At the moment Alma only sends one claim request to the vendor. If the ordered item is still not received, staff need to follow up and re-claim manually; usually a number of times.

We would like to see claim cycle functionality in Alma so that we can configure follow-up claims based on a set interval per vendor, as well as a maximum number of claims to be sent before the order is automatically cancelled and the vendor automatically notified. It would also be useful to be able to see the history of claims for an order, and be able to report on this for vendor performance monitoring.

We encounter a lack of important functionality to efficiently follow-up on In transit requests (physical item requests to another pick-up location). We would like the functionality to be extended with the following additional features:
1. A patron facing letter when the requested item is placed “in transit” by the owning library, so that the patron is better informed of the status of his request.
 We want to create a situation that once a requested item is being transported, there is in fact no way back and a fee needs to paid.
2. To make it impossible for patrons to cancel their request in Primo once the requested item is already in transit or on the hold shelf in the pick-up location.
 We need a granular setup config to define the end user cancellation option in Primo based upon the status of the request.
3. A letter to the owning library when a patron is cancelling his request in Primo, so that the owning library might avoid sending items that have already been cancelled.
 Context: multiple different libraries within 1 institution, and some of these libraries handle dozens of request per day based upon the request slip. This means:
o It’s too time consuming to check the expired hold shelf for all items which are possibly cancelled…
o A cc or bcc added to the cancellation letter is not an option, because this is an institutional letter and cancellation request letters will come in from multiple libraries… The ‘alert’ / letter needs to be owning library specific!

Automatic processes in Alma make library staff save time and efforts, but also significantly reduce human interactions with patrons (very few emails are personally sent by librarians to patrons). Lots of Alma letters sent to patrons are nameless and only signed by generic service names like "Acquisitions Department", "Circulation Desk", "Library ABC" etc. (see @@department@@ in the Labels). Some staff members suffer from this dehumanization in the processes.

We want to give a name and a face to a request when patrons get notified and would like to enrich some Alma letters with the name of the librarian who took care of the requests and add a line like for example "You have been served by: Jane Smith". Behind the librarian's name in the letter, the customer could create a link to the librarian's webpage, LibGuides profile pages, the University directory, etc. with the XSL template.

For at least the last staff member who worked on the requests (item hold at the circ desk, digital material sent, item received/activated...), please add the following staff User information:
- First name
- Middle name
- Last name
- Preferred middle name
- Preferred first name
- Preferred last name
- Primary identifier
- Job category
- Job description
- Website URL
in the XML of the following Alma letters:
- Document Delivery Notification Letter
- Ful Cancel Request Letter
- Ful Digitization Notification Item Letter
- Ful Personal Delivery Letter
- Interested In Letter
- On Hold Shelf Letter
- Purchase Request Status Letter

It's possible to add notes to user records in batch using the "Update/Notify Users" job on a set of users. It would be helpful if we could also batch delete notes on user records.

There are occasions when we have subsets of users who receive special permissions to check out subsets of materials (e.g. students in a specific class who are the only people allowed to use specific equipment or reserve items, collections/materials where we require a signed agreement on file from the user to allow access). In these situations, we add notes to the user record to indicate whether a specific user may use a specific physical resource during a set period of time, such as an academic term. We would like to be able to delete these notes in batch, rather than having to manually edit individual user records-- of which there may be several hundred-- to remove the note that is no longer applicable.

Ideally, the job would allow operators to delete only those user notes that contain text specified by the operator. (e.g. Delete user notes that contain the phrase "Fall 2016" or delete user notes that contain the word "approved")

Please add a new Rapid ILL lending status field to electronic collections so libraries can indicate the following Rapid ILL lending statuses and more easily create logical sets to automatically send holdings to Rapid:
• LendableInternational: You are able to fill lending requests from any other Rapid libraries around the world. This is typically the Lendable value used for print materials that you want to make available in Rapid.
• LendableCountry: You are able to fill lending requests only from Rapid libraries in your country. This is typically the Lendable value used for electronic materials.
• LocalOnly: You are not able to fill lending requests from other Rapid libraries, however these items are still available to fill your local patrons’ borrowing requests.

Currently, the documentation suggests putting these labels in electronic collections’ internal notes field. https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/RapidILL/Implementation_Guides/Alma_Holdings_Harvest_for_RapidILL

It would better to have a dedicated field in electronic collections where a Rapid lending status value could be selected.

Libraries should also have the ability to perform bulk changes to this field via the E-Collection Quick Update Cloud App.

In 2018, a new letter for hold shelf items was introduced thanks to this idea exchange (https://ideas.exlibrisgroup.com/forums/308173-alma/suggestions/32042020-new-letter-for-hold-shelf-slips) It has been very helpful in managing physical item requests, since the letter is customizable.

We see that improving this letter to also include pickup numbers for resource sharing requests/physical non-returnable. Since these requests do not get a Request ID which then becomes the Additional ID - but rather an Internal ID – the letter could be improved to include a portion of the Internal ID as the pickup number.

For instance, a RS request has the internal ID 4177325980002286. Following the same logic as how Additional ID is generated, the pickup number would become 417-732-598 and can be included in Hold Shelf letters to the end user as well.

This would work for both regular material types, and physical non-returnable, since both are assigned an internal identifier on the borrowing library side.