Alma
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198 results found
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Add 245 subfield n to the letter XML node for title
Many letters display the name of the title using the node notificationdata / physitem_display / title. This field contains a subset of subfields from the MARC field 245 to display the title of the work.
We receive complains from our users regarding missing book title number in mostly textbooks. The missing number is available in the MARC field 245 subfield n and is an important part of the title. For example:
245 10 |a Prisma Physik |n 1
245 10 |a Deutsch |n Drei
245 00 |a Prisma |n 1
245 10 |a <<Die>> Sprachstarken |n 2 |b…65 votes -
We would like the ability to manage course reserves reading lists and courses in bulk. Currently, it appears that we can only delete them o
This is about allowing Course Reserves course and reading lists to be able to be managed in sets and deleted in bulk.
We would like the ability to manage course reserves reading lists and courses in bulk. Currently, it appears that we can only delete them one at a time and have thousands of old outdated ones. This could either be done in the Mange Fulfillment Sets or just Manage Sets and then we would want a way to delete them too with a job.
65 votes -
Add warning to "Scan In Items" and "Shipping Items" for certain item policies
We would like to suggest the implementation of a pop-up for "Scan In Items" and "Shipping Items" to alert staff when they are about to process an item with a restrictive item policy (e.g. 63, 67, 68, etc.).
For example, when a request is placed at the title level and there are multiple items with differing item policies, this pop-up would be helpful to avoid processing the wrong item.
62 votes -
Add all patron-delivered letters to Selected Patron Letters opt-in/opt-out choices
It would be very useful to list all letters that are delivered to patrons in the Selected Patron Letters options. Letters like Loan Receipt and Borrowed By are conspicuously absent, but we have many patrons who don't want to receive an email every time they check something out. Others patrons do, so we don't want to globally disable these letters.
The fact that Selected Patron Letters includes letters that require patron action (Overdue Notice, Recall letter) but not letters that are more informational (Loan Receipt, Borrowed By) seems backwards. Regardless, all patron-delivered letters should be available for opting in/out.
61 votes -
Make Manage Fulfillment Activities the same thing as Manage Patron Services
I found this idea buried in a comments section and felt it deserved its own idea since my team keeps encountering the same problem.
Iain Gray said: "After finding a user it would be useful if when clicking on Manage Fulfillment Activities you were presented with the same screen as though you had used the Manage Patron Services screen. Instead you do not see the option to pay Fines and Fees from here and have to re-enter users details again."
I'll add that it would be great if Manage Patron Services and Manage Fulfillment Activities were the same page…
60 votes -
Configure courtesy loan letters by location or item policy.
It would be nice to be able to configure courtesy loan letters by either location or item policy, so that letters aren't generated for a 2 hour reserve.
60 votes -
Add Patron Limit threshold block for number of lost items
It should be possible to automatically block users based on a set threshold for the number of items they have checked out that are in a lost status.
Currently, the Patron Limits table only contains delinquency threshold blocks for Max Overdues, Max Cash, and Max Overdue Recalls.
Not all institutions automatically charge a lost item replacement fine for lost materials. For some lost items, the replacement cost may be below the Max Cash block threshold for the user’s user group, but the library would still like the user to be accountable for/aware of their lost status materials; being unable to…
59 votes -
Add "Scan In Items" functions to "Return Items" processing
We would like to build "Scan In Items" features to the "Return Items" function, i.e. "Return Items" should be able to process requests, expired holds, and items in transit between locations the same way as "Scan In Items" does. This includes the radio button for automatically printing slips (configuration should be able to define a default)
58 votes -
Autocomplete
It would be extremely helpful for ALMA to have an autocomplete feature when searching for title, author or even call number. Many times you can be off by one letter and ALMA won't find the item.
58 votes -
Flag items requested by another user in Patron Services screen
Our desk staff would like to be able to see at a glance which of the items a user has on loan has been requested.
We often have a scenario where a user presents at the desk with a blocked account. We can tell that one or more of the books they have on loan must have been requested, but need to 'View queue' for each of them to find out which ones have a request placed on them.It would be useful to be able to see this information at a glance.
Perhaps a column in the loan list in…56 votes -
Make Add an Item Work Order Configurable
When an "on-the-fly" item is created, loaned and returned by a patron, the item is automatically flagged for routing to the Acquisitions Work Order/Workflow.
In our institution, the ACQ Department does not work on these items, and this should not be the workflow that the materials are routed to, but we are unable to change the work order type.
We'd like to be able to configure or change the work order type for these materials, and also for the check-in process to more clearly delineate and note that the item is an "on-the-fly" item in particular. In the current process,…
55 votes -
Waitlist functionality for short-term loans
It would be helpful to have a waitlist functionality for short-term loans (i.e. for reserve items). This would allow patrons to put their name on a list to be next in line once a short-term loan item has been returned. Alma would send an email/text to the patron when the item is returned telling the patron they have a specific window of time (e.g. 5 minutes, configurable by the institution) to check out the item. During that window of time no other patrons can check it out. After the window of time has expired the next person on the waitlist…
54 votes -
Activate recalls by user group
Allow libraries to modify recall rules based on each user group.
Currently recalls can be turned on or all for all user groups only. It would be beneficial for many libraries, especially academic, to be able to modify recall rules by user group. As an academic institution, we would like the ability to allow certain patron groups to recall books, but block recalls by our visitor and community patrons, or patrons at other institutions. This would help prevent situations where a student working on a project or thesis from having their books recalled by a visitor patron who would like…
54 votes -
Only send Ful Item Change Due Date Letter for changes to due date
We've run into a real problem with recalls. We can set some items to be recallable, and others to not be recallable. However, both categories get their status changed to "Recalled." Non-recallable items simply don't get a change to their due date. Despite this, patrons who have checked out non-recallable items still get the Change Due Date letter, with a notice that tells them their due date has not actually changed. This letter currently is triggered by recalls with due date changes, recalls without due date changes, other due date changes, or recall cancellations. We think this is too much…
52 votes -
Enable automated floating collections by allowing 'reshelve without transit' rules to update temporary library and location
Enable automated floating collections by allowing 'reshelve without transit' rules to update temporary library and location values
Currently, implementing floating collections between libraries requires manual intervention to set or update the temporary library and location values.
I would like to see functionality added to the 'reshelve without transit' rules definition, to allow the setting of a temporary library and location, in addition to preventing the transit of the item.
51 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…
51 votesThank you again for sharing your idea and for the thoughtful input you've provided. When we first discussed it, I was optimistic about exploring it further,
While I had hoped to prioritize this enhancement, it hasn’t gained the traction we typically look for to move forward. As a result, it’s unlikely to be implemented in the foreseeable future. That said, your feedback remains valuable, and I’ll continue to keep it in mind as our roadmap evolves.
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When paying specific fees by selecting fees from the list of fees, the sum of the selected fees should be calculated and displayed immediate
When paying specific fees by selecting fees from the list of fees, the sum of the selected fees should be calculated and displayed immediately before leaving the list when entering the select button. As of now the sum is displayed only after leaving the list via the select button, which is too late for a correction of the selection.
48 votes -
Preventing Change of Due Date (Recall) when placing Physical Item Request
When placing a physical item request for an item that is checked out, we typically want to recall the item, but there are sometimes exceptions to this. For these exceptions, we would like to have the option, while placing the request, to prevent the recall and simply add the requester to the queue without changing the due date.
47 votes -
Better flexibility / more weekly options when scheduling Fulfillment Job (i.e. Fees/Fines Notification Job)
Hello,
we would like to be more flexible, to have more options to choose from when scheduling the Fees/Fines Notifications Job (or even better: all Fulfillment Jobs).
Currently, we are using the only weekly option available (every Tuesday at 11:00), but since some of our legally relevant Fees/Fines Notification Profiles are set to printed letters, the offered time slot could not be much worse.
When we have signed and sealed the letters, there is no chance at all to get them out by the same day's post.
Please add at least another weekly time slot in the early morning hours,…
47 votes -
Ability to change the default for reading room to NOT FINAL - Second Attempt
In August 2018 Release we got a solution for the original idea, which made things worse for us. Previously the default for the reading room was set to "Final" check in. The original idea suggested to change this to "Not Final" to help avoid a scenario where for example resource sharing items are returned accidenty to their home campus when users are not finished with them.
As of August 2018 Alma remembers the last selected choice and keeps it for the next action ("sticky approach"). Since eventually every book loaned in the reading room has to be returned "final", now…47 votes
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