Add a Preferred Name field to the Alma user record
Alma should have a field, in addition to the first name, for the preferred name.
Our campus allows users to specify a preferred name, for various reasons. And this preferred name is what is used on physical ID cards.
We are working on getting preferred name into Alma, but because there is not a field explicitly available for this data, we'll likely store it in the First name field.
We'd prefer if Preferred name had it's own field, and think this would be a relatively easy change for Ex Libris to make.
User Preferred Name is now available as part of Alma February release.
The Alma user profile was expanded to include parameters for a user’s preferred name. The API and SIS options for creating and updating users also include the user’s preferred name. These parameters are indexed and searchable with the Users search option. System notifications and letters that incorporate name information can be updated to use a user’s preferred name. In a future release, display options will be provided.
For more information please see:
https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Release_Notes/009_2019/Alma_2019_Release_Notes?mon=201902BASE
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Kurt Vollmerhause (QUT) commented
It's great to see this enhancement in place in our Sandbox for first, middle, and last names, with the February 2019 release. Can you advise when the relevant documentation for data dictionaries in Alma Users API, etc, will be updated?
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Stacey Fullwiler commented
This is a feature we would also love to see at Seattle University. Right now, we're discussing adding "Preferred Name: X" as a Note as a good faith effort towards accommodating our patrons until there is a better solution.
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This change request will be available by 2019 Q1
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Anne Pepitone commented
Any timeline? We don’t want to switch to preferred if this is coming soon.
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Kurt Vollmerhause (QUT) commented
Hi Dana, QUT is also keen to confirm the timeline for this change request. Can you clarify the expected implmentation date?
Regards,
Kurt -
Skalk van der Merwe commented
Hi Dana
Thanks for the update on this in August.
Would it be possible to indicate when this request would be implemented?
Regards,
Skalk -
Curran Riley commented
Dana,
That's great news and we're glad to hear it. We're on the verge of loading preferred names from our patron source systems into Alma, and overwriting legal name as there is no other place to add it.
We would obviously prefer not to do this work twice, so if the dedicated preferred name field is coming soon, that would impact our plans. Can you give me a sense of when you expect to have this available in production Alma systems?
Thanks,
Curran
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Nicola Carson commented
At Curtin University, I have just implemented adding to preferred name to the first name field and the legal name into the middle name field (we don't import students middle names so this field was ok to use). However, this doesn't leave us with many option for our manually added borrowers where we register all given names.
And, as noted, there's is no option for preferred other names, such as Surnames.
Having this in Alma would solve so many problems, and I delayed this load until after the NERS voting on the hope that it would get through.
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Dianna Sahhar commented
Yes, please make it a separate field from first name. We need it to store the names patrons actually use, rather than their given names.
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Kathie Retszeigle commented
Our LGBTQ patrons and allies will thank you for this. As will everyone whose mother named them after some three-generations removed relative with an old-fashioned name and who now goes by their more conventional middle name.
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Kurt Vollmerhause (QUT) commented
This would be a useful enhancement to remove the need to choose between supplying preferred name or 'legal' name in patron data provisioning. Main concern in our integration is with data mapping to first_name field in the Alma user record. If (as University of Washington suggests) preferred first name (at least) were available as an additional distinct end point field that would provide greater flexibility in client service.
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Kate Jones commented
This is a very important & useful update - please prioritize it!
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Chelle Batchelor commented
For reference, here's what we (University of Washington) asked for in the NERS request. It did not make it to the 2nd round of voting (2018), so I'm hoping this Idea Exchange item will continue to gain votes.
Currently the only option to bring preferred names into Alma is to replace the legal name with the preferred name. However, we still need to be able to search for and verify a user by their legal name in cases when the only identification they have available is a legal form of identification, such as a driver’s license. Therefore, we request the ability to load a preferred name to the Alma User Record as a separate field from Legal Name. This would involve creation of three new searchable fields in the user record: Preferred First Name, Preferred Last Name, and Preferred Middle Name.
Our institution values and honors diverse experiences and perspectives, strives to create a welcoming and respectful learning environment, to promote access, opportunity and justice for all. Referring to students by the name they wish to be called when interacting with University personnel supports a respectful learning environment.
As previously mentioned expected outcome would be creation of three new searchable fields in the user record: Preferred First Name, Preferred Last Name, and Preferred Middle Name.
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James Hammons commented
There is a big need for this on our campus, Ball State University. I recently learned that transgender people sometimes refer to their former names as their "dead" name, which certainly emphasizes the importance of supporting this. I've also heard about the issue from a woman who had recently divorced and used the preferred name field in our campus system to reclaim her original family name.
Thanks for the reference to the NERS enhancement. I'll look at supporting this enhancement there as well.
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RaeLynn Boes commented
We need this as well. Student ID's display the preferred name, so it's important that the system match what our staff are looking at.
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Miriam W. commented
I have a large number of international students who go by anglicized names and it would be nice if this could be reflected on their accounts and be a searchable option.
This feature would also be helpful for people who go by Jr., their middle name, or are transgender and have not yet legally changed their name.
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JMC commented
This is increasingly important as for better inclusivity. Many people who are trans-gendered prefer to be referred to by a name other than their legal name (which is generally what must be loaded into our campus records for financial and legal reasons).
It is good costumer service and an important part of inclusive design to be able to record both a legal name and a preferred name.
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Curran Riley commented
I should note this has been requested as an Enhancement by the University of Washington as well (NERS number 5300).