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Alma

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181 results found

  1. Show 'chapter/article title' and 'chapter/article author' in completed digitization requests and in Analytics

    For copyright reasons, we need to track whether users have requested an article from an issue or a chapter from a book from which they have already received a scan.

    Completed digitisation requests in Alma do not show the chapter/article title or chapter/article author, only the overall title requested. The data is not available in Analytics either.

    This means that we are reliant on a local spreadsheet to track what users have already requested.

    We would like to see the data available on the completed requests and in Analytics.

    70 votes
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  2. Consultation in Alma FF

    There is no easy solution in Alma FF to indicate that an item has been consulted in the library and that it can be reshelved.

    When items are placed on the hold shelf and are briefly consulted in the library, there is no easy way to directly reshelve them in Alma FF. The workarounds are far from ideal and are very labour-intensive when facing a large amount of physical requests: cancel the request (but this is not correct and influences our request statistics) and reshelve via the expired hold shelf, update the expiry date to yesterday (but this requires a…

    159 votes
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  3. View pick-up location in Requests tab of Manage Patron Services

    It would be helpful if pick-up location was displayed on the Requests tab under Manage Patron Services. Currently, in order to view pick-up location when helping users at the desk, staff need to click '...' and 'Edit' in order to view that part of the request.

    Attached is a photo of the current interface where staff would like to see pick-up location as an optional column display.

    6 votes
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  4. Enhanced “In Transit” flow/functionality

    We encounter a lack of important functionality to efficiently follow-up on In transit requests (physical item requests to another pick-up location). We would like the functionality to be extended with the following additional features:
    1. A patron facing letter when the requested item is placed “in transit” by the owning library, so that the patron is better informed of the status of his request.
     We want to create a situation that once a requested item is being transported, there is in fact no way back and a fee needs to paid.
    2. To make it impossible for patrons to…

    122 votes
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  5. More default fields for digitization requests

    Please add three fields to the default fulfillment request pick slips: 1) the unique Request ID number associated with each fulfillment request, 2) a scannable barcode for the Request ID number, and 3) All possible notes/comments fields that patrons might use to submit information about digitization requests. (Sometimes the article/chapter information prints on the pick slip, and sometimes it doesn't). Thanks.

    12 votes
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  6. Include past digitization request information in borrower request tab

    In the Manage Patron Services area, you can see current and past loans, current and past returns, but once a digitization request has been processed, it is no longer viewable from the borrower record.
    Being able to see past digitization requests from each patron would help immensely with being able to identify when a patron has already received material from a certain resource. Being able to see previous request details in a list (including title, author, barcode, pages already provided) will help identify if providing additional requests from the same title may exceed the allowable copyright limit for material from…

    59 votes
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  7. Ability to create new forms with custom fields

    We would like to suggest the allowance to create new forms to support library functions such as accessing the closed stack books, or doing book paging between internal libraries. These may require special fields that are only native to the libraries and are not in the existing forms.

    Also, adding extra custom fields for additional information into the existing forms (like purchase request ( can provide more functionality, for example, the priority ranking of a request.

    1 vote
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  8. Expired Hold Shelf to Alma mobile

    It would be practical to get the Expired Hold Shelf lists to Alma mobile so we didn't have to print them on paper.

    128 votes
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  9. Add a note to patron field in Digitization Department

    It would be handy to have a way to include a note to the patron when fulfilling digitization requests. For example, a patron request chapters 1 and 17 from a 12 chapter book.

    I could process their request for chapter 1 and include a note saying "According to Fair Dealing guidelines we can only scan and send one chapter from this book. There is also no chapter 17 in this book so I've only included chapter 1."

    Or if the original material has been highlighted or scribble on I could attach a note saying "This marked-up version is the only…

    1 vote
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  10. More humanity in the letters: add the name of librarians who take care of the requests

    Automatic processes in Alma make library staff save time and efforts, but also significantly reduce human interactions with patrons (very few emails are personally sent by librarians to patrons). Lots of Alma letters sent to patrons are nameless and only signed by generic service names like "Acquisitions Department", "Circulation Desk", "Library ABC" etc. (see @@department@@ in the Labels). Some staff members suffer from this dehumanization in the processes.

    We want to give a name and a face to a request when patrons get notified and would like to enrich some Alma letters with the name of the librarian who took…

    118 votes
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  11. add modification date to "Monitor Requests & Item Processes"

    It would be helpful to have the modification date, not just the request date as filter on the "Monitor Requests & Item Processes" page. Now it's almost not possible to find items which are e.g. stuck in hold shelf processing.
    The request date does not allow to filter for items/requests which have been processed recently.

    10 votes
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  12. Add display options for item copy ID and volume numbering to list of patron's requests

    Currently when counter staff views the list of a patron's requested items at Fulfilment module, the list does not display the item copy and volume numbering. This makes it very inconvenient when the requested titles consist of multiple copies or volume numbering. Please consider adding these 2 display options.

    Refer to this part of the product documentation (currently there are no display options for item copy ID and volume numbering):
    https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/010Alma_Online_Help_(English)/030Fulfillment/020Circulation_Desk_Operations/040Managing_Patron_Services#Viewing_a_Patron's_Requested_Items

    Thank you for considering!

    1 vote
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  13. Block the patron (several days) if they do not pick up a physical item that was requested and that they have reserved on the hold-shelf

    Create a new TOU request type Policy type to sanction the not pick up of the item from the hold-shelf

    31 votes
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  14. On-shelf requests for specific user groups

    We have limited human resource for picking up the items for on-shelf requests. Therefore, we hope this service is only available for patrons in need, for example, disabled patrons or distinguished professors/researchers.

    Therefore, we need Alma to support “specific user groups’ to “request for on-shelf items”, and “pick up in different library/campus only”. It would also be nice if we can limit the number of on-shelf requests in a period of time.

    This will definitely help librarians to provide precise service efficiently!

    146 votes
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  15. Item barcodes on Pick from Shelf List

    We would like to be able to include item barcodes as a field on both the Pick from Shelf and the Print Slip reports. Since holds are placed on a specific item in almost all cases, it makes sense to be able to confirm you are retrieving the correct copy from the shelf. Many of our locations work in a way that requires them to search for specific items rather than simply by title or call number and having barcodes associated with holds would also make this work easier

    11 votes
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  16. Include patron name on hold pull list

    We'd like to be able to see the patron name for the hold request on the "Pick From Shelf" list. (See attached image.)

    1 vote
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  17. Send borrowers an email when they place a request

    It would be good if, when someone places a request on Primo, they could be sent an email receipt to confirm what they have requested. (This is an idea for both Alma and Primo, as I assume the email would be sent from Alma).

    Not only would it be useful for users to have confirmation (a lot of webforms will send users a copy of their completed form, so people half-expect one from Primo/Alma), but it would allow libraries to include important messaging.

    eg. at the moment, January 2021, we're in lockdown again, so the email could ask people to…

    35 votes
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  18. Work Orders: package of required enhancements

    Work orders are useful but often cumbersome and don't work as required. A package of enhancements/fixes would make them much more useful and useable:

    • Adding notes when creating work orders in bulk. This would enable having fewer work order types as explanatory notes could be used instead.
    • Makes notes more (immediately) visible when scanning in (pop up message?). Again would enable fewer work order types as items could be easily catergorised according to explanatory note upon receipt at managing department.
    • Select recall/not recall at work order placement (like pick from shelf), not baked into type (and in…

    227 votes
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  19. Digitization Slips to automatically print

    We would like for the digitization slips to automatically print upon scan in of an item (like the slips print for Hold requests).

    At the moment it can be manually printed but we would like an opt in to automatically print.

    Our workflow is:

    Item placed on pick list, collected from shelf.
    Item Scan In
    If a hold, slip printed
    If a digitization, no slip, even if automatic print is ticked yes.

    As we have a number of sections within the library using the workflow, it is easier to print the slip and have all details on it rather than…

    11 votes
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  20. Store information about request history

    It is currently not possible to see whether an item has previously been requested, only that it's checked out. I want (often) to be able to tell: how many times throughout the history of this item has it been requested and in what way (page from shelf, recall, something else). It's super weird to me that this isn't present in the fulfillment history at least, and probably in analytics.

    38 votes
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