• NERS info on the IGeLU site
• NERS info on the ELUNA site
• Watch the Alma listserv (alma@exlibrisusers.org) for an update, which should come out in January or so.
• Create a blog post (recommend revisiting posting to the ECDS scholarblogs to see if we should switch to email instead) with information regarding the timeline of the NERS voting process.
  • Here is the blog postingfrom 2022 (copy included at the end of this document as well)
• Email LIB-ALMA@LISTSERV.CC.EMORY.EDU, the Access Services Policy Committee, the Cataloging and Authority Subcommittee, and the Acquisitions Committee a link to the post and a simplified version of their instructions.
• One week before NERS opens for submission of new enhancements, email LIB-ALMA@LISTSERV.CC.EMORY.EDU, the Access Services Policy Committee, the Cataloging and Authority Subcommittee, and the Acquisitions Committee asking for enhancement submissions.  Give them a deadline of end-of-business on the second to last day so people are not rushing to send you things at 5pm on Friday.
• Review all enhancement requests before submitting.  If the request is not really an enhancement, but rather, a lack of understanding on the part of the user, send them information regarding the issue.  That is, if it is a policy decision, refer them to the Access Services Policy Committee and if it a matter of user education, send them instructions for how to do what they need to do.  If the enhancement is an actual enhancement, submit it to NERS.
• At the beginning of the second week, email LIB-ALMA@LISTSERV.CC.EMORY.EDU, the Access Services Policy Committee, the Cataloging and Authority Subcommittee, and the Acquisitions Committee to remind people to submit enhancements.
• After the deadline closes, email LIB-ALMA@LISTSERV.CC.EMORY.EDU, the Access Services Policy Committee, the Cataloging and Authority Subcommittee, and the Acquisitions Committee a complete list of the enhancements you submitted and remind them of your blog post and the timeline for the process.
• One week before NERS opens for the first round of voting, email LIB-ALMA@LISTSERV.CC.EMORY.EDU, the Access Services Policy Committee, the Cataloging and Authority Subcommittee, and the Acquisitions Committee with instructions for voting.  Give them a deadline of end-of-business on the second to last day so people are not rushing to send you things at 5pm on Friday.
• On the day voting opens, get in to the NERS list, copy it, and paste it into Excel.  Make sure each enhancement is clearly labeled with it's enhancement number so you don't have to do a lot of work to match votes with enhancements.  Send this document to LIB-ALMA@LISTSERV.CC.EMORY.EDU, the Access Services Policy Committee, the Cataloging and Authority Subcommittee, and the Acquisitions Committee.
• At the beginning of the second week, email LIB-ALMA@LISTSERV.CC.EMORY.EDU, the Access Services Policy Committee, the Cataloging and Authority Subcommittee, and the Acquisitions Committee to remind them to send you votes.
  • NOTE: REMEMBER – All votes go through the committees.  Do not accept votes from random people who send them to you.  Instead, refer them to the appropriate committee.
• When the deadline closes, compile the votes, and submit them to NERS.  You can change your votes in NERS until the very last minute, so if one of the committees submits things at the very end, you can always change it.
• After the deadline closes, email LIB-ALMA@LISTSERV.CC.EMORY.EDU, the Access Services Policy Committee, the Cataloging and Authority Subcommittee, and the Acquisitions Committee a complete list of where each team spent their points.
• One week before NERS opens for the second round of voting, email LIB-ALMA@LISTSERV.CC.EMORY.EDU, the Access Services Policy Committee, the Cataloging and Authority Subcommittee, and the Acquisitions Committee with instructions for voting.  Give them a deadline of end-of-business on the second to last day so people are not rushing to send you things at 5pm on Friday.
• On the day voting opens, get in to the NERS list, copy it, and paste it into Excel.  Make sure each enhancement is clearly labeled with it's enhancement number so you don't have to do a lot of work to match votes with enhancements.  Send this document to LIB-ALMA@LISTSERV.CC.EMORY.EDU, the Access Services Policy Committee, the Cataloging and Authority Subcommittee, and the Acquisitions Committee.
• At the beginning of the second week, email LIB-ALMA@LISTSERV.CC.EMORY.EDU, the Access Services Policy Committee, the Cataloging and Authority Subcommittee, and the Acquisitions Committee to remind them to send you votes.
  • NOTE: REMEMBER – All votes go through the committees.  Do not accept votes from random people who send them to you.  Instead, refer them to the appropriate committee.
• When the deadline closes, compile the votes, and submit them to NERS.  You can change your votes in NERS until the very last minute, so if one of the committees submits things at the very end, you can always change it.
• After the deadline closes, email LIB-ALMA@LISTSERV.CC.EMORY.EDU, the Access Services Policy Committee, the Cataloging and Authority Subcommittee, and the Acquisitions Committee a complete list of where each team spent their points.
• Watch the Alma listserv (alma@exlibrisusers.org) for any update on the NERS voting and send them to LIB-ALMA@LISTSERV.CC.EMORY.EDU.

COMMUNICATION TEMPLATE

YYYY Alma Enhancement Voting

Posted [DATE]

As an institutional member of ELUNA, Emory Libraries participates in the annual NERS (New Enhancement Request System) enhancement voting for Alma. We have a total of 100 points as an institution to vote for enhancements across several categories. Below you will find the process and timeline for this year’s voting.

Process

• Library Core Systems will send a list of potential enhancements and directions to the Access Services Policy Committee, the Cataloging and Authority Subcommittee, and the Acquisitions Committee working groups. Each group votes by assigning points to the relevant category in the list:

• • The Access Services Policy Committee will vote on Fulfillment enhancements (30 Points)
  • The Cataloging and Authority Subcommittee will vote on Resource Management (30 Points)
  • The Acquisitions Committee will vote on Finance and Acquisitions (30 Points)
  • Library Core Systems will vote on Systems (10 Points)

• Once a group has assigned their allocated points, they will send the document back to Library Core Systems.
• Library Core Systems will compile the results and share them with the LIB-ALMA listserv to communicate to the larger organization for feedback.
• Once the organization has had an opportunity to provide feedback, Library Core Systems will cast the votes in the NERS system and report back when the process has been completed for this year.

Timeline (All Dates are YYYY) Confirm dates and update the info below

• January 23 – February 5 – New enhancements may be submitted to NERS
• February 6 – March 19 – Enhancement Team reviews, dedupes, scopes, verifies and sets up vote in NERS
• March 20 – April 9 – First round of voting (3 Weeks)
• April 10 – April 12 – Enhancement Team reviews results, prepares to send to Ex Libris for pointing
• April 13 – Enhancements Team sends enhancements to point to Ex Libris
• Arpil 14 – June 9 – Ex Libris pointing work
• June 12 – June 25 – Second round of voting on pointed enhancements (2 Weeks)

You may submit enhancement requests at any time using this form.  Enhancements submitted after February 5 will be included in the YYYY voting process.

If you have any questions regarding this process, please email coreserviceshelp [at] emory [dot] edu

NOTE: The following communication is included here for reference. This is a copy of the announcement for the inaugural CDI Enhancement voting that was sent in April 2024. That process is managed within the Library Search Product/Program.

Ex Libris Knowledge Center

An Overview of CDI

As part of our discovery strategy to meet user and customer expectations in the coming years, we are creating a unified index, leveraging our existing assets. The Ex Libris Central Discovery Index (…

Feb 13th, 2019