Skip to content

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.

  • Hot ideas
  • Top ideas
  • New ideas
  • My feedback

30 results found

  1. Change physical items - New holding will keep call number type configured in the physical location

    On behalf of the Product management team we would like to understand the need and use cases of the following feature (which it's needed was raised by several customers) your feedback is most welcome.

    Conceptual solution:

    The field 852 indicators 1 will be taken from the physical location configuration when
    moving items.

    https://www.loc.gov/marc/holdings/hd852.html

    https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/010Alma_Online_Help_(English)/030Fulfillment/080Configuring_Fulfillment/030Configuring_Physical_Locations

    0 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    A new configuration option was added in Alma. When holdings records are created by changing an item's location, if the location has a call number type configured, the call number type of the new holdings is updated to match that configured for the new location

    For more information see August Release Notes


  2. New Metadata editor- add holding from the Add inventory menu

    Hello to eveybody,
    yesterday watching the webinar "The Alma New Metadata Editor - Webinar Sept. 08, 2020" we found out the in the add inventory there isn't the possibility to add an holding.
    This is not useful for libraries that don't do the order in Alma, but simply add an holding after cataloguing a book.
    The possibility of adding an holding from the menu View inventory should be present.
    The Add inventory should have the default holding template included in the menu.
    If the operator wants a specific template it is clear that the operator must choose the right holding…

    255 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  3. Add option to configure Process Types for Physical Items

    Alma Process Types and the associated Base status of 'Item not in place' are hardcoded, as are the automated workflows within Alma and the flow-through to Primo for the availability to be set to 'Not Available'.
    This is extremely limiting and there are scenarios when a Library might want their physical resources to still be discoverable in Primo ie not suppressed, but also be marked as Unavailable, such as if there were a temporary mould outbreak. This ensures that users are aware that we hold resources already, so they don't waste time submitting purchase requests or thinking that we have…

    100 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    Completed  ·  Dana Moshkovits responded

    Library staff now have better control over process types: placing and removing institution-level work order types using the Change Physical items information job, searching by work order type and excluding a specific work order type from discovery. The work order types were enhanced to streamline workflows, allowing handling in bulk and without scanning items in.

    his is especially useful when the library needs to mark a large set of items as unavailable in a way that's reflected in discovery

    For more information please see Alma May Release Notes 

  4. Add replacement cost to physical inventory in repository import profiles

    Currently the repository import profile capabilities for adding physical inventory does not include replacement cost as an option. We are cataloging a large number of expensive equipment using an import profile. The change physical items job only works so long as the cost is the same. Cost varies across these items, meaning multiple sets of items would need to be created for the change physical items job or items would need to be updated individually. The ability to include replacement cost in the import profile would be hugely helpful and simplify this process.

    48 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  5. List of items- add column for item policy

    This idea has already been submitted. It received 201 votes and is listed as completed back in Feb 2019. However, the item policy column still doesn't seem to be visible in the 'List of items'.
    It would save a lot of time to have an instant overview of the ratio of item policies for a title, without having to go into every record individually and write them down.

    1 vote
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  6. In Process Items_Move items in batches to the next work order

    In the page of “Manage In Process Items”, we would propose
    1) Adjust the number of each page so that more items can display on the page. That would be the maximum the staff can tick “Done” at one time.

    2) Given above, ideally we'd want to move a pack of items by jobs to the next work order.

    3) Sort out “Barcode”

    245 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  7. MDE : holding field 852 - display only the libraries in the scope of physical inventory operator

    When creating a holding in MDE, the cataloger has to choose a library in the list of libraries of the institution for completing field 852 $$b.
    The full list of all libraries of the institution in displayed for the user, even if the user has a physical inventory operator role with a scope on only one library.
    As a result he has to scroll down the list of libraries to find his own library.
    It would be much quicker if only the libraries in his scope were displayed.

    93 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  8. Collaborative Collections Retention Item Designators

    Collaborative collecting agreements are becoming increasingly critical for libraries in managing collections and access across institutions. Formal agreements require libraries to commit to hold specific items. Currently, there is no way to mark this in records unless in free text notes, and no system checks in place for items to prevent accidental weeding of items that libraries have committed to retain. This idea outlines system functionality to ensure that libraries can safely manage committed collections.

    • Two new fields in Alma Items: a Committed to Retain check box and a Retention note free text field (minimum of 200 characters)

    •…

    141 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  9. Add Statistics Notes to Search Indexes

    Currently Statistics Notes in item records are not among the options of search indexes in Alma. Recommend adding them. Evidently they can only be searched in Analytics now.

    327 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  10. Add generic physical material types to the current table

    My libraries circulate various pieces of equipment from microphones, to musical instruments, to 3D printers, to lockers, and the current physical material type table does not suffice without adding a slew of item policies or location codes, which is messy and makes the resulting analytics more painful than it should be.

    Ex Libris support states that "The [physical material type] codes cannot be changed, because Development needs them for statistics across libraries." However individual libraries will have items that they need to distinguish between either for fulfillment rule purposes or our own statistics.

    I would like there to be about…

    355 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  11. Removal of item from itemized set freezes the set

    When an item is removed from an itemized set, the remaining items no longer have the "remove" button as being clickable, and the titles also become grayed out. So if you want to continue editing/removing individual items from a set as you work on the set, you have to back out of the set, select the set again, and then go to the next record you want to remove. What should happen is that when you click "remove", it should remove the item from the list, and then allow you to continue removing items, right on down the list.

    1 vote
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  12. Make "Physical Item Condition Field" options configurable

    The new feature "Physical Item Condition Field" was a good idea.

    However, the condition options should be completely configurable. Currently the only options are:
    Brittle
    Damaged
    Deteriorating
    Fragile

    The current condition options seem extremely similar to each other.

    Each institution should be able to completely configure this field, including hiding the field entirely, adding/removing options, hiding/displaying options, renaming/relabelling, reordering the options.

    240 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  13. Allow suppression of items from Discovery in Primo

    I would like a check-box in the item record that would allow staff to suppress individual items from discovery in Primo. This could be used for libraries that want to use only a single discoverable "dummy" item for placing requests on physical journals in Primo as well as libraries that prefer not to have items discoverable by patrons until they are done with processing and are available on the shelves. In an ideal world, if a holdings record only had suppressed items, the holding record would also not display. Moreover, if all items on all holdings attached to a bibliographic…

    390 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    Completed  ·  Dana Moshkovits responded

    Library staff now have better control over process types: placing and removing institution-level work order types using the Change Physical items information job, searching by work order type and excluding a specific work order type from discovery. The work order types were enhanced to streamline workflows, allowing handling in bulk and without scanning items in.

    his is especially useful when the library needs to mark a large set of items as unavailable in a way that's reflected in discovery

    For more information please see Alma May Release Notes 

  14. Add "Alternative Call Number" to the "Change Physical Items" job so that this field can be edited in batch across sets of item records.

    Many fields in the Physical Item record can be edited in bulk using the Change Physical Items job, but "Alternative call number" isn't included in the options for this job. We would like to be able to edit (and delete) these fields across large numbers of records without having to do it manually for each one. Please give consideration to including this field in the Change Physical Items job.

    199 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  15. Retain the List Of Items filters after an item edit

    We would like the filter settings (for Status, Location or Library) to be maintained when an Alma user edits an item from the List Of Items and then saves that change.

    This is because many of the titles our staff members tend to work with in List Of Items frequently comprise core texts, of which we may have several dozen copies in various places and at a number of different statuses. It is therefore very time-consuming for staff to have to re-apply their settings for every transaction.

    The following is typical of the workflow during which our staff encounter the…

    6 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  16. Ability to create a set of holdings records in Alma

    Currently in Alma you can conduct a repository search to create a set of physical titles (bibliographic records) or physical items (item records). Although you can do an Advanced Search of certain data fields in holdings records, there is no functionality to create a set of holdings records.

    (You can create a set of titles or items and run the manual jobs: change physical items or change holdings information. Unfortunately, the set of physical titles include all holdings records linked to the bibliographic records (including holdings records you may not want to change). And you don't always have search criteria…

    151 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  17. Adjust awkward grammar on "Withdraw Items" pop-up menu

    Referring specifically to the attached pop-up menu screen-cap (taken on July 24, 2017):

    At the top of the image: "Last items of this holdings were deleted or moved" (plural)

    Further down: "Last item of this holdings record was deleted or moved" (singular)

    This is very confusing -- did the user delete a single item, or several items? Also, the grammar is awkward ("this holdings were").

    Please either make one pop-up menu for a single item deletion and another pop-up menu for a multiple item deletion -- or else adjust the grammar of the existing pop-up menu to say something like:

    5 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  18. Make more sort fields available in Physical Item Sort Routines

    Functionality wanted:
    Make more sort fields available in the Physical Item Sort Routines, to include all enumeration and chronology fields, as well as receiving date and material type. Retain sort routine selection in all areas of Alma, including when receiving.

    Use case: Currently the limited options available in the Physical Item Sort Routines do not allow for serial items with no volume or number to be displayed in correct chronological order. Instead they sort alphabetically by month. Serial items published daily do not sort in correct chronological order, because the chronology field J is not an option in the Physical…

    156 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  19. Make Notes tab and process type option in item available upon creation

    Currently when creating a new item, only the general information tab is available until the item has been saved. We often add notes at the point of cataloging, so it would be very useful to have this tab available at creation rather than having to save it and reopen the item to add notes. Similarly, the Process Type dropdown is not available until the item has been saved. This would also be helpful to have available without having to save and re-open the item. See attached document for before and after screenshots.

    48 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  20. Ability to delete items by scanning-in

    At present items can be withdrawn/deleted in two ways:
    1. Manually, an item at a time (or multiple items only if in same holding)
    2. In bulk, from a set created either directly from search results or from a spreadsheet.
    There is no way to rapidly delete items-in-hand.

    A feature in Alma to quickly delete items-in-hand, in quick succession, with the same safeguards as when using existing deletion methods.

    The attached document gives more details and a mock-up of such a feature - it would be a big bonus to those of us with a lot of weeding to do!

    180 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
← Previous 1
  • Don't see your idea?

Feedback and Knowledge Base