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.
44 results found
-
Readability of the Predicted items menu for daily and weekly serials
When predicted items are generated for the current year, daily and weekly serials get several pages of items.
It is then very difficult to find in the list the latest issue to receive. It would be helpful to have some options, for example only display the 5 or 10 latest items.1 vote -
Add Barcode as option for searching within the Receive New Materials list
We are too small of an institution to use the workflow of Keep in Dept, so we receive the item once all processing is completed and the item is ready to go into the stacks. We do it this way to prevent Alma from sending availability notices until the material is truly ready for use. Having a barcode search option will make this process a lot easier and reduce errors.
1 vote -
Bulk receiving via CSV/Excel
Receiving a list of items via a bulk excel spreadsheet or CSV file. This would allow users to avoid mistakes when receiving a large inventory one at a time. For example, when adding an item to a holding record, if all items are issues but the default option is book, there may be human error and they forget to change it to issue. if it was an excel spreadsheet, they could simply fill the cells and copy them for the entire column to insure it would all be issues. Needed columns for magazine receiving at minimum should be month, year,…
1 vote -
Ability to change barcodes directly from the list of items (under Receive – One time / Continuous - Manage items)
In the list of items in the receive screen it looks as though barcodes are editable directly from the list, this is not the case, as you manually must edit each item to change the barcode. It would mean less clicks if you could edit the barcode directly from the list, it would also be less confusing since it in the current design looks as if you should be able to do this. In the current design you can edit the text in the barcode field in the list, but any changes are not saved.
If the ability to change…
21 votes -
Creating expected items in status acquisition without using prediction pattern
In the current workflow for periodicals, when using predicted items, there is no easy way to add just one predicted item. This means that if we make a mistake or there is a change in the publication pattern, for example we receive the wrong item/delete the wrong item, or that a periodical is published as a combined issue (ex: issue 2 and 3 together, as number 2/3 2023), there is no easy way to fix it. We must then create predicted items for that whole year again which involves editing “next predicted item information” in the metadata editor, opening and…
29 votes -
Make it possible to choose to which Work Order Department an item goes after receipt (not just Acquisitions)
We have noticed that our real-life workflow doesn't align well with Alma's behavior regarding receiving items. In practice, when we receive an item, it promptly moves to a different department – transitioning from acquisitions to the catalog department. In Alma, however, achieving this requires manual department adjustments each time an item is received. While we are familiar with options such as "keep in department," "shelf ready," and work orders, none of these options yield the desired outcome or contribute to streamlining the process. Our objective is to minimize unnecessary clicks, and it would greatly enhance the user experience if items…
33 votes -
Physical item editor Receiving date
In the Physical Item Editor Receiving date field, in order to add today's date, one must click on the calendar, then click on the day. Since today's date is already highlighted in the calendar, I would like the option to hit Enter to fill in the field. Even better would be the option of typing a t (for example) and having today's date autofill.
3 votes -
Have options to 'receive', and 'order and receive' from within POL
Would be great to when dealing with monos to be able to receive directly from the sent POL, rather than having to do it through the separate receiving page. (Would also be great to have the option to be able to "order and receive" at the same time)
6 votes -
1 vote
-
claims - serials - populate item description
It will be very helpull to include the item description in the list of claims.
1 vote -
Items should not be able to be checked out if they haven't been received
If an item isn't fully received at the receiving desk and is still showing as in the Acquisitions Tech Services department, items should not be able to be checked out to patrons, or they should be automatically marked as received and a work order created so they are routed back to the Acquisitions Tech Services department once returned. If items aren't fully or correctly received due to human error but are checked out to patrons, they may never be thoroughly received because they are likely to just be re-shelved when they are returned. It shouldn't be possible to complete fulfillment…
2 votes -
View All Holdings button - place in a prominent position in Receive>Manage Items page
From the Manage Items page in Alma Acquisitions Receiving, the View All Holdings button is not visible from the Manage Items page. It requires clicking into one individual item and then the button appears in the right-hand panel. This is too many steps down.
3 votes -
Editing receiving note from Received Items List
The Receiving Note (top right) displays when we are receiving one-time or continuous orders in the Received Items List but we cannot edit the note from this screen. We need to go back to the 'Receive New Material' list, click on the POL number, and edit the POL from there.
It would be useful for us to be edit the Receiving Note from the Received Items List while we can see the list of received and unrelieved issues.42 votes -
expected receipt date
Is it possible to display the expected date of receipt for each copy as an additional category in the list of copies?
In this way, when booking the receipt of issues, one can immediately see whether, for example, the forecast pattern still fits or whether a journal has changed its publication date, for example. I think it's helpful. Thank you, Monika Lange, UB Paderborn2 votes -
Receiving Note - Ability to see when the note was last modified and by who
It would be great if there was a way to see which operator added Receiving Note and when the note was added. We are trying to go through and update receiving notes, and are coming across some that we would like to get answers for. However, we aren't sure who placed the note in the first place and it could have been years ago.
Being able to see who modified the receiving note last and when it was created would allow us to follow-up with the appropriate people or realize they no longer work with us, and move forward on…0 votes -
Receiving Note - Ability to see when the note was last modified and by who
It would be great if there was a way to see which operator added Receiving Note and when the note was added. We are trying to go through and update receiving notes, and are coming across some that we would like to get answers for. However, we aren't sure who placed the note in the first place and it could have been years ago.
Being able to see who modified the receiving note last and when it was created would allow us to follow-up with the appropriate people or realize they no longer work with us, and move forward on…5 votes -
Seasonal Serials Prediction Patterns only work when beginning with Spring.
Area of concern: Serials Prediction in Alma.
Currently, when creating 853 predictive patterns, there are limitations to titles with a seasonal frequency. Attempting to create seasonal prediction patterns, whose enumerations begin with anything but Spring (21) results in errors, such as skipped issues, or improper numbering.
This limitation means that many journals with seasonal patterns cannot have their issues correctly predicted out through Alma’s automated process. Staff members are stuck manually creating/receiving issues for these titles. This decreases efficiency, increases the likelihood of human error, and prevents Alma’s claiming process from working correctly.
What should be changed: As Serials Processors,…
47 votes -
Allow User to Customize how many Issues are Predicted.
Area of concern: Serials Prediction in Alma.
Currently, Alma’s 853 Predictive Patterns and the 'Open Predicted Items' function, are only capable of predicting an entire year’s worth of serial issues at one time. This is often not ideal, and libraries would benefit from being able to predict more, or fewer issues, as needed.
What should be changed: As Serials Processors, we would like the option to customize how many issues are predicted at one time. This would benefit the workflow by allowing more issues to quickly be created at once; when retrospectively creating item records for pre-migration issues. It would…
8 votes -
Show Interested User name directly in the PO Line list when receiving new material
Currently, for PO Lines with interested user(s), we can only see a green "V" in the PO Lines list when receiving new material in the Acquisition Department.
Since we increasingly use Purchase Requests to order new material, we almost always have IUs in the PO Lines. These IUs can either be patrons or staff members.We'd like to be able to see straightaway the IU's name(s) when receiving, either directly or when flying over this green "V".
It would save us a few clicks to be able to see quickly the Interested User's name. And it is important for us:…86 votes -
Notify receiving operator how many item(s) under the same POL has/has not been received
During partially receive physical items, we suggest the system can auto notify receiving operator that how many item(s) under the same POL has/has not been received.
3 votes
- Don't see your idea?