Alma
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132 results found
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More order type options for Additional Orders
We would like more order types to choose from when creating additional orders on a portfolio using the “Additional Order” button. Particularly, Electronic Book - One Time and Electronic Title - One Time.
Currently there are only a limited number of order types available when creating an order via this method. This creates inefficiencies, because using the Additional Order button is the easiest, quickest and neatest way to create an additional order on a portfolio.
An example of where this change would be helpful is when purchasing additional copies of a limited-user ebook. Because we don’t have the option of…
356 votesTo address the need of "Electronic Book - One Time order via the Additional Order function", Alma supports the "Additional Order" purchase type (when creating additional order for PO line type "Electronic" the "License upgrade" option will appear), this will support the flow of purchasing additional copies of a limited-user ebook.
For more information see:
Noam Fass | Alma product team
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Allow more customization on when notices are sent to Interested Users
Right now, if we add an interested user to a PO Line, they receive a notification when the book is received by the library. They often then make their way to the Access Services desk almost immediately, assuming a request was placed on the book, and anticipate checking it out. However, the title is usually still in Technical Services for end processing, copy cataloging, etc.
We would like to submit an enhancement request that this feature be more customizable, allowing us to delay the notice being sent to the interested user until the book is out of processing and has…321 votesDear community,
As stated below by Zohar Shemesh, for physical material it is possible to "keep in department" and have the letter to interested users sent only when "Done".
The description of this idea focuses on physical material. In the comments, some ideas were raised regarding electronic material.
I close this idea as the physical material part is already supported. You can open a separate idea, focusing on electronic material.
Thanks,
Tamar Fuches
Alma product manager
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Link to view record in Primo from Alma
When viewing a bibliographic record in Alma, we would like a link to appear that opens a new browser tab/window showing the record in Primo. For example, the MMSID could be hyperlinked, which would then perform a search for the record in Primo. This would enable quick identification of publishing problems between Alma and Primo as well as testing record display in Primo.
305 votes -
Add the ability to select, open, and edit more than one item record at a time.
Currently, Alma only allows one item record to be edited at a time within cataloging. To have the ability to selected multiple items, and then open them all at the same time (either in the same screen, or pop-ups) would be a HUGE time saver. Not only for catalogers, but for binding and material physical processing users as well.
226 votesAs of July 2020, it is possible to run jobs on selected items from both the physical items search and the items list, according to your roles and permissions. Note that a role at the institution-scope is required to run jobs in Alma, as they may affect items from various libraries. Repository managers, who can manage sets, can also create itemized physical items sets or add the selected items to an existing set from these pages.
For more information see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_m0zP_1JVE
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Request an item belonging to a bibliographic record for which an item is already on loan to the requesting patron
Hi,
We have dedicated librarians working on digitizations, and sometimes the item they have on loan and like to scan is not suitable for the digitzation process (notes, underlining etc).
They would then like to request another item. This request will be rejected in Alma due to policy. An item can not be requested when you already have a an item from the same bib record on loan. They would, of course, like to keep the original item on loan until they have checked if other items are more suitable.You are able to request if the items have different…
160 votesIt is possible to enable overriding the 'Patron has active loan for selected item' block ,see https://www.screencast.com/t/OwIsOHpia0fm. This option is requires a privilege to be turned on in the roles. Turning on this privilege can be done by EXL support.
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Add ORCID ID to CZ Authorities vocabularies search
Field 0247 $$a XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX $$2 orcid used in authority records and is currently not searchable in CZ authority vocabularies.
Using a unique identifier when searching for name authority records will improve the precision of authority search results. It would also save the time and effort currently invested in establishing the correlation between a name and its authority record.153 votesDear all,
The option to search by the authority field 024 $a and $z was added, and you can search it using the Other Standard identifier index.
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Add Vendor contact details to Analytics
We would like to be able to report on the Vendor contact fields of address, phone and email in Analytics.
148 votesThis Ideas exchange to add vendor contact details to Alma Analytics" has been completed as part of the May 2021 release, in conjunction with the revamping of the User Subject area.
It is possible to create a report in the “Users” subject area of all users who are contacts by filtering by the field “User Record Type” from the “User Details” folder -
Allow configuration of which columns are in the the Print Slip Report
For institutions that handle a large number of Patron Physical Item, and other request types dealing with their physical inventory, the Print Slip Report available under Fulfilment>Resource Requests> Pick from Shelf is a crucial workflow tool.
However the report output is inflexible, including columns which are irrelevant to many customers and which require hiding/deletion in Excel formats before being printed for onward process by library staff.
It would be a huge improvement to be able to configure the columns that go into this report to ensure that only the key ones are downloaded for each circulation desk's pick from shelf…
148 votesThere's a great cloud app posted by the folks from University of St.Gallen, see - https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/appcenter/print-slip-report/
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Title starts with search in Advanced Search
Change "Title Starts With" search in Advanced Search
There are situations when it's easier or more efficient to search by the beginning of the title. However, the “Title Starts With:” search in Advanced Search in Alma requires the user to know whether the title begins with an article (A, An, The) or not, and if so, which article it begins with. So users are expected to remember if a title begins with "A", "The", or no initial article in order to perform the search successfully. Why not just return both results, and let the user decide, instead of forcing them…
145 votesDear all, the title starts-with search was already updated to take non-filing characters into account, allowing librarians to search with or without them.
If for some reason you're not seeing this behavior in your environment, please open a support case with examples so this can be investigated.
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Can option for viewing 'Ready to be Paid' invoices be added to Acquisitions menu?
In the 'Receiving and Invoicing' section of the Acquisitions menu,
there are options for displaying invoices in various stages of processing: 'Review', 'Approve' and 'Waiting for Payment'. (See Alma_menu.PNG)It would be very useful to be able to display invoices 'Ready to be Paid' - i.e., which have passed the review stage and await running of the job for export to ERP, which changes them to 'Waiting for Payment' status.
Can the menu be configured to include this option?113 votesDear All,
I am setting this idea to "Already Supported" status as we have a link to 'Ready to be Paid' invoices in Alma.
Kindly,
Zohar Shemesh
Alma Product Team
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In Alma analytics, "Physical Items" subject area, add "Process Type Status" field
We would like to easily report on how many and which items are currently under each process type status (sometimes also called "work order status"). Currently, this field is only available in analytics in the "Physical Items Historical Events" subject area, and it is difficult to extract the current status of an item. See also related NERS Requests #7177, #7242
See attached file for clarification of the somewhat confusing terminology in this area of Alma
97 votesAlready Supported ·
AdminShoshana de la Fuente
(Product Manager, Esploro Repository, Ex Libris)
responded
Dear Colleagues,
As I previously wrote, you can use the Item Work Order Department Status Change folder in the Physical Items Historical Events subject area to report on "how many and which items are currently under each process type status". For current status, you can either filter by "Work Order Next Status" is empty or by "Event End Date is Empty".
As we have not heard from you since, we understand that this covers your request.
All the best,
Shoshana de la Fuente
Senior Product Owner
Library Solutions Analytics
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Show user group in the visit card, borrowing request
When pressing more details(visit card) on patron in a borrowing request we would like to see the user group. This information provide us with information that helps us fulfill the request correctly without searching for the patron elsewhere to gather the information.
93 votesPlease note the Contact Information Pop-Up configuration (configurable from Administration > User Management Configuration > Configuration Menu > General > Contact Information Pop-Up).
This allows you to configure what’s included in the visit card, and allows adding the user group.
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Ability to change Acquisition Method in POL
My understanding is that ExL cannot change the Order Line Type due to the inventory database structure. However, what about the Acquisition Method -- Purchase, Approval Plan, Purchase at Vendor System, Gift, Technical, etc? It would be extremely helpful to be able to change the Acquisition Method after an order is sent.
For example, we have some POLs that should have been Purchase at Vendor System instead of Purchase.
We had issues with a depository account where the POLs migrated as Purchase, but tracking our account balance was easier after changing all of them to Technical POLs.
We also have…87 votesThe ‘Update PO Lines Information – Advanced’ job can be used for this purpose.
Please see
exl-edu.com/01_Alma/Alma_Workflows/Acquisit.. -
Date of location change in Analytics
Analytics should allow users to run reports on the date of an Item's location change -- e.g. how many items were moved from Library A to Library B during a certain time period. This information is visible in the Item history tab; it should be made available for management reports especially now as libraries are engaged in consolidation, off-site storage, and shared print projects.
83 votesAlready Supported ·AdminShoshana de la Fuente
(Product Manager, Esploro Repository, Ex Libris)
responded
Dear Colleagues,
The idea, as presented, is now supported.
Please see my comment in the Idea Exchange for more information.
Warm Regards,
Shoshana
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Add Holdings Record note elements to Alma Analyics
Holdings note fields would be excellent for Alma Analytics Currently we can not report on 866 $x/$z or 852 $x/$z, but would very much like to. We end up exporting MARC, extracting fields into Excel, and doing cumbersome somersaults to merge those notes with circulation data for weeding reports.
81 votesThis is being closed as already supported. A lot of work has already been done on the holdings record in Alma. For example the latest comment here in the ideas exchange states
“Seconding both Katie Dunn and JMC on the need for both searching multiple instances of 852 $x and $z, as well as expanding the number of fields searchable. We currently use the more narrowly-defined fields rather than the catch-all 852 $x, but would find both expansions very helpful.”
The Alma Analytics physical items subject area includes the entire 852 field. it is in the “holding details” folder. We have also added several separate fields based on specific sub fields of the 852.
For example see this from Jan. 2018 release notes:
January 2018 Analytics
The following fields from the Physical Items > Holding Details folder are no longer marked as under construction and can be used for saved… -
Add item copy number to physical item details area of analytics
The item copy number doesn't seem to be exported anywhere in Alma analytics, and would be useful for shelf reading reports or stock checking/inventory control where you may not necessarily be able to scan a barcode in .
The suggestion would be to include it under Physical Items\Physical Item Details\Copy Number.Note: this is different from the holdings copy ID which seems to be sourced from the holdings 852 tag.
78 votesThe field “item copy ID” in the “Physical items” subject area “physical item details” folder comes from the item record and not from the holdings record. It is visible in the physical item editor in the “general” tab and is called “Copy ID”.
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Decrease time allowed between duplicate resource sharing requests
Currently, there is a forced 10 minute wait time before submitting duplicate resource sharing requests for the same title. We very often have patrons requesting multiple parts of a set that requires library staff to submit additional requests on behalf of the patron. Having a 10 minute wait time between requests is unreasonable and a significant waste of staff time to input requests. A request for six volumes of a set will take a staff member at least 50 minutes to submit all requests, if the requests are timed and spaced evenly.
The threshold for blocking duplicate requests should be…
78 votesDo note that requesting the same title but with a different volume,chapter, pages or note is allowed without having to wait. This is intended to allow requesting multiple parts without having to wait.
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Add API call to fetch all holdings and items associated with one bib record (MMSid)
It would be great to have a single API call to fetch all holdings and items related to an MMS id, which would return all this data in one big XML file. The way it works now, if you want to get, say, all of the barcodes for all items associated with a single MMS id, you have to do an api call for every holding record. So if you have a bib that has one item in 6 different locations, you have to do 6 API calls.
66 votes -
All fields for Alma Digital MARC21 end user deposit form
Currently the MARC21 form for deposit only support 245$a , $b , $c and 520$a
However the Qualified Dublin Core form can choose from all DC fields.
We would like the MARC21 Form to have the option to support all MARC fields. This would bring the MARC21 form functionality in parity with the DC Form functionality.A use case for this is the Alma Digital end user deposit functionality. Currently the minimal 4 MARC fields are not sufficient to capture the wealth of information we need for end user deposit. With more MARC 21 fields supported we could create very…
64 votesThis is currently supported via Configuration → “MARC Slim Configuration” where any MARC field can be added and will then available in the deposit form configuration.
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More Options for Fulfillment Notice Scheduling (SMS)
Job schedules for fulfillment notifications are limited to terrible times for receiving text messages. SMS notifications run on the same job as the email letter notifications. For example, the "Send Courtesy Notices and Handle Loan Renewal" job has scheduling options of Not Scheduled, Everyday at 20:00, and Everyday at 24:00. The "Send Overdue Notices" job has scheduling options of Not Scheduled, Everyday at 03:00, Everyday at 05:00, or Everyday at 23:00.
Needless to say, these are not ideal time for our users to be receiving text messages on their phones. We would like to see more scheduling options during regular…
64 votesDear Customers,
The Alma scheduler for this job was improved and already supports much more flexibility and scheduling options, see attached picture.
Thanks,
The Alma Team
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