On July 9, Yale Library, together with the Lillian Goldman Law Library, will upgrade to a new library services platform called Alma. While the change is mostly invisible to library users, the new platform will provide a significantly higher level of technology support for the library’s complex and interconnected services and operations, including collection purchases, cataloging, access to electronic resources, search and discovery, and book circulation.
Over the next few years, the new platform will also support new ways to find, access, and use research resources of all kinds—from special collections, print materials, and online articles to datasets and emerging uses of AI in research.
The upgrade process will have some short-term impact on library users this spring and summer. Here’s what users can expect and prepare for:
Purchase and reserve requests due early
In the short term, the upgrade means earlier-than-usual deadlines for faculty, students, and staff to request Yale Library materials and resources for research and teaching this spring and summer. Requests placed after the deadlines will be held and processed later in the summer.
Licensed e-resources, including datasets, should be requested as soon as possible and no later than April 4. Books and other physical materials should be requested as soon as possible and no later than April 28. Submit purchase requests.
Course reserve materials for summer sessions should be submitted via the Canvas Course Reserves Module as soon as possible and no later than April 28. Log in to Canvas.
Law faculty and students are asked to submit purchase suggestions and reserve requests through their liaison librarians at Lillian Goldman Law Library.
Week-long circulation freeze in July
For a week preceding the platform upgrade, circulation and scanning of general collection materials will be frozen. From July 2 through July 8, patrons will not be able to check out books or other physical materials from any library location, including the off-site Library Shelving Facility. Requests for delivery or scanning of general collection materials will be frozen July 1 through July 8, as will circulation and requests via Interlibrary Loan and BorrowDirect.
The circulation freeze will affect Bass Library, Cushing/Whitney Medical Library, the Divinity Library, Gilmore Music Library, Haas Family Arts Library, Lillian Goldman Law Library, Marx Science and Social Science Library, Sterling Memorial Library, and Yale Film Archive. Circulation, including ILL and BorrowDirect, will resume across the library system on July 9.
Access to Special Collections materials and electronic resources (such as online journals and databases) will not be affected by the circulation freeze.
Search-and-discovery changes planned
After the upgrade, the library’s primary discovery system will continue to be Quicksearch. For library users, the search process, functionality, and display of results will look the same, with a few exceptions.
After the upgrade, the Orbis catalog and discovery tool will no longer be available. To prepare for the change, Orbis users are encouraged to try out the catalog search toolin Quicksearch and experiment with Quicksearch’s Advanced Searchtool. Orbis users are asked to share questions andcomments so that their experiences can be factored into ongoing improvements to Quicksearch.
Law faculty and students will continue to find Law Library materials through Quicksearch. Although Morris, the Law Library’s catalog, will be retired, all its resources will remain accessible. Law Course Reserves and Past Exams will move to a new interface and will maintain their current functionality.
—Patricia Carey
Note: This article was updated on March 6, 2025 to include information about the circulation freeze.
Image: Patrons and staff in the Franke Family Digital Humanities Laboratory. Photo by Mara Lavitt