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. 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 

  2. 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)
  3. 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)
  4. Add 'due date' to items list

    When student put a book on hold it would be useful to see when the on loan books are due to be returned in the item list rather than having to go into each individual onloan item to see when it is to be returned. Often we have 20 items out at a time and it would be good to have a quick overview of the return date.

    271 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. 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)
  6. add copy number (copy ID) to list of items screen

    add a column for copy id to the list of item screen

    246 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

    As part of the November release Material type, item policy, and/or copy ID were added to the following areas:
    Item List page
    Physical Item Editor
    Physical items repository search results
    List of Items accessed by clicking the No. of Items link in the Holdings tab of the “Held By” Details page (for a member search in the Network tab)
    data exported (the copy ID) to a CSV file when exporting physical items
    the item list presented when selecting Bind Items from the List of Items page
    the Manage deleted repository page

    For more information see:
    https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/010Alma_Online_Help_(English)/040Resource_Management/050Inventory/040Managing_Physical_Resources#Working_with_the_List_of_Items

  7. 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)
  8. 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)
  9. "Make Toggle Missing Status Available from item editor"

    To mark an item as missing, you must currently use the Toggle Missing Item option from the inline action menu, which only displays when you are viewing a list of items attached to a given bib record. However, if you search for the item using a physical item search, and only one item matches your search criteria (for example, if you search by barcode), then the item record opens automatically in the physical item editor. There is no option to toggle the missing status from this screen. Operators must remember to perform a title search, instead of a physical item…

    208 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 "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)
  11. 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)
  12. 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)
  13. 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)
  14. 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)
  15. 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 

  16. 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)
  17. Remove temporary location, not just change indication

    Currently we can run a "change physical items" job to remove the "temporary item indication". This toggles the temporary location from yes to no. It does not remove the temporary location from the item record.

    We would like the option to also remove the location from the item record, in addition to the option of toggling the indication.

    62 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 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)
  19. 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)
  20. Batch job for deleting holding records

    After migrating to Alma we have a lot of holding records that don t have any items associated with them we would like to clean our data by deleting these empty holdings using a batch process

    44 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