Renewal of the Catalog System kubikat: Transition from Aleph to Alma
kubikat: The Leading Global Research Tool in Art History
For over thirty years, the libraries of the Max Planck Institutes for Art History in Rome and Florence (Bibliotheca Hertziana and Kunsthistorisches Institut), the Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte in Munich, and the Deutsche Forum für Kunstgeschichte in Paris have been part of the kubikat library network. The jointly operated catalog has established itself as the leading global reference tool for bibliographic research in the field of art history. It is a symbol of excellence for library management that has been consistently and innovatively operated over several decades and whose reputation extends far beyond the participating institutions.
The unique features of the kubikat catalog—besides the quality of the library collections it represents—are the consistently high standard of data structure, data quality, and search capabilities. Notably, its high and continuously growing number of article references (approximately 1,5 million) surpasses even specialized bibliographies. The reliability of the bibliographic records, especially in terms of content indexing, the clarity of search results, and how up-to-date it is, make kubikat an internationally recognized reference for humanities bibliographies.
Previous Library Management System (BMS) Aleph
Since 2012, cooperative cataloging and library management have been based on the technical system “Aleph 500” by ExLibris. Given that the product life cycle of this system, which has been in use for over forty years, is coming to an end, it is necessary to implement a modern successor system.
This is needed, for example, for compatibility with mobile devices, efficient delivery of additional online services, and the scalability of searches in terms of resources beyond the institution’s own holdings. Additionally, the GWDG has announced the termination of system hosting for security reasons by the end of 2026.
Requirements for a Library Management System in the Digital Age
Considering the importance of the kubikat network for the discipline and the international scholarly community, as well as the mentioned time frame, the network’s managers had to find solutions that could be implemented even without a central MPG-wide or locally available library IT infrastructure. For appropriate hosting of a BMS, the four kubikat institutions lack the necessary personnel and technical infrastructure, making a cloud-based system based on Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) principles a practical choice. In this setup, the software is hosted by the provider, and users access it via web services, with the provider handling software maintenance and updates. The consensus informing the current literature and articulated at conferences and by experts is that three systems meet these requirements: Alma (ExLibris), WMS/ILS (OCLC), and FOLIO. However, only the first two have been tested in real-world use, while the newer open-source software FOLIO has yet to demonstrate full operational maturity, particularly for networked use.
Current Market Situation for BMS and Selection Process
Meetings were held with ExLibris and OCLC since the end of 2022, during which Alma and WMS/ILS were presented in detail, particularly regarding their suitability for kubikat. The out-come of these discussions was that Alma offers significant advantages over WMS/ILS. For example, both Aleph and Alma belong to the same production family, making the transition from the old to the new system smoother and more straightforward due to their high compatibility. Alma’s proven effectiveness in numerous libraries worldwide, particularly in Germany, is another advantage over WMS/ILS. The OCLC product, with its Anglo-American roots, is rarely used in the complex networked structure of German libraries, which limits its applicability for kubikat. Furthermore, of the 247 requirements the kubikat network set for a successor system, WMS/ILS failed to meet 30 of them (including 22 essential ones), whereas Alma fulfills most of the key functionalities.
The New Generation BMS Alma: Licensing
In 2012, ExLibris introduced the cloud-based successor product, Alma. Transitioning from Aleph to Alma offers clear advantages, especially in terms of existing connections to regional and national library networks. This is particularly relevant for kubikat, as its integration within the Bavarian Library Network (BVB) brings many benefits and must remain intact. Continuing the success of the Aleph license, which is centrally managed for over forty Max Planck Institutes, by adopting Alma seems the natural choice, initially irrespective of the expected costs. Unfortunately, the Max Planck Digital Library, which manages the central Aleph license, has repeatedly stated that it will no longer provide substantial services for IT-based library infrastructure for strategic and structural reasons. A formal request and offer of a meeting from the executive directors of the Max Planck Institutes in Florence and Rome to the head of MPDL, Dr. Sander, in July 2023 remains unanswered.
Decision for Alma
Given the technical end-of-life date for Aleph, the ineffectiveness of competing systems, and the structural need for a cloud-based BMS, the decision to adopt Alma was inevitable. Both the decision itself and the timeline were determined by the needs of the partner institutions involved in kubikat, including those not belonging to MPG.
Licensing and Implementation
After MPDL withdrew from managing the central license, the kubikat institutions had no choice but to negotiate with the providers themselves, leveraging available technical and bibliographic expertise to secure a tailored offer and reduce costs as much as possible. Despite this effort, costs remain considerably higher than if a MPG-wide central license had been pursued. In late June, all kubikat institutions signed ExLibris’s offer, with full implementation scheduled for May 2025.
Additional Costs
The licensing and operation of Alma/Primo will incur additional fixed costs of approximately €40,000 per year, along with one-time implementation fees. Together with the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florence, an application for initial funding for the first five years has been submitted to the president and has been approved.