ELUNA learns 2026 – Practical Applications

Membership in ELUNA provides staff at member institutions (consortia and/or individual library memberships) with free registration for all ELUNA learns sessions held in 2025. Non-members will be invoiced $25.00 for access to the webinar. Sponsors of the ELUNA learns series will not be invoiced.

Agenda 

• 1:00 pm – 1:05 pm. Introduction 
• 1:05 pm – 1:50 pm. To Create is Human? Applying AI to a University of South Florida Cataloging Workflow 
• 1:50 pm – 2:00 pm. Break 
• 2:00 pm – 2:45 pm. Breaking Up with Bad Configs: Modernizing Alma for an Always-Changing Library 
• 2:45 pm – 3:00 pm. Break 
• 3:00 pm – 3:45 pm. Alma Spring Cleaning Checklist: A Guide to a Tidier Alma  

Note: Schedule times are approximate. Schedule may shift slightly during the event.  

To Create is Human? Applying AI to a University of South Florida Cataloging Workflow. Natalie Kazmin, Special Collections Catalog Librarian, University of South Florida; Skyler Schultz, Cataloger, University of South Florida.  

The literature surrounding generative AI in metadata creation remarks distinctly the lack of experimentation and practical application among all the ifs, hows, coulds and shoulds that dominate the conversation. University of South Florida catalogers conducted an experiment measuring the human cataloging workflow against the Alma AI Metadata Assistant. This presentation discusses the successes and failures of generative AI in the function of metadata description, and acts as a call to action for more experimentation in the discipline for informed decision making with AI going forward.  

Breaking Up with Bad Configs: Modernizing Alma for an Always-Changing Library. Annelise Friedman, Library Specialist – Access Services, Nevada State University; Maggie Harris, Systems Librarian, Nevada State University.  

Alma configurations without consistent oversight can become bloated, redundant, or misaligned with current workflows, leading to inefficiencies, errors, and increased maintenance challenges. This session will walk attendees through a systematic approach to auditing, restructuring, and standardizing Alma configurations to ensure long-term sustainability and alignment with changing library operations. We will share a phased Alma remediation initiative that will address legacy configurations alongside changes in staffing for system maintenance and workflow management, with a focus on maintaining, improving, and future-proofing inherited system settings 

Alma Spring Cleaning Checklist: A Guide to a Tidier Alma.  Curran Riley, Shared Systems Manager, Universities of Wisconsin; Katie Sanders, Library Systems Administrator, Universities of Wisconsin Madison Campus.  

The Universities of Wisconsin are 13 four-year schools that have engaged in a number of cleanup and consolidation projects over the eleven years we have been on Alma. After a brief history of how UW has changed (and its impact on Alma), we will go over our tools and provide tips, as well as our philosophy of embracing minimalism and keeping it simple when it comes to configuration. Our consortia consolidation projects came about by necessity but also helped simplify staff workflows. We will share the benefits of tidying up Alma (including Resource Sharing and Rapido) which include increased security, cost savings, and a simplified staff workflow.