic AI in action! Enhancing library services with Alma

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a distant concept for academic libraries. It’s here, reshaping workflows, enhancing discovery and empowering librarians to deliver greater value to their communities. In our recent Library Journal webinar, Academic AI in Action: Enhancing Library Services with Alma, experts from Ex Libris shared practical examples and future-forward strategies for integrating Academic AI into everyday academic library operations.

Why AI Matters for Libraries Today

Libraries have always been leaders in turning information into knowledge. Now, with the explosion of scholarly content and growing demands on library staff, Academic AI offers a powerful way to streamline repetitive tasks and free librarians to focus on what matters most: supporting research, teaching and learning.

As Tamar Ganor, Senior Alma Product Manager noted, “AI can manage vast amounts of scholarly content quickly, helping libraries adapt to changing standards and user expectations.”

Why You Should Watch the Full Webinar

This webinar recording is packed with real-world examples, demos, and candid insights from Alma product and content leaders. If you’re curious about how Academic AI can reduce repetitive tasks, improve metadata quality and unlock data-driven strategies for your library, this is a must-watch.

Webinar on-demand: Watch here

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