Alma in FarU - events at the Main Library, March 14-15, 2024

The University of Gdańsk Main Library hosted a celebration of the new library system implementation in the FarU Libraries and the Library of the European Solidarity Centre.

On March 14, 2024, a ceremonial meeting to summarise the implementation of the new Alma library system and the Primo search engine in the Libraries of FarU (the University of Gdańsk Library, the Gdańsk University of Technology Library, and the Main Library of the Medical University of Gdańsk) and the European Solidarity Centre was held at the University of Gdańsk Main Library on March 14. The University of Gdańsk authorities were represented by the Chancellor dr hab. inż. Aneta Oniszczuk-Jastrząbek, prof. UG, and the Vice-Chancellor for Infrastructure and Administration, mgr Sebastian Kruszyński, while the GdańskTech authorities were represented by the Vice-Rector for Education dr hab. inż. Mariusz Kaczmarek, prof. GdańskTech. Among the guests were representatives of Aleph Polska, the distributor of Ex Libris products (including Alma system), headed by the President of the Board Maciej Dziubecki.

During the meeting, UG Library Director Roman Tabisz thanked the directors and coordinators of the individual libraries for participating in the implementation process and shared some reflections about the new system. Aleph Polska's Market Development Director Dominik Łuszczyński talked about the company's activities. The second part of the meeting focused on integration. The participants had the opportunity to play the 'Human bingo' game and visit the Main Library by solving riddles in a field game.

A seminar summarising the implementation of the library system was held on March 15, opened by the Director of the University of Gdańsk Library, Roman Tabisz. The first speaker was the Director of the Daniel Fahrenheit University Union in Gdańsk, prof. dr hab. inż Adriana Zaleska-Medynska. In a very interesting presentation, she outlined the benefits of the merger of the three Tricity universities and the challenges they face. Prof. Zaleska-Medynska emphasised that the union is not only a merger of the three Pomeranian universities, but it brings synergy and an increase in importance in the international arena.

The participants then listened to presentations by representatives of the FarU Libraries: BUG Director Roman Tabisz, MUG Main Library Director Katarzyna Falow, BUG System Librarian Marzena Jeżowska and GdańskTech Library Digital and Multimedia Collection Construction Section Manager Robert Szczodruch.

Guests from Toruń and Gdynia - Grzegorz Szturo, Deputy Director for Collection Organisation at the UMK Library,  Agnieszka Dwornik, Head of the Collection Development Section at the UMK Library, Magdalena Kruszyńska, Deputy Director for Content Management at the Gdynia Library, and dr Joanna Krzywonos, Director of the Maritime University Library in Gdynia - also shared their experiences of Alma system implementations.

The special guest of the seminar was the Director of the National Library, dr Tomasz Makowski, who gave the speech 'Library as a service in 2024'.

 

BUG Promotion Section; photo Alan Stocki, Marcel Jakubowski/ UG Press Team; Dominika Skutnik/Special Collections Department; Marietta Tiszbein, Patrycja Laskowska/BUG Promotion Section