Time zones -- should be able to have different time zones for individual libraries
There is currently no way to have different time zones in the same institution because the time zone is institutional wide.
As we have several institutional libraries in different time zones, it would be most useful to be able to set the time zone of individual libraries.
This would be particularly useful for patrons located in a time zone other than that of the main library, as notifications would include the local time zone, not that of the main library.
Thank you.
Alex Birchall
shared this idea
Alma has been developed over the years to manage the activities of different types of organizations involving different topologies and setups. This spans single institutions with a small number of libraries in close geographical proximity to consortia comprised of a large number of independent institutions, which can be spread out geographically. In certain cases, single institutions may have campuses or libraries that are located in a different state (in the case of North America) or even a different country, which often means a different time zone.
To be able to address the wide variance in topologies while not creating complexities in setup and library operations, Alma’s architecture is based around a time zone definition that is set at the institution level. We understand the complexities of working across multiple time zones within a single organization and have over time evaluated the option as part of Alma’s design and development together with the user community, but came to the conclusion that ability to define a different time zone for libraries within a single Alma institution will create logical inconsistencies and conflicts within the system and will overly complicate the configuration and operation of Alma.
In the case of an institution that has a campus or library located in a different time zone, the most common approach used by Alma customers involves working within a single institution while adjusting the library definitions (specifically opening and closing hours) to accommodate the actual differences in time zones between the institution’s main geographic location and the campus or library’s different geographic location. There are existing examples of institutions that have taken this approach, including North American institutions with campuses in Europe, as well as European institutions with campuses in the Middle East.
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Timothy Glick
commented
Maybe set it at the user level, and attach it to a new value in your system called "Local Time" that can be visible in transactions and notices. You won't be changing time zones between Libraries, just allowing users to see a purely "cosmetic" value based on their own account setting that looks at the true system time and "modifies" accordingly for the new field.