Alma
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We would love to be able to respond to every idea that is submitted, but this is not feasible. We are, however, committed to responding to the most popular ideas—those that have received the most points.
For more information please review our FAQ and guidelines. Thank you.
61 results found
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Add ability to map more bibliographic fields to Analytics
There is currently the option to map 10 fields as Local Param 1-10. This was raised from 5-10 more than two years ago in January 2019. We used the last of these for required data at the start of 2021, but still did so reluctantly as there's been no sign of coming development to expand the number again. More fields are needed, so we'd appreciate this being considered.
76 votesDear Colleagues,
we expect to have this development ready for you by the end of 2024.
All the best,
Shoshana
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Make ACTL reports dynamic
In a network environment usually the majority of Institution-Zone-BIB-records are linked to the Network Zone. Currently the ACTL reports are not comprehensive – see Ideas Exchange “Make reports in the ACTL of a network environment comprehensive”.
Once the IZ-ACTL comprehensively reports on the records representing all the resources available in a particular library, it would be of great help if the reports within a NZ environment were dynamic. Meaning that if one of the staff users of any of the Institution Zones has already corrected a NZ record it is linked to, and subsequently has deleted the item in their…
75 votes -
Analyse and normalise special characters and diacritics in Alma records
In order to enable correct and consistent automatic linking between Bib. headings and authority records, Alma's treatment of diacritics needs to be normalised, and made configurable according to the Authority file being used. In addition there are special characters in use (such as quotation marks), that have more than a single graphic representation that should be normalised in order to prevent discrepancies in Almas' match and link mechanisms.
SFC#00533813, SFC#00375370 relate to the issue.66 votesDear all, we would like to update that in addition to what was done in the May 2020 Release, we are looking at ways to allow libraries to select if diacritics should be taken into account in the linking process. We are exploring adding diacritics matching as a condition in the authority control rules to support flexibility, setting this for specific authority vocabularies only.
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Search by any standard number in Search External Resources
We would like to be able to search WorldCat by any standard number (UPC, ISMN, music publisher number, video publisher number, etc.) through the Search External Resources tool. This would be particularly helpful for locating audio-visual resources without having to search in the native interface.
54 votes -
Pick the fields that can be exported to Excel in a set
Currently, we are limited by a pre-determined list of fields that we can export from a set. E.g. If i have a set of "Electronic Collections" or "Electronic Portfolio" records, why can't i export the URL field? Many other useful fields are also not available. Is this a challenge technically?
53 votesAfter reviewing this idea, Alma Product Management has decided to update our development plans to include this suggested change. Thank you for your contribution
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Report on Holdings 866 subfields x and z in Analytics
We use the 866 $x to store campus affiliation notes, which are used to direct materials to the Archives at point of removal. Currently you must go through a multi-step process, including exporting bib records with holdings info and using MarcEdit to extract the 866 $x notes. Then you must merge the data in Excel or Access in order to associate the note with the weeding report generated from Analytics.
52 votes -
Automatically populate date and end time in booking request form
When placing a booking in Alma or Primo you need to choose a starting date then a starting hour followed by a starting minute. You then need to choose an end date then an ending hour and an ending minute. This is a lot of clicks to place one booking.
It would be nice if the end date, hour and time could be automatically populated based on the Terms of use of the item (so if the loan period is 2 hours and the start time is 2:30 then the end time could be automatically populated to say 4:30). If…
42 votes -
Allow for "open in a new tab"
We should be able to have more than one page in Alma open in different tabs. Now, when I click "open in a new tab" the page that opens is the Alma homepage. This makes many of my workflows difficult.
38 votesDear Customers,
I'm happy to inform you that the ability to sign in to Alma via multiple internet browsers in parallel and work with Alma on various use cases to increase productivity, is planned and will be available soon.
You can also see it in our roadmap:
Thanks,
Uri Beladev
Platform Product Manager
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Payment option on user Fines/Fees tab
We would like to include a "Pay" option in the drop down list at the bottom of user Fines/Fees tab (see attachment). There are many times that patrons want to know their fine details. The staff have to show the patron Fines/Fees tab. If the patron wants to pay after that, the staff has to exit the Fines/Fees tab to pay the fine, which we think is wasting the time. Why don't have a "Pay" option in the dropdown on the Fines/Fees page?
37 votesIt will be possible to pay from the user Fines and Fees tab,. This will be possible if there is a ‘Currently At’ desk that allows payment.
It will be possible to either pay a line or a balance.
This will enable payment and waiving to be done easily from the same UI.
Thank you for this great idea !
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Add vendor Preselect.media to Upload Electronic Holdings workflow
We found out that vendor Preselect.media regularly moves metadata in Alma CZ to different e-collections. We think it might be more efficient to implement an integration profile Upload Electronic Holdings for Preselect. This would eliminate a lot of manual work.
One of our libraries was in contact with Preselect about the moved metadata and suggested to them the implementation of the integration profile. They thought it was a good idea and are already in contact with Ex Libris.
Could Ex Libris inform the community about the progress of this integration through this post?
Many thanks!
29 votesHello community,
We plan to add Preselect to our list of vendors that are supported in the "Upload electronic holdings" process.
It will be possible to update Preselect electronic holdings by automatically retrieving institution-specific holdings using an integration profile.
Before running a Preselect integration profile job, the electronic collections need to be activated.
Relevant electronic collections in Alma CZ:
- PreSelect All eJournals (CZ collection ID: 615470000000000269)
- Content-Select Global Alltitles (CZ collection ID: 614910000000000005)
Thanks,
Tamar Fuches
Alma product team
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Add Codabar barcode symbology support to the Alma Mobile app
Our library is in the process of migrating to Alma and we have hundreds of thousands of items with Codabar barcodes on them. We would like to use the Alma Mobile app to reduce paper and increase efficiency, but the Alma iOS app does not currently scan the Codabar symbology.
We are considering options such as purchasing Bluetooth scanners, but as there are other apps in the Apple App store which do scan codabar barcodes, it seems like this feature could be added to the Alma Mobile app. And this would be very helpful.
24 votesThank you for this idea!
We are currently working on a new version of the Alma Mobile app and will be adding iOS support for Codabar barcodes within the next year.
Mike Dicus
Product Manager-Alma Mobile -
Dark Mode/Theme
Like the title suggest, A dark mode/theme for Alma.
Having the white background can be very sore on the eyes, and many prefer the reverse ( black background / white font ).23 votesAs part of our roadmap, we are planning to add a high contrast color scheme each user can switch to when needed.
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When entering dates of coverage in portfolios, make it all click through tabs
Before the Nov. 2016 release, when you entered dates/vol/issue numbers in the portfolio coverage, each space could be clicked into, then tabbed to the next one. Now each time you enter a year, the system saves and you must click into the next box. This slows down the work and adds more clicking. Can we go back to just tabbing until the final save?
14 votesAfter reviewing this idea, Alma Product Management has decided to update our development plans to include this suggested change. Thank you for your contribution
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Please add Bloomsbury Dress and Costume Library
Please add Bloomsbury Dress and Costume Library to the Alma CZ and CDI.
https://www.bloomsburyfashioncentral.com/bloomsbury-dress-and-costume-library9 votesHello,
This collection will be added as part of the March 10th 2024 revision.
Kind regards,
Tamar Ganor
Content Product Manager
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MODS metadata profile: add forms for deposit
Currently the MODS metadata profile does not include a "forms" tab on which to design a patron deposit form. Without this tab, we assume that patron deposits are limited to Dublin Core or MARC. This request is submitted both to get feedback on the viability of such a change (would it be a relatively small or large effort for Ex Libris), and to gauge the degree of demand for this feature among other libraries.
7 votes -
Bring back alt+keystrokes
In MDE pushing the alt key now moves between menu items. However, this means it is no longer possible to use alt + keystrokes to enter characters such as © etc, something that was infinitely more useful.
5 votesWe are working on aligning the new Alt+number keyboard behavior in MDE with the Alt+number settings in Alma, so that it will be controlled by the same user preference (under the user in the top menu, UI preferences > Shortcuts customization > Alt + number). As a result, individual users who wish to disable this (e.g. those working with external Alt+number keyboard shortcuts) will be able to do so across the system, including MDE.
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Consistently include Use Cases for new features listed in Release Notes
We'd like to see a use case or rationale for all Release Notes, in addition to the description of the new functionality and any necessary documentation. This could be something you could link to from the Release description, in the interest of brevity. While these are sometimes provided, their inclusion is currently sporadic.
Often while reviewing Release Notes with colleagues we find ourselves wondering exactly what problem is being solved and why someone would want to enable or adopt a new functionality. Including the use case or rationale for each enhancement could increase buy-in and understanding for a wider user…
3 votesThank you for the idea, we will work towards adding use cases for the relevant new functionality that is introduced as part of the release notes
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Support multilingual caption files in Alma digital (i.e., allow upload of more than one caption file for a video)
Allow library staff to upload multiple caption/subtitle files for a single video - and then allow users to choose which caption file they'd like to use.
Our specific use case involves a video where the producer of
a film we licensed provided us with a caption file in English and a subtitle file in Spanish, but we can only upload the English captions due to AlmaD's one-file limitation.3 votes -
Add function to suppress a bib record from a title search results list
Add the ability to suppress or unsuppress a bib record directly from search results without having to open the record in the Metadata Editor. It's inefficient to have to have to open and close the MDE for that single task.
3 votesThis is planned as part of the move of the staff search to the new UX.
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Quick cataloging - chosen language should be written to created bib
The language that used when quick cataloging a new portfolio should be used in the created bibliographic record
1 voteWe would like to perform this change as part of our roadmap. Your input is most welcome
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