Alma
Your feedback matters to us. Help us improve Alma by telling us what you’d like to see using the message areas below. You can also can support something already posted.
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.
80 results found
-
Make the physical_condition field in the item record available in the xml of the Loan Receipt Letter
We would like to display information in the Physical Condition field of the item record in the Loan Receipt email. To do so we would need this to be available in the XML. Can this please be included?
3 votes -
Make default filters removeable or customizable
The current version of Alma (as of 8/25) automatically filters out loans, and even clicking the "loans" tab in the fulfillment center will not display them; to see a patron's loans, you have to clear a filter. I have no idea why Alma would want to hide basic loan information from users in the first place, much less make it a barrier that has to be manually cleared every time a patron account comes up. And of all the myriad things that can be customized in Alma... this isn't one of them. Please make this filter removeable or modifiable. It's…
1 vote -
Allow the use of both Fixed and Non-fixed values when setting due date policy
Faculty at our institution are allowed to check out materials until the end of summer. They are also used to renewing their materials before the end of summer so they are extended to the end of next summer. Currently the recurrence of End of Summer will change the End of Summer date to the same date next year is the same time that faculty materials are due. They cannot renew them before the current End of Summer.
I propose the ability in Advanced Policies to set due dates based on how many days before or after a certain event.
For…
1 vote -
Add Scan in message with "Cancel" option for items currently on loan
A common mistake when working with "Scan in" is to accidentally scan in the same item twice. When working with home deliveries, this means the first scan in will loan the item out to the patron, while the second scan in will return it again. This alone might be a problem, but it gets even worse when there are requests for the item. The item will either be placed on hold shelf for or even loaned out to the next patron if it was requested for home delivery. In both cases, both the new and the old patron might receive…
3 votes -
Better information design for pop-ups in the New Circ UI
When managing return items in Alma: information in the pop-up on subsequent steps in the process is difficult to read due to a small typeface. Also, not all information is relevant or, strictly speaking, correct (e.g. "item is not on loan" even when there is an active request).
We would like to see a larger font in general, or, if this is not feasible, at least the requester's name in bold typeface. This would add a much needed visual cue for staff processing returns.
The bullet point about the item not being on loan could be supressed as it offers…
57 votes -
failure to display the location of items in a user's loans
we are facing a major issue in the new User Management Interface regarding the display of loans. No matter which view we choose, we cannot see the location if there is an alternative location in the copy record.
If in the display customization I choose 'Item call number' and 'Call number', I only see what is written in the 'Item call number' and not the 'Call number'.
Even if I deselect 'Item call number,' I do not see the 'Call number.
I don’t see the call number, which is an important information that operators need to see immediately in the…12 votes -
Allow staff to manually override maximum renewal dates when renewing loans
Occasionally, exceptions need to be made to fulfillment policies like the maximum renewal dates for loans. Currently, the only way to make these exceptions is to temporarily change your TOUs. Please allow staff to manually override policies like the maximum renewal date when managing loans. Ideally, we'd like this to work for all loan types, including resource sharing loans.
9 votes -
Include a web service for renewing all loans at once in the API Users and Fulfilment
At the moment, POST /almaws/v1/users/{userid}/loans/{loanid} must be called individually for each loan. This is very time-consuming, especially in large accounts, and the general API limits must also be observed. It would be conceivable, for example, to introduce the loanid ALL, similar to GET /almaws/v1/bibs/{mmsid}/holdings/{holdingid}/items for the holdingid.
The "Retrieve Items list" has a feature, where ALL can be used for the holdingid parameter to retrieve all items from all holdings. In a similar way we could use POST /users/{userid}/loans/ALL to renew all loans.
Using POST /almaws/v1/users/{user_id}/loans as the most obvious solution is…
1 vote -
Configure return (pop-up) notes
Dear,
New Alma UI: when you now return an item that is requested, you get a pop-up with an overload of notes, most of which are not useful and which make you search quite a bit for the information you are actually looking for.
In any case, (see attachment) those last two notes are redundant. The first two are also redundant, but perhaps that second note is useful in case it concerns a lost book and no fine is generated at the time of return.
Can ExLibris allows us to configure the display of these notes? (Similar to the scan-in…14 votes -
Improve reloan limit functionality to allow restrictions by Material Type
If a user returns a laptop to one of our laptop lockers and there is another laptop in the locker already, they are able to borrow that other laptop straight away. This is despite us having a reloan limit in place to prevent an individual borrowing a 1 day loan laptop until 30 minutes have passed and a 1 week loan laptop until 24 hours have passed. Unfortunately, as the laptop locker supplier stipulates that each laptop requires an individual title record in Alma and the reloan limit works on the basis of title, the limit we have set is…
11 votes -
Enable creation of individual patron blocks for loans of specific material types
If an institution needs to prohibit an individual user from borrowing a particular type of resource temporarily, e.g. placing a temporary ban on laptop loans for that person, then there is no way to block them from borrowing items of that specific material type without preventing them from borrowing everything else as well. As a result, we are unable to apply blocks in exceptional circumstances, such as with our laptop loans service, because the block would be disproportionate and prevent the user borrowing any physical items at all. The only workaround would be to have a ‘Blocked’ user group configured…
31 votes -
Fullfillment / Manage Patron Services - Action Claim returned - Freeze loan suspensions
When claiming an item as returned, the loan’s status is changed to Claim Returned. The item’s Process Type value is Claimed Returned, and the item remains requestable and is considered to still be on loan. Due dates cannot be changed on loans in "Claimed Return" status. By default, overdue fines accumulated prior to the item being claimed as returned are applied to the patron's active balance, but no new overdue fines accrue from that point onward.
We would like the “Claim returned” action in Alma to freeze loan suspensions. No loan suspensions will be put in place once the item…17 votes -
Enhancing Security in Alma: Restricting Return without scanning the item, Claim Return, Found Functions to High-Level Roles
The new Alma Manage Patron Services, implemented in February 2025, allows any role to "Return" an item without scanning it. This function should be restricted to high-level roles only. Similarly, the "Found" and "Claimed Return" functions should also be limited to high-level roles.
Currently, WS students can access these functions with the Circulation Operator – Limited role. While we are in the process of removing the Actions Customizations from the Settings wheel, our preferred solution is to restrict access to these functions to higher-level roles.
7 votes -
Integration of Patron Age in Loan Rules
We propose that the patron's date of birth be taken into account in the loan rules of Alma's Fulfillment Units, alongside User group. This would allow the restriction of loan for certain documents to minors (under 14, under 16, etc.), ensuring compliance with access restrictions for sensitive content.
This feature would enhance loan management and ensure better compliance with library policies.107 votes -
NOT erasing Return Items page every time we leave it
Every time we leave the Return Items page, it erases the list of returned books. This is disastrous for us, so we would like to keep the list of all books returned during the day (or since logging in until logging out).
If someone benefits from erasing the list, just give us a choice whether we want it erased or not.Now let me explain why it is crucial for our work:
We work in quite small public library where Patrons can move around freely and pick books from the shelves on their own. Often they return books first and…39 votes -
In House Use Function
There needs to be a separate function for 'In-House Use'. Scan-ins for activating Holds and the Return function are being too easily conflated in our In house use statistics. For example we have Kiosks that periodically scan all of the books inside the kiosk and each time it detects an RFID tag it scans in the item which then registers it as an in-house use. Also, staff may scan in an item that they are unsure about which registers it as an In House use. All of this renders In-house use statistics unreliable. The only remedy for this is a…
4 votes -
Allow individual process types for detailed borrowing rules.
It would be helpful to enable the individual process types to configure detailed borrowing rules. We have created several process types for items, such as "Searching," "Cataloging," and "Request on Hold." However, in the fulfillment unit rule parameters, these process types are grouped with the system-generated "Acquisition Technical Services" under the "In Process" category. Consequently, we cannot select them individually as parameters, which prevents the library from setting detailed borrowing rules for specific process types.
130 votes -
Sorting of loans in the user's registry.
In the new user services interface, loans are sorted by library and it would be better if, by default, they were sorted by due date.
4 votes -
Add a ToU configuration option to block renewals only once a loan becomes overdue.
We would like to be able to prevent users from renewing certain loans in Primo once they become overdue. This is often what we want for equipment, for example.
This should not be a user-level block, but rather an item-level block. Any other items the user wishes to renew should be renewable in Primo, but we want users to have to return overdue items first.
As an illustrative example, we have items that check out for 3 hours. We want these items to be returned before the library closes each day, but we want to allow online renewals throughout the…
6 votes -
add "Return Selected" to actions currently available for moving items checked out
Along with "Renew Selected" in the patron loan page, add "Return Selected" to enable a single or global return of a loan or loans.
1 vote
- Don't see your idea?