Ex Libris APIs

Name: Ex Libris APIs API
Brand: Ex Libris APIs
Availability: InStock

★ Only Publicly Available OpenAPI DocumentEducationLmsapiKey10 EndpointsREST

For Agents

Manage Alma task-list workflows for academic libraries: list and act on printouts, requested resources, and resource-sharing lending requests through the Alma REST API.

Connect the Ex Libris APIs to your agent

Jentic One is a self-hosted execution layer for AI agents. It lets your agent call the Ex Libris APIs, or any other public or private API you need. You set the rules, the agent never sees your credentials, and every call is logged.

Install Jentic One Beta (Self-Hosted)

Jentic One Host machine

# On the machine that will host your Jentic One instance:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jentic/jentic-one/main/tools/install.sh | sh

Agent machine

# On the machine where your agent runs (keep this separate from the instance):
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jentic/jentic-one/main/tools/install.sh | sh
jentic register       # connects your agent to your Jentic One instance

Jentic One is in public beta. The setup above keeps your agent separate from the instance, which is what you want before using real credentials: an agent running as the same OS user as Jentic One can read its stored keys directly. Just evaluating? A single local install is fine to start. See the secure deployment guide for the tiers.

Capabilities

What an agent can do with Ex Libris APIs API.

Retrieve queued printouts waiting at a circulation desk for batch action

Act on a specific Alma printout by ID to mark it printed or reprint it

List requested resources awaiting fulfilment in a given library or location

Bulk-act on requested resources to fulfil, decline, or transit them

GET STARTED

Start building with Ex Libris APIs API

Explore with Jentic

View OpenAPI Document

Use for: List all printouts waiting at the circulation desk in Alma, Retrieve the details of a specific Alma printout by ID, Act on a batch of requested resources to mark them as fulfilled, Find all lending requests currently in the resource-sharing inbox

Not supported: Does not handle bibliographic record creation, user management, acquisitions, or analytics — use for Alma task-list workflows (printouts, requested resources, lending requests) only.

Jentic publishes the only available OpenAPI document for Ex Libris APIs, keeping it validated and agent-ready.

Jentic publishes the only available OpenAPI specification for Ex Libris APIs, keeping it validated and agent-ready. Ex Libris (a ProQuest company) provides Alma, the cloud library services platform used by academic and research libraries worldwide. This subset of the Alma REST APIs covers task-list workflows: managing printouts, requested resources, and resource-sharing lending requests. Authentication is by API key passed as a query parameter under the /almaws/v1/task-lists/ path family.

Use Cases

Patterns agents use Ex Libris APIs API for, with concrete tasks.

★ Circulation Desk Printout Automation

Retrieve queued printouts from Alma and process them in batch from a desk client. The /almaws/v1/task-lists/printouts endpoints let staff list pending printouts and POST actions to mark them printed, reprinted, or cancelled. Useful for libraries that want to attach a label printer or kiosk to the Alma queue without operating the Alma staff UI.

Call GET /almaws/v1/task-lists/printouts to list pending printouts, then POST /almaws/v1/task-lists/printouts/{printout_id} with action=printed for each one returned.

Requested-Resources Fulfilment Workflow

Pull the requested-resources task list and bulk-act on items as they are pulled from the shelf. GET /almaws/v1/task-lists/requested-resources returns items awaiting fulfilment and the corresponding POST endpoint accepts bulk actions to update their state. This supports custom shelf-pulling workflows or dashboards that sit alongside Alma rather than replacing it.

Call GET /almaws/v1/task-lists/requested-resources for library_code=MAIN, then POST the same path with a list of item IDs and action=fulfilled.

Resource-Sharing Lending Inbox

Resource-sharing librarians can use /almaws/v1/task-lists/rs/lending-requests to retrieve the lending inbox and POST actions to ship, reject, or update requests. Combined with the requested-resources endpoint this lets a library run interlibrary loan triage from a custom dashboard or scheduled agent.

Call GET /almaws/v1/task-lists/rs/lending-requests filtered to status=Created, then POST the same path to ship the first ten requests.

AI Library-Operations Agent via Jentic

An AI assistant embedded in a library staff portal uses Jentic to call Alma task-list endpoints based on natural-language requests like "clear today's printouts" or "reject all expired lending requests." Jentic resolves the intent to the correct Alma operation and supplies the API key from the vault rather than the agent's context.

Through Jentic, search 'list alma requested resources', load the GET /almaws/v1/task-lists/requested-resources operation, and execute it with library_code=MAIN.

Key Endpoints

10 endpoints — jentic publishes the only available openapi specification for ex libris apis, keeping it validated and agent-ready.

METHOD

PATH

DESCRIPTION

GET

/almaws/v1/task-lists/printouts

Retrieve queued printouts

POST

/almaws/v1/task-lists/printouts

Bulk-act on printouts

POST

/almaws/v1/task-lists/printouts/{printout_id}

Act on a specific printout

GET

/almaws/v1/task-lists/requested-resources

List requested resources

POST

/almaws/v1/task-lists/requested-resources

Act on requested resources

GET

/almaws/v1/task-lists/rs/lending-requests

List lending requests

POST

/almaws/v1/task-lists/rs/lending-requests

Act on lending requests

GET

/almaws/v1/task-lists/printouts

Retrieve queued printouts

POST

/almaws/v1/task-lists/printouts

Bulk-act on printouts

POST

/almaws/v1/task-lists/printouts/{printout_id}

Act on a specific printout

GET

/almaws/v1/task-lists/requested-resources

List requested resources

POST

/almaws/v1/task-lists/requested-resources

Act on requested resources

Why though Jentic?

Three things that make agents converge on Jentic-routed access.

Credential isolation

Ex Libris API keys are stored encrypted in the Jentic vault. Agents receive a scoped, short-lived credential at execution time and the raw apikey never enters the agent's prompt, memory, or logs.

Intent-based discovery

Agents search Jentic by intent (e.g., 'list alma printouts' or 'act on lending requests') and Jentic returns the matching Alma operation with its query and body schema, so the agent calls the right endpoint without browsing the Ex Libris Developer Network.

Time to first call

Direct Alma integration: 2-4 days for API key provisioning, region-specific base URL handling, and bulk action error parsing. Through Jentic: under 1 hour — search, load, execute.

Related APIs

Alternatives and complements available in the Jentic catalogue.

Complementary

Google Books API

Google Books supplies bibliographic metadata that can enrich Alma records

Use Google Books for public bibliographic lookup; use Ex Libris APIs to act on holdings and tasks inside an institution's Alma tenant.

Complementary

Zoho API

Zoho covers helpdesk and CRM workflows for library staff queries that Alma task lists do not cover

Pick Zoho for patron support tickets and CRM; pick Ex Libris when the work is fulfilment, lending, or printout queue management inside Alma.

Alternative

Sage API

Sage handles institutional accounting workflows separate from Alma

Choose Sage when the task is institutional finance; choose Ex Libris when the task is library fulfilment or task-list management.

FAQs

Specific to using Ex Libris APIs API through Jentic.

Why is there no official OpenAPI spec for Ex Libris APIs?

Ex Libris does not publish an OpenAPI specification for its Alma REST APIs. Jentic generates and maintains this spec so that AI agents and developers can call Ex Libris APIs via structured tooling. It is validated against the live API and kept up to date. Get started at https://app.jentic.com/sign-up.

What authentication does the Ex Libris API use?

Authentication is by API key passed as a query parameter named apikey. Keys are issued from the Ex Libris Developer Network and scoped to specific Alma areas (Bibs, Users, Tasks, etc.). Through Jentic the apikey is held in the encrypted vault and injected at request time so it never appears in agent prompts or logs.

Which Alma areas are covered by this spec?

This spec covers the Tasks area only — printouts, requested resources, and resource-sharing lending requests under /almaws/v1/task-lists/. Other Alma APIs (Bibs, Users, Acquisitions, Configuration) are separate and not included in these 10 endpoints.

Can I bulk-act on requested resources?

Yes. POST /almaws/v1/task-lists/requested-resources accepts a body describing the action and the items to apply it to, returning a per-item result. Use it to fulfil or decline multiple requests in a single call rather than iterating.

How do I clear today's printout queue through Jentic?

Run pip install jentic, then search 'list alma printouts', load the GET /almaws/v1/task-lists/printouts operation, execute it, and for each returned printout call POST /almaws/v1/task-lists/printouts/{printout_id} with the appropriate action. Jentic supplies the apikey at execution time.

Which region's base URL should I use?

This spec targets api-eu.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com. Ex Libris also operates api-na.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com (North America), api-ap.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com (Asia-Pacific), and api-cn.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com. Use the host that matches the institution's Alma data centre.