You use it every day – seamlessly woven into your work, supporting library patrons and your institution – but as familiar as it may seem, the Ex Libris Community Zone (CZ) holds more than you may know.  Behind every search result, portfolio activation, and bibliographic record is a ecosystem of collaboration, enrichment, and ongoing management which we continue to support day to day and protect.

Here’s a look at how data flows through the Community Zone each year—and who helps keep it running smoothly.

1. The scale and benefit of the Community Zone

Ever wondered just how much data flows through the Community Zone every year?

Ex Libris has updated approximately 20 million portfolios since January 2025 and over 6 million Bibliographic records through a variety of provider feeds which consist generally of public information and non-personal data records.

These updates come from publishers, aggregators, and data sources worldwide which is largely data in the public domain. Many elements overlap, duplicate, or contain partial information, and while we adhere to a one-Bib-record rule for the Community Zone, our task is to match the various sources and build Robust and unified Bibliographic records

The content team works continuously to:

• Match overlapping Bibliographic records from different sources to ensure unique representation.
• Merge data intelligently to produce rich, comprehensive Bibliographic records.
• Enrich non-personal metadata through both MARC and non-MARC files, improving discoverability and linking accuracy.
• Normalize identifiers, titles, and subject fields.

Before a Bibliographic record reaches your Institution Zone, it has been processed, compared, and potentially enhanced to provide the most accurate and useful data possible and applicable to you. Each feed, update, and enrichment is part of a continuous cycle designed to strengthen the metadata foundation that builds the Community Zone repository.

2. Managed by the community

One of the most powerful aspects of the Community Zone is that it is not just for the community, it is also managed by the community.

When we talk about “Management Levels,” we refer to collections that the community can actively maintain. Librarians from institutions around the world contribute by adding bibliographic records, and ensuring that Open Access (OA) materials are accurately represented and easy for others to activate.

This model means that if your institution improves a record or enhances an OA portfolio, that work can directly benefit thousands of other libraries globally. The result is a living, evolving body of metadata that reflects the collective expertise of librarians everywhere.

Community managed collections helps ensure:

• Better visibility of global and regional Open Access titles.
• Continuous improvement of bibliographic and portfolio data.
• Faster identification and correction of metadata inconsistencies.

It’s collaboration at its finest: each librarian contributing a piece to a larger puzzle that supports discovery and access across the entire Alma community.

3. The Community Zone Management Group (CZMG): Policy by the community, for the community

Did you know there’s a group of librarians like you shaping up the very policies that define how the Community Zone operates?

The Community Zone Management Group (CZMG) is a joint ELUNA and IGeLU initiative dedicated to developing best practices, refining processes, and guiding policy around Community Zone workflows.

This group works closely with Ex Libris product and content teams to ensure that decisions around metadata enrichment, bibliographic standards, and community contributions are well‑informed and grounded in real library experience.

Over the years, the CZMG has played a pivotal role in several key areas, including:

• Establishing management levels to align expectations with collections maintenance.
• Evaluating AI‑driven bibliographic enrichment to enhance record quality.
• Introducing user notifications before editing CZ bibliographic records.
• Supporting CONSER enrichment to improve serials metadata quality.
• Leading webinars and authoring Knowledge Articles to keep the community informed.

What does this mean for you? The CZMG’s work directly shapes the policies, workflows, and quality standards you rely on every day in the Community Zone.

Curious who’s involved? You can learn more about the CZMG through both the ELUNA and IGeLU working group pages, which outline the group’s mission, focus areas, and community leadership.

Looking ahead

The Community Zone is more than a repository; it’s a collaborative space where technology meets community expertise. Every improvement, discussion, and policy update reflects a shared commitment to making metadata management smarter and faster to provide a great service to you.

As we look ahead, Ex Libris continues to evolve and invest where advisable in automation, AI enrichment, and community feedback loops, ensuring that the CZ remains a dynamic and trusted resource for all.

So next time you activate a portfolio, edit a record, or browse collections, remember that behind the scenes lies a global collaboration — librarians, developers, and content providers working together to keep your library’s digital ecosystem running smoothly.

Because the Community Zone isn’t just a tool you use — it’s a community you should be proud to be part of.