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.
120 results found
-
Prevent the reservation of items from other libraries if material exists on the user's campus
By default, Alma allows the user to request material from any of the libraries registered in the system.
For us this is not always desirable, because in certain cases the library where he can request the material is located hundreds of kilometers from where he is, and the transport of this material becomes difficult and time-consuming.
This is especially problematic when the material exists in the library/campus where that user is registered. The requested item would take longer to arrive from somewhere else than if he waited it to be returned to his campus.
To solve this, we would like…
31 votes -
Bulk Work Order Functions
A function that allows you to scan multiple item barcodes to create a specific type of work order on all items you scan.
This would also allow you to remove work orders in bulk.
This is a function we very much need; on Monday I had to create 140 work orders for one of our Resource Sharing services, and this took nearly an hour and a half to do. This is not feasible for us in the long term, and we very much need a rapid function for this process.
This function would, of course, need to inform the user…
30 votes -
Batch Update Expiry Date for Items in Department (Work Orders)
It would be really helpful if we had the ability to change expiry dates for items in process (in department, with a work order) in a batch. This screen already includes the ability to change status, mark done, and generate barcodes in batch. Adding an option to update the expiry date that way seems like a logical addition.
29 votes -
Lead time for booking requests
We use the Reading Room functionality for our Rare Books and Special Collections items. These items are not on open shelves and are securely stored with access only available to staff to retrieve items. Currently there is no way to specify a lead time between making the booking and the start time of booking (ie. you can make a booking for an item at 10am, with a booking start time of 11am that same day). Staffing levels, item availability and item condition can sometimes mean that items are not available for use immediately (if at all), which creates problems for…
28 votes -
Allow transferring a recall to the next eligible item without placing a new request
In the event a patron with a recalled item has extenuating circumstances that prevent the item's timely return, it would be helpful to pass the recall process to the next eligible item in the holding, e.g. the next oldest loan. Currently, we are only able to extend the due date of the current loan, and advise the requesting patron to cancel then re-request the item - this would cause issues if there is a queue of requests for the item, and we would like to be able to "bump" the chain of requests down if possible.
28 votes -
Post download links for digtization requests to user's Primo account
Currently, Alma will post a download link to the user's Primo account when a resource sharing request is filled digitally. Alma does not post a download link to Primo when a digitization request is filled. This difference can be confusing for users, so it would be very helpful if download links for both resource sharing and digitization requests were posted to the user's Primo account.
27 votes -
Booking request - possibility to configure a blocked period
We are using the booking request for technical equipment which has to be prepared for lending previously. We want that an item can not be booked shorter than 3 days in advance, so the team is able to prepare everything. This ist not configurable yet.
27 votes -
User information in Print slip report
We are currently using the print slip report for our click and collect service but for us it is missing some vital user information around the requester. We would like to see the primary identifier in the report. We tried to deal with this in analytics but we also require the item barcode and this caused problems where there are multiple items under a title. The print slip report contains all the information (including the multiple barcodes) we need except for more extensive user information to help staff deal with this off site. The name is not enough, particularly where…
24 votes -
Allow patron to choose whether to recall or just place a hold
It would be great to offer the patron the choice of whether they want to be "put on the list" for an item when they place a hold, or they want to recall that item because they need it quickly.
24 votes -
Add Requester Name and Requester's ID on Pick up from Shelf export list
Add Requester Name and Requester ID on Pick up from Shelf export list.
24 votes -
Confirmation Notice for Curbside Bookings
Alma has allowed for the Booking Request feature to be set-up and modified as a means to provide curbisde service or make appointments. However, it appears that no letter exists to confirm the appointment day/time with the user, which would be most helpful in providing user instructions, cancellation information, contact numbers, etc. I propose that this letter be added to enhance communication and expectations especially during this challenging time of changing services and delivery options. Thank you!
23 votes -
Improvements to Pick From Shelf list needed
Currently our staff spend too much time managing requests. Improvements to the interface for Pick From Shelf would help in some of these cases. We would like to see:
- A search box.
Very often we need to target a particular request, a task made more difficult by less than ideal facets (see #2). Search functionality exists under Monitor Requests & Item Processes, but not all options for handling requests are available in that view (such as "Skip Location").
- Better facets.
Two of the facets available in the Monitor Requests & Item Processes view would be great for Pick from Shelf:…
20 votes -
Ubicación temporal no prestable. Gestión de reservas
Al escanear un libro con reserva, ubicado en una localización temporal, Alma automáticamente activa la reserva y envía un correo electrónico al usuario, indicando que el libro está disponible en el estante de reservas activa.
A pesar de que la política de préstamo configurada para dicha ubicación temporal no permite realizar el préstamo.Solicitamos que cuando por política de préstamo, no sea posible realizar el préstamo de un libro reservado, no se active la reserva y no envíe correo electrónico al usuario.
19 votes -
Request limit
It will be useful to limit the number of request for a specific library. Likewise for loan limits.
If an institution has more than one library then it may want, for example, to allow a patron to borrow from several of them. Then the order limit should be correspondingly larger. However, if the loan limit is larger than the request limit, this situation can be confusing for the user. For example - a patron has a request limit of 10, and loan limit 5 in Library A and 5 in Library B. However, for the moment he can request 10…18 votes -
Monitor Requests & Item Process Activity Status Filter
Add Activity Status: Rejected to "Monitor Requests & Item Processes"
It would be extremely helpful to have the Activity Status Rejected on the "Monitor Requests & Item Processes" Activity Status Filters. If it could be added as an option with Active, Completed and All, that would remove a ton of extra time and labor for our fulfillment processes.18 votes -
Prioritize requests by location or fulfillment unit
When a user submits a request at the title level in Primo VE there should be a way to prioritize certain items in a holding by location or fulfilment unit. For example, if a book has copies available in a circulating location, but there are also copies available in a non-circulating collection that is managed by a Reading Room desk, the circulating item should always get priority.
17 votes -
Add seach box to Active Hold Shelf
We often have 1500+ items on our Active Hold Shelf. While we have the ability to sort, this does not help much when we are looking for a particular item. A search box would allow us to locate an item easily without clicking through page after page.
16 votes -
Generate alert when patron places request for print book that is available as an ebook.
Alert a patron to the availability of an ebook when they place a request for the same title as a print book.
16 votes -
Differentiate “regular” Hold Request and Interested User Request or Change “Interested User Check” Order
Because Alma does not have the granularity to separate an Interested User request and a regular hold request, our Interested User hold process does not work.
When the “Non-Requestable Processes Fulfillment Unit Rule or Change Order” is configured to prevent “in process” items from being requestable, any items that have an Interested User that are in our Technical Services Work Order are treated as “in process” and therefore, the interested user request is blocked. While we do not want most “In Process” items to be requestable, we do want our Interested User requests to be fulfilled.
Because of this configuration,…
15 votes -
Notification on 'Pick from Shelf' link
Can a notification or flag be added to the 'Pick from Shelf' link to alert us to new requests? Something like the notifications on Announcements and View Recommendations. Our requests are often sporadic, and it would stop us from having to keep checking the 'Pick from Shelf' list and help us be more responsive to requests.
15 votes
- Don't see your idea?