Reducing the Library's Footprint on Campus: How Minnesota has used Alma to assist in closing a library and streamline transfers of collections to offsite storage

Abstract

Since going live on Alma in December 2013, the University of Minnesota has completed several projects that resulted in the transfer/withdraw of hundreds of thousands of physical items. Two of these projects resulted in libraries closing with the collections being transferred to other campus libraries. Other projects transferred materials to offsite locations in order to make better use of the physical space on campus.

This presentation will discuss how Alma has been used to facilitate the decision making process in determining transfers, how Alma has been used to update records during the physical transfer process, and the workarounds Minnesota felt necessary due to some of Alma's limitations.