{
 "categories": [
  "documents",
  "public-sector",
  "education"
 ],
 "deployment": "saas",
 "evidence": [
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "homepage",
   "note": "Opened Ex Libris page titles Alma as a unified library management system and states that Alma supports more than 200 APIs used daily to integrate with vendor, ERP, metadata, and remote-storage systems. The page also describes Alma as a cloud-based solution.",
   "source": "https://exlibrisgroup.com/products/alma-library-services-platform/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "name",
   "note": "The product page names the offering Alma / Alma Library Management System from Ex Libris.",
   "source": "https://exlibrisgroup.com/products/alma-library-services-platform/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "vendor",
   "note": "Sikt states that Alma is developed by Clarivate and that Sikt has a data-processor agreement with Clarivate as subcontractor.",
   "source": "https://sikt.no/tjenester/alma-biblioteksystem",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "categories",
   "note": "Sikt presents Alma as the library system for about 80 Norwegian fag- and forskningsbibliotek in the BIBSYS consortium, covering user data, acquisitions, resource metadata, and the shared catalogue.",
   "source": "https://sikt.no/tjenester/alma-biblioteksystem",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "deployment",
   "note": "The product page repeatedly describes Alma as a cloud-based Ex Libris service with multi-tiered security, FedRAMP Tailored Authorization, and GDPR controls.",
   "source": "https://exlibrisgroup.com/products/alma-library-services-platform/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "platforms",
   "note": "Sikt publishes direct links to Alma instances with Feide and treats Alma as a hosted web service. No native desktop or mobile Alma client is named on the opened pages.",
   "source": "https://sikt.no/tjenester/alma-biblioteksystem",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "license",
   "note": "Norwegian access is sold as BIBSYS consortium membership with an annual participant fee. The vendor page invites institutional adoption rather than a public free tier.",
   "source": "https://sikt.no/tjenester/alma-biblioteksystem",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "status",
   "note": "The current product page lists an August 2026 Alma feature release and an Alma 2026 roadmap, presenting the product as actively maintained.",
   "source": "https://exlibrisgroup.com/products/alma-library-services-platform/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "modalities.api.exists",
   "note": "The Ex Libris Developer Network publishes Alma REST APIs for data and workflows stored in Alma, with documentation, an API console, and regional gateways.",
   "source": "https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/alma/apis/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "modalities.api.kinds[0]",
   "note": "Alma APIs are implemented in the REST style. URIs use https://gateway-hostname/almaws/version/resource-name and standard GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE methods.",
   "source": "https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/alma/apis/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "modalities.api.auth[0]",
   "note": "An API key authenticates each request. The key is passed as an apikey URL parameter or as an Authorization: apikey {APIKEY} header. Keys unused for over one year are deactivated.",
   "source": "https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/alma/apis/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "modalities.api.coverage",
   "note": "Coverage is partial relative to the whole product: keys are scoped by functional area and read-only or read/write permission; guests may only GET the demo sandbox; PUT is swap-all; daily and concurrent thresholds apply; MARCXML payloads reject JSON input.",
   "source": "https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/alma/apis/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "modalities.api.coverage",
   "note": "The Users and Fulfillment area documents web services for users, loans, requests, purchase requests, fines and fees, and deposits, including use by student information systems.",
   "source": "https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/alma/apis/users/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "modalities.api.coverage",
   "note": "The Bibliographic Records and Inventory area documents web services for catalog, holdings, collections, e-collections, digital representations, and BIBFRAME work and instance records.",
   "source": "https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/alma/apis/bibs/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "modalities.api.coverage",
   "note": "The Acquisitions area documents web services for funds, fund transactions, PO lines, vendors, invoices, licenses, currencies, and fiscal periods.",
   "source": "https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/alma/apis/acq/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "modalities.api.docs",
   "note": "This Developer Network page is the opened getting-started contract for Alma REST APIs, including gateways, authentication, formats, errors, and governance thresholds.",
   "source": "https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/alma/apis/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "modalities.sdk.exists",
   "note": "Ex Libris documents an official Cloud Apps SDK that is updated about twice a year and is used to build TypeScript/Angular apps that call Alma REST APIs inside the staff UI.",
   "source": "https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/cloudapps/started/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "modalities.sdk.official",
   "note": "The Getting Started page is Ex Libris documentation for the first-party Cloud Apps SDK and CLI, not a community wrapper.",
   "source": "https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/cloudapps/started/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "modalities.sdk.languages[0]",
   "note": "Cloud Apps are written in Angular using HTML and TypeScript. The page names the current Angular version as 18.",
   "source": "https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/cloudapps/started/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "modalities.cli.exists",
   "note": "Ex Libris publishes the Cloud Apps CLI, installed with npm install -g @exlibris/exl-cloudapp-cli and invoked as eca init and eca start. It develops Cloud Apps; it is not a general Alma resource CLI.",
   "source": "https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/cloudapps/started/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "modalities.extensibility.scripting[0]",
   "note": "Ex Libris Cloud Apps are installable apps that run inside the Ex Libris platform, including Alma, and are developed, published to an App Center, and installed by institution users.",
   "source": "https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/cloudapps/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "modalities.extensibility.webhooks",
   "note": "Alma sends HTTPS webhooks in JSON or XML for supported events. Listeners implement a GET challenge and a POST receiver. Messages are HMAC-SHA-256 signed with a configured secret.",
   "source": "https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/alma/integrations/webhooks/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "modalities.data_access.export",
   "note": "Alma REST APIs return XML by default or JSON when the Accept header or format=json is set. Bibliographic create/update APIs accept MARCXML and then reject JSON input.",
   "source": "https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/alma/apis/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "modalities.data_access.import",
   "note": "Callers send XML with Content-Type application/xml or JSON with application/json. MARCXML is required for bibliographic payloads that include MARC.",
   "source": "https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/alma/apis/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "modalities.rpa.ui_stack[0]",
   "note": "Sikt treats Alma as a hosted staff web system with Feide instance links. The opened pages do not name a native desktop client.",
   "source": "https://sikt.no/tjenester/alma-biblioteksystem",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "modalities.agent_docs.llms_txt",
   "note": "https://exlibrisgroup.com/llms.txt returned 404 on 2026-09-09.",
   "source": "https://exlibrisgroup.com/llms.txt",
   "tier": "scraped"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "modalities.agent_docs.llms_txt",
   "note": "https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/llms.txt returned 404 on 2026-09-09.",
   "source": "https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/llms.txt",
   "tier": "scraped"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "modalities.mcp.third_party",
   "note": "Bounded official MCP registry search for alma returned unrelated Almanac and marketplace listings. No Ex Libris or Clarivate Alma server was listed. Registry silence does not prove the vendor has no first-party MCP.",
   "source": "https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io/v0.1/servers?search=alma",
   "tier": "scraped"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "verdict.scores.api",
   "note": "The REST surface is broad, documented, versioned, and practical for agents, with webhooks and OpenAPI, but it is institution-keyed, area-scoped, rate-limited, and PUT-swap-all, which keeps the path in the broad-but-gated 7 band rather than 9-10.",
   "source": "https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/alma/apis/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "freshness.watch[0].url",
   "note": "Opened and verified as the current Alma REST API getting-started page, including gateways, API keys, XML/JSON, and governance thresholds.",
   "source": "https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/alma/apis/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "freshness.watch[1].url",
   "note": "Opened and verified as the current Ex Libris Alma product page, including the 200-API claim and August 2026 feature-release news.",
   "source": "https://exlibrisgroup.com/products/alma-library-services-platform/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "freshness.watch[2].url",
   "note": "Opened and verified as Sikt's current Alma biblioteksystem page for the BIBSYS consortium.",
   "source": "https://sikt.no/tjenester/alma-biblioteksystem",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-09",
   "fact": "freshness.watch[3].url",
   "note": "Opened and verified as the current Alma webhooks contract, including challenge, HMAC signature, and retry rules.",
   "source": "https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/alma/integrations/webhooks/",
   "tier": "declared"
  }
 ],
 "freshness": {
  "last_verified": "2026-09-09",
  "volatility": "medium",
  "watch": [
   {
    "type": "docs",
    "url": "https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/alma/apis/"
   },
   {
    "type": "docs",
    "url": "https://exlibrisgroup.com/products/alma-library-services-platform/"
   },
   {
    "type": "docs",
    "url": "https://sikt.no/tjenester/alma-biblioteksystem"
   },
   {
    "type": "docs",
    "url": "https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/alma/integrations/webhooks/"
   }
  ]
 },
 "homepage": "https://exlibrisgroup.com/products/alma-library-services-platform/",
 "id": "clarivate-alma",
 "license": "commercial",
 "modalities": {
  "agent_docs": {
   "llms_txt": false
  },
  "api": {
   "auth": [
    "api-key"
   ],
   "coverage": "partial",
   "docs": "https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/alma/apis/",
   "exists": true,
   "kinds": [
    "rest"
   ]
  },
  "cli": {
   "exists": true
  },
  "computer_use": {
   "issues": [],
   "viability": "unknown"
  },
  "data_access": {
   "export": [
    "xml",
    "json",
    "marcxml"
   ],
   "import": [
    "xml",
    "json",
    "marcxml"
   ]
  },
  "extensibility": {
   "scripting": [
    "cloud-apps"
   ],
   "webhooks": true
  },
  "integrations": {
   "make": "unknown",
   "n8n": "unknown",
   "power_automate": "unknown",
   "zapier": "unknown"
  },
  "mcp": {
   "first_party": "unknown",
   "third_party": [],
   "verdict": "unknown"
  },
  "rpa": {
   "drivability": "unknown",
   "notes": "No repeatable UI probe was run. The Alma REST APIs, HTTPS webhooks, and Cloud Apps framework are the documented machine paths. Visual control of a staff browser session, including Sikt Feide instance links, is not a substitute for those contracts.\n",
   "ui_stack": [
    "web-dom"
   ],
   "vendor_support": []
  },
  "sdk": {
   "exists": true,
   "languages": [
    "typescript"
   ],
   "official": true
  }
 },
 "name": "Ex Libris Alma",
 "platforms": [
  "web"
 ],
 "related": {
  "alternatives": [
   "axiell-quria",
   "mikromarc",
   "bibliofil"
  ],
  "our_products": []
 },
 "schema_version": 1,
 "score_version": 1,
 "status": "active",
 "vendor": "Clarivate",
 "verdict": {
  "best_path": "api",
  "scores": {
   "api": 7,
   "cli": null,
   "computer_use": null,
   "integrations": null,
   "mcp": null,
   "overall": 7,
   "rpa": null
  },
  "summary": "Ex Libris Alma is automatable today through Clarivate's documented REST APIs on the Ex Libris Developer Network. Opened vendor pages do not establish a first-party MCP server. Calls go to a regional HTTPS gateway under /almaws/v1 and authenticate with an institution API key as an apikey query parameter or an Authorization: apikey header. The opened catalog covers users and fulfillment, bibliographic records and inventory, and acquisitions, with GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE, XML or JSON payloads, and optional OpenAPI downloads. PUT replaces the entire entity. Production keys are created in the Developer Network with area, sandbox or production, and read-only or read/write permissions. Guest accounts may GET the demo sandbox only. Daily and per-second governance thresholds apply. HTTPS webhooks notify a listener of configured events. Cloud Apps run inside the Alma staff UI; Ex Libris publishes an official Cloud Apps CLI (@exlibris/exl-cloudapp-cli) and a TypeScript Cloud Apps SDK. This identity is the library services platform Sikt delivers to about 80 Norwegian research libraries in the BIBSYS consortium. It is not Vitec ALMA industrial ERP, Axiell Quria, Mikromarc, or Bibliofil. Oria, Leganto, and Rialto stay outside. Vendor documentation does not settle first-party MCP ownership. Named iPaaS connectors were not opened. Computer-use viability is unassessed. API scores 7 and is the best path.\n"
 }
}