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.
1730 results found
-
Alma Split View Hides Main Menu, Affecting Cloud App Access
After rolling out the new UI for the “All Titles Search” with split-view functionality, the main menu is no longer persistent. The menu (which contains location, notifications, cloud apps, etc.) disappears when entering split view.
This is particularly problematic for institutions that frequently use cloud apps in their workflows—for example, when editing physical items. While cloud apps can be pinned before entering split view, this workaround is not satisfactory. Pinning apps adds unnecessary clicks and is easy to forget, resulting in frequent toggling in and out of split view.
As a consequence, many staff members have stopped using cloud apps…
36 votes -
Rapido – Popup warning when local/consortium copy exists
We have more than 4 millions documents in our consortia, and a Rapido service. Sometimes patrons order a document via Rapido while this document is available locally. This can be choice or an error. To avoid errors, Rapido should display a configurable popup whenever a patron submits a Rapido request for an item that is available in our consortium. The popup would warn the user that a free local loan exists and ask for explicit confirmation before sending a paid ILL request, for example: “One or more copies are available from your library network for free loan. Would you still…
18 votes -
Have multiple pickup locations available in Primo when requesting items from the same library
Our wish is to be able to offer several pickup locations in Primo for the same library when documents are available for loan (not linked to a reading room desk) without having to create a new virtual library. The library must be able to configure the visibility of these pickup locations based on certain user criteria (e.g., user group).
For example, a library may offer a special room whose access is reserved for teachers and doctoral students. The library would like doctoral students/teachers to be able to choose this room as their pickup location at the time of the request…
27 votes -
Securing Alma access by two factor authentication (2FA) in combination with time-based one-time passwords (TOTP)
2FA and TOTP are common and standard methods for securing access to IT systems. These concepts should be implemented in order to secure access to Alma also. A respective implementation should replace the multi-factor authentication currently implemented in Alma since it lacks security for at least the following reasons:
- Sending a link by email is insecure since email hardly can be viewed as a secure transport medium.
- Using email for transferring a second factor hardly allows to keep the second factor as being independent from the device on which Alma access takes place.
- The link which is…170 votes -
Keep patron physical requests active even if “deliver to” relationships are temporarily interrupted
Our consortia has several libraries connected through “deliver to” relationships, allowing patrons to request and pick up physical items from different sites.
Currently, when these relationships are interrupted — for example, due to maintenance, or temporary closures — all related patron requests are automatically cancelled, and patrons receive cancellation notifications. That makes them angry.
We would like Alma to preserve these requests in an active or pending state during such interruptions, so they can be fulfilled automatically once the relationship is restored, without requiring patrons to place new requests.
This would improve the user experience and reduce administrative workload for…
33 votes -
Display all assigned PO lines in task list
With the introduction of the new PO line layout, it became possible to manually assign PO lines, regardless of their status. However, the Alma task list (tasks requiring your attention) still only displays assigned PO lines, when they are in review. Assigned PO lines with different statuses tend to be overlooked.
It would be very useful for ACQ staff to be able to see all PO lines assigned to them in the task list. This could also encourage more use of the "Assign To" function.
21 votes -
Alma collections: Allow to add multiple titles from network zone
We very much appreciate that the idea Alma collections: Allow to add from network zone (https://ideas.exlibrisgroup.com/forums/308173-alma/suggestions/44841430-alma-collections-allow-to-add-from-network-zone), which allows to add NZ records to IZ collections, could be developed. However, we think the usefulness of this feature would be greatly improved if it was possible to add more than one record at a time, for example via sets.
68 votes -
General Electronic Service Batch Import and Export Option
Background:
The General Electronic Services (GES) provides essential options to customize the view and features for patrons. Currently, the GES only allows service availability rules to be added one at a time. However, libraries often need to manage extensive and complex availability rules, sometimes with very little notice.Request:
Add the ability to add, update, or remove service availability rules in bulk using an Excel or CSV file. In addition, provide the ability to export service availability rules in a format compatible for future uploading.Why:
* In cases where we're providing alternate access to a resource, we may need…14 votes -
Flag AI created resources
As an electronic resources access manager, I would like to propose functionality be created to identify when a resources was created all or partially by artificial intelligence.
More content is being created by AI and it is getting harder and harder to detect. Gobi now has "AI-generated" as a tag under "interdisciplinary topics" when purchasing books (screenshot attached) and it would be great if Alma could do something similar to alert users when they are looking through institutions catalogs of resources.
I am not sure if this idea is for Alma only or Alma and Primo but it would be…
21 votes -
Improve Alma Analytics to allow for more straightforward and accurate COUNTER usage data and Cost Per Use reporting.
Improve Alma Analytics to allow for more straightforward and accurate COUNTER usage data and Cost Per Use reporting. To address the following:
Simplify CPU Calculation: Improve the system to allow straightforward calculation of Cost Per Use (CPU) by including financial data in the usage subject area, eliminating the need for SQL joins.
Increase Data Update Frequency: Increase the frequency of usage data updates in the e-inventory subject area and fix the date of the job, as the current monthly updates, which have variable dates, cause scheduling issues.
Enhance Data Accuracy: Address inaccuracies and missing data due to limited match points…
133 votes -
Monitor request page
Currently on the Monitor requests page for the Activity status filter there are the following options:
Completed; Active, All. It would be useful to have the option that filters requests with status Rejected68 votes -
Allow a NR to run with the PTC job
TL;DR:
We would like to have the ability to run a normalization rule whenever the PTC modifies a record.Background:
In November 2024 Ex-Libris added a new functionality to the PTC job:
MARC 21 Preferred Term Correction Can Flip Headings with Cross-Reference in Different Field
https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Release_Notes/2024/Alma_2024_Release_Notes?mon=202411Problem:
The PTC job only changes the first indicator correctly when the PTC job changes a field into 630.
in all other cases, the existing indicators remain.
We opened a case and spoke directly with Ex-Libris, but were told that the PTC job runs as intended, and that not handling the indicators is not…46 votes -
Add faceting to the results of the Receiving Workbench
Sometimes serials do not have identifiers, but have very common words as their title, such as Historian, People, or Taxation. The ability to use facets to narrow results lists, beyond just the library would make this much easier to use.
21 votes -
Add "Send Query to Patron" option to Digitization requests menu
Currently there is not option to ask the patron about a current Digitization request. These requests are often submitted with little or vague information and a way to contact the patron for clarification is needed. The "Send Query to Patron" option for this purpose is included under "the ellipses" for Resource Sharing requests. Why does it not appear for Digitization?
55 votes -
Allow prioritization of item requests based on library proximity and capacity
In our consortium, several libraries are linked through relationships. However, these libraries differ in distance, staffing levels, and delivery times.
We would like Alma to provide a way to prioritize the fulfillment of requests based on configurable criteria such as library proximity, staff availability, or delivery speed (as actual transit time rules are not efficient enough).
This enhancement would enable the system to route requests for multiple available items to the most suitable library — ideally the closest or best staffed — thereby streamlining daily operations and improving service efficiency across the consortium.20 votes -
Allow for Almost Arbitrary Conditions in General Electronic Services
Currently for a general electronic service we can only create conditions based on metadata already contained in the given BIB record. Please provide a way to let the link resolver check any condition which is computable within a reasonable short amount of time!
Example Use Case:
Our library network offers a web service taking any given ISBN, ISSN or Union Catalog ID and returning 'true' if there is a BIB record for the corresponding resource in the union catalog and at least one of the network's libraries has an item of this resource available for ILL. Otherwise the web service…71 votes -
Acquisitions: Add the possibility to contact the vendor when manually closing a POL
We need a way to discontinue a standing order before completion and to inform the vendor about it via email directly from Alma.
"Cancel" does have the possibility to inform the vendor about the cancellation. However, by cancelling a POL, Alma is designed to completely undo the order by detaching already received items from the order and cancelling active requests on these items (this caused us huge trouble in the past, so we can’t use it).
"Close" is currently lacking the possibility to contact the vendor via email directly from Alma.
So we suggest that an option to contact the…38 votes -
Data visualisation: Open for saving canvas templates.
Data visualisation: Open for saving canvas templates.
As described in https://docs.oracle.com/en/cloud/paas/analytics-cloud/tutorial-custom-themes/index.htmlThis makes it easier to standardise look and feel of institution reports.
17 votes -
Additional Local Parameter fields in Local Authorities dimension
There can be up to 100 local fields 9xx in the "Local Authorities" and none of them can be retrieved in Analytics. Could it be possible to have, at least, the same number of "Local Params" as in the he "Physical Items" or the "Titles" table?
https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/010Alma_Online_Help_(English)/080Analytics/Alma_Analytics_Subject_Areas/Physical_Items#Local_ParamThanks.
141 votes -
Automatically Trim Leading and Trailing Spaces in Patron Names
When staff create or edit patron records, Alma currently accepts leading or trailing spaces in the first name and last name fields. These spaces make the name technically unique, so the duplicate warning mechanism does not recognize the record as a duplicate. This results in poor data quality, as duplicate records are created without warning.
Proposed enhancement:
• Automatically remove any leading or trailing spaces in the first name and last name fields when a patron record is created or updated.
• Alternatively, prevent staff from entering leading or trailing spaces in these fields from the beginning.This enhancement would…
24 votes
- Don't see your idea?