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.
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50 results found
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Reprint the slip for physically received copies
In "Fulfilment > Resource Sharing > Borrowing Requests > Physically received by library" the option to reprint the slip for physically received copies (e.g. because the printout did not work) is missing. In the submenu there is no option to reprint the slip. In "Fulfilment > Resource Sharing > Lending Requests > Shipped physically", however, there is an analogous option for reprinting the slip. This is exactly what we would like to see in Borrowing Requests.
71 votesThe Print Slip bulk action now enables the library staff to reprint received or returned slips in bulk.
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Add library code to Resource Sharing Shipping Slip Letter
With Rapido, our smaller libraries are receiving more courier requests from all over the country, and they don't have all of these library codes memorized. The library codes are not available on the Resource Sharing Shipping Slip Letter, but are used by our courier service provider as an identifier for shipping to correctly route the documents. Currently, the code must be looked up by hand if you do not know it. Therefore, we would like to print the library codes on the Resource Sharing Shipping Slip Letter. However, this field is not included in the letter data (XML/XSL). We ask…
81 votesThe partner code and name are found on both the shipping and the return letter, see also May 20203 release note - https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Release_Notes/2023/Alma_2023_Release_Notes?mon=202305BASE
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Allow resource sharing request labels to be deleted
When you're adding a request label to a resource sharing request in the new Alma resource sharing reqeust list interface, you see a list of all the labels you have previously added to requests. Unfortunately, it's not possible to remove labels from this list, so you always see every label you've ever created, including labels with typos and labels that were created by mistake. We would like to be able to remove specific labels from this label list.
87 votes -
Opening General message from Resource Sharing record should automatically put the cursor in the text field.
Opening General message from Resource Sharing record should automatically put the cursor in the text field.
Currently, it just opens a pop up, whether from the Edit > General Message button or the three dots (...) > General Message option -- these have different UIs but neither put the cursor in the text field, which is the intuitive action.
1 vote -
Make message that displays when resourcing sharing service not available a modifiable label
Currently most fields on the resource sharing request form can be renamed via the labels interface. However, when a user cannot place a resource sharing request because of fulfillment policies (e.g. their user group or they have exceeded a limit) the message that displays cannot be modified either by ourselves or by support.
Making it a modifiable label would be consistent with other fields and would allow libraries to edit this to, for example, indicate the most common reasons for being unable to access the service and to give contact details for getting support.
11 votesIn case of blocked Primo’s Blank ILL request, the error message “Resource sharing request service is not available” will be from now on a MashUp label which can be customized and translated.
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Choose more than one facet in Lending requests and Borrowing requests
Currently In Alma there is no option to choose more then one facet in the same category in the pages Lending requests and Borrowing requests.
for example I can't choose to watch Created lending request and Renew requested at the same time.
It will be very helpful if it works.19 votesThe new UI for Resource-Sharing Borrowing Requests and Lending Requests Task Lists has been released in August 2022, see the 'Borrowing Requests and Lending Requests' section in the release notes. Among many other features, this new UI allows for multiple criteria to be selected in each facet category, providing more flexibility in the creation of a filtered request list.
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"All" tab for searching in Task List (Borrowing and Lending
We can see the "All" tab in the Reading Lists Task List for Leganto. Would like similar for Borrowing and Lending for Alma RS instead of having to go through Assigned to me, Unassigned and Assigned to Others. More efficient to search in one place when multiple people manage RS.
47 votesThe new UI for Resource-Sharing Borrowing Requests and Lending Requests Task Lists has been released in August 2022, see the 'Borrowing Requests and Lending Requests' section in the release notes. Among other features of the new UI, activity status information is a facet , enabling searching for requests by specifying multiple activity statuses.
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Attach copy in Borrowing Request
We would like to be able to attach a PDF article that has been supplied by another library, into a borrowing request in Alma RS to send to our client rather than using our email, similar to the way you can with Lending Requests.
Currently we have to email all PDFs outside of Alma RS.
3 votes -
Push Requests to ILLiad should include comments in the resource sharing request.
Referring to the new feature in Alma Nov (2019) release, the new feature for pushing resource sharing request to ILLiad via API lacks some important features to make it useful.
Most importantly, comments in the Resource Sharing request did not pass over to ILLiad. This feature exists when using email to push request to ILLiad. It's missing when using API.I would hope you could improve using API to push requests to ILLiad and make it feature parity using email method.
61 votesAso of the May 2022 release, the request note is also sent to ILLiad when a borowing request is exported. See 'ILLiad Borrowing Request Notes' on https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Release_Notes/2022/Alma_2022_Release_Notes?mon=202205BASE
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Allow personal delivery requests to be converted to resource sharing requsts
Currently, Alma does not allow personal delivery requests to be converted to resource sharing requests. Library staff have to change the pickup location from personal delivery to a physical library, convert the request to a resource sharing request, and then change the pickup location back to Personal Delivery. Can this be changed so staff can convert personal delivery requests to resource sharing requests without having to change the pickup location?
29 votesAs of Alma July release institutions can convert ‘Hold’ requests to ‘Resource Sharing’ requests if the pick-up location is personal delivery and the resource sharing library supports personal delivery.
For more information please see:
https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Release_Notes/2021/Alma_2021_Release_Notes -
Display of the RS Request Number in the patron's requests tab in Alma and Primo is missing
We have problems with our communication to our patrons when resource sharing borrowing requests are affected.
In the requests tab in the patron's account in Alma there is no possibility to display directly the request number (External ID) which is outstanding in the SNLP workflow. The staff at the circulation desk has to click 3 times (place in queue, barcode, resource sharing request) to see the related number to identify the correct borrowing request. After that you have to copy the number to put it in the search box of the borrowing requests after you have chosen the desired search…67 votes -
Add Job Category as an input parameter for the Borrowing Resource Sharing rule
Why this is desirable:
To facilitate personal delivery for a subset of a user group (online or distance learners, for example), Alma needs an additional input parameter in the Borrowing Resource Sharing rule. Due to additional cost implications for these patrons and the delivery of their requested items, we do not want to offer this service to all users with a certain user group. Giving these patrons a separate user group, where all other loan, request, etc. rules are identical other than the personal delivery setting adds an undesirable level of complexity to the existing fulfillment rules and patron groupings.…19 votesCompleted as part of the February release.
Alma has enhanced its borrowing resource sharing rules to include Job Category
For more information please see Release Notes
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RS Borrowing Requests – changing format before sending request
We would like the ability to change the format of a request before sending it to a Partner – e.g. from book/book chapter to journal/journal article or vice versa.
As our patrons don’t always know, or pay attention, to the actual source format, they often submit their requests with the wrong format, which our staff would like to fix before sending to Partners.
197 votesThe ‘Change RS Requests Type’ cloud app does just that – supports changing the request type for resource sharing requests from ‘book request’ to ‘article request’ and vice versa
See https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/appcenter/change-rs-requests-type/
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Let's get the INN-Reach API working with Alma
The INN-Reach API is out, has been out for awhile, and other ILS vendors (Bywater) are quickly making this available in the systems they support. Resource sharing via INN-Reach is important to many Alma libraries and the DCB alternative many of us have spent a lot of time and energy to set up (while waiting for the API) is costly, backward, and inefficient technology.
25 votesAlma now supports an API based integration with INN-Reach (also know as D2IR).Alma January
for More information please see Alma January Release Notes
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Improve usability of 'Automatically Print Slip' in Resource Sharing
When receiving Resource Sharing Borrowing items, the 'Automatically Print Slip' option is only remembered for the current session, which leaves this vital function open to error.
This could be improved in one of the following ways (in order of preference):
Option 1: Provide a configuration option in one of the code tables to set the default (this would also be desireable for all similar functions elsewhere, such as in RS Lending).
Option 2: Make the last selected option persist across sessions so our staff can set it once and not have to remember to set it every time.
Option 3:…
216 votesThe Automatically Print Slip option in the resource sharing receiving interface was enhanced. This option is used when printing the Resource Sharing Receive Slip Letter when receiving a physical item. It now retains the last value you selected for this option.
For more information please see https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Release_Notes/2021/Alma_2021_Release_Notes -
Run Update BLDSS Requests job more frequently/at better times
The Update BLDSS Requests job runs at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., which is effectively once a day. It needs to run more frequently and at more sensible times, i.e. 2 + times during the working day, between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., so that Event Type updates from the BL are more frequent and timely.
4 votesThank you for your idea, the functionality is available as of the March release:
You may now send an asynchronous resource sharing request to the British Library using the BLDSS API without a successful locate result. If a match is unsuccessful because the locate process fails or if the locate process was not run, the request can now be sent.
For more information please Alma March Release notes:https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Release_Notes/010_2019/Alma_2019_Release_Notes -
Make Query to Patron Letter use addressFrom like any other letter
The Query to Patron letter functionality for Borrowing Requests in Alma has recently been reimplemented to use the standard mail configuration in Alma. By some reason an exception has been made for the "addressFrom" setting, where it instead still uses the default address for the Resource Sharing library.
This is counter intuitive, as the addressFrom value is still configurable for the letter, only it doesn't have any effect. I'm still surprised my case (#00609529) was identified as a documentation issue and not a bug.
If you like us has selected to not implement a separate Resource Sharing library, this also…
21 votesAs of the May 2023 release, you can set the default 'sent from' email address to be different from the main library email address. When rs_use_addressfrom_letter_param (Fulfillment Configuration Menu > General > Other Settings) is set to true (default false), instead of letters being sent from the Preferred Email Address set in Fulfillment > Library Management > Contact Information, the email is sent from the letter configuration addressFrom (Configuration > General > Letters > Letters Configuration).
See https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Release_Notes/2023/Alma_2023_Release_Notes?mon=202305BASE
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Ship digitally
We find the digitization workflow for Resource sharing tedious, and would like to have a shortcut directly from action menu, like for item and non-returnable.
This would be a new action from the Lending request: Ship digitally.
From there you should get the option to add a file, and ship it digitally to Borrowing library.
Please see attachment for illustration.
420 votesRequested functionality is not available in Alma September release, for more information please see:
https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Release_Notes/010_2019/Alma_2019_Release_Notes#Ship_Digital_Content -
Add Closed Library Management Policy Rule to RS Borrowing TOU
Currently, when a borrowing request item is received, the due date of item is set by the lender's TOU. If the due date falls on a library close date, the due date remains unchanged. This causes the problem when clients are misled by the due date and would visit the library to return the item even though the library is closed. We would like to add in the Closed Library Management policy type to the RS Borrowing TOU so that we can indicate in the event the due date of the RS request falls on a library close date, Alma…
29 votesAs of the April 2019 release renewing a resource sharing request considers the resource sharing library opening hours and sets a renewal date according to them.
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A borrowing library should be notified when a lending request is put on a waiting list
Scenario:
A library receives a resource sharing request (lending request), and the borrowing library asks to be put on waiting list if the wanted item is on loan. When the request is put on waiting list, the borrowing library should be automatically notified. This could for intance be by change of status on the Borrowing request to "In queue".277 votesWhen an internal 'ship digitally/physically' request is placed for a lending request (automatically OR manually), a 'Will Supply' message is automatically sent (and status changed accordingly) to reflect that.
Fo more information please see Alma January RN
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