Ex Libris updates its products every month with enhancements recommended by customers and other users. There are two primary ways customers can suggest development enhancements. The Idea Exchange platform (http://ideas.exlibrisgroup.com/) is a system that anyone can use at any time during the year. This open platform allows all Ex Libris users to submit ideas for development and vote on their favorite ideas. The Ex Libris project management teams monitor this system and considers these ideas for their development cycle.
The other primary way that users can influence Ex Libris development is through the formal product enhancement process offered through the official user groups ELUNA (Ex Libris Users of North America) and IGeLU (International Group of Ex Libris Users). This process is offered every year for each product and members can submit enhancement requests through NERS (New Enhancement Request System). These requests are monitored by the customer product interest groups to ensure there are no duplicates before voting and reviewed by Ex Libris. Each member site in the user group is provided with a points allocation for voting on enhancement ideas. At Rutgers, the Ex Libris Team solicits feedback from relevant groups such as the Fulfillment Working Group to help understand which enhancements will have the most beneficial impact on our workflow. Once the votes are collected, Ex Libris makes a commitment to implement the top enhancements that fit into their designated development budget for the year.
The monthly releases for each product are available in the knowledge center (https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/) or via the release highlights emails available through the product email lists (https://exlibrisusers.org/listinfo). The Ex Libris Team minutes (https://apps.libraries.rutgers.edu/ex-libris/resources) are also a good way to monitor the voting process and monthly enhancements that may impact our workflow.
