Alma
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1733 results found
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Order lines - Customize view: please add "Acquisition method"
Our colleagues are missing the field "Acquisition method" in the results list when searching for PO Lines.
Currently the field is only a facets value but this will also not add the field to the Excel export file.
Thank you in advance!48 votes -
Better flexibility / more weekly options when scheduling Fulfillment Job (i.e. Fees/Fines Notification Job)
Hello,
we would like to be more flexible, to have more options to choose from when scheduling the Fees/Fines Notifications Job (or even better: all Fulfillment Jobs).
Currently, we are using the only weekly option available (every Tuesday at 11:00), but since some of our legally relevant Fees/Fines Notification Profiles are set to printed letters, the offered time slot could not be much worse.
When we have signed and sealed the letters, there is no chance at all to get them out by the same day's post.
Please add at least another weekly time slot in the early morning hours, like 6:00, 7:00 or 8:00. We are not to choosy as the weekday is concerned.
Thank you so much for considering and/our supporting our plea.
Eva-Maria Horita, FHB Aachen
Hello,
we would like to be more flexible, to have more options to choose from when scheduling the Fees/Fines Notifications Job (or even better: all Fulfillment Jobs).
Currently, we are using the only weekly option available (every Tuesday at 11:00), but since some of our legally relevant Fees/Fines Notification Profiles are set to printed letters, the offered time slot could not be much worse.
When we have signed and sealed the letters, there is no chance at all to get them out by the same day's post.
Please add at least another weekly time slot in the early morning hours,…
44 votes -
Consultation in Alma FF
There is no easy solution in Alma FF to indicate that an item has been consulted in the library and that it can be reshelved.
When items are placed on the hold shelf and are briefly consulted in the library, there is no easy way to directly reshelve them in Alma FF. The workarounds are far from ideal and are very labour-intensive when facing a large amount of physical requests: cancel the request (but this is not correct and influences our request statistics) and reshelve via the expired hold shelf, update the expiry date to yesterday (but this requires a lot of clicks) or wait until the item automatically appears on the expired hold shelf and reshelve from there. With this last option there is too much time between the moment of consultation and the moment of reshelving, which makes that items are not available on shelf or for request for a too long time period. It also makes that new features like the hold shelf reminder letter cannot be set up (because patrons could receive a reminder when they already consulted the item).
Possible solutions are: for an item that is scanned in via ‘return items’ the underlying request will disappear and the item will be reshelved automatically. A button ‘consulted’ (like there is a button ‘cancel’) which immediately reshelves the book when you handle a request is another – less preferable – option.There is no easy solution in Alma FF to indicate that an item has been consulted in the library and that it can be reshelved.
When items are placed on the hold shelf and are briefly consulted in the library, there is no easy way to directly reshelve them in Alma FF. The workarounds are far from ideal and are very labour-intensive when facing a large amount of physical requests: cancel the request (but this is not correct and influences our request statistics) and reshelve via the expired hold shelf, update the expiry date to yesterday (but this requires a…
158 votes -
Additional functionality for new Born Digital POL types
As a Legal Deposit library we process physical and born digital material in the same way through Acquisitions; creating bib records (often pre-publication), POLs and claiming if we don't receive material in the expected timeframe. We need the new Digital POLs to work as close to the Physical workflow as possible.
The new born digital workflow assumes that we have the file in hand and can attach the representation when we create the POL. That is not always the case for us as we create a lot of POLs pre-publication as well as for material where we then need to seek publisher assistance with getting the file.
Also all of the claiming functionality of the physical workflow is not in the new digital workflow. Our understanding is that this is driven by the expected receipt date with is not included in the new POL types.
For Continuous physical POLs we follow the same workflow but include a Subscription Interval to reflect the publication frequency (daily, weekly, monthly etc). With no Interval in the Digital Subscription POL it looks like there is no anticipation of the next issue and no facility to shift the POL into the claims workflow if a rep is not attached within the Interval + Grace period.
We would like to see an expected receipt date, Subscription interval and the ability to 'Order Now' without a rep being attached. Ideally this would feed into the existing claims and communications workflows if the rep is not attached before the expected receipt date.
A step by step of our current physical workflow and our testing of the new Digital POLs is attached.
As a Legal Deposit library we process physical and born digital material in the same way through Acquisitions; creating bib records (often pre-publication), POLs and claiming if we don't receive material in the expected timeframe. We need the new Digital POLs to work as close to the Physical workflow as possible.
The new born digital workflow assumes that we have the file in hand and can attach the representation when we create the POL. That is not always the case for us as we create a lot of POLs pre-publication as well as for material where we then need to…
82 votes -
Show Interested User name directly in the PO Line list when receiving new material
Currently, for PO Lines with interested user(s), we can only see a green "V" in the PO Lines list when receiving new material in the Acquisition Department.
Since we increasingly use Purchase Requests to order new material, we almost always have IUs in the PO Lines. These IUs can either be patrons or staff members.We'd like to be able to see straightaway the IU's name(s) when receiving, either directly or when flying over this green "V".
It would save us a few clicks to be able to see quickly the Interested User's name. And it is important for us: in rush perdiod, we try to make documents requested by patrons available more quickly than others.Currently, for PO Lines with interested user(s), we can only see a green "V" in the PO Lines list when receiving new material in the Acquisition Department.
Since we increasingly use Purchase Requests to order new material, we almost always have IUs in the PO Lines. These IUs can either be patrons or staff members.We'd like to be able to see straightaway the IU's name(s) when receiving, either directly or when flying over this green "V".
It would save us a few clicks to be able to see quickly the Interested User's name. And it is important for us:…90 votes -
Enhanced “In Transit” flow/functionality
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!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…122 votes -
Correct article level target links for records without assigned volume or issue numbers
For example, we see erroneous records (without working linking/availability) that are published ahead of print and which do not have specific volume/issue numbers. Until the publisher updates this information Primo links are directed to an error page.
21 votes -
Adding a facet to filter search in CZ
When searching CZ for a portfolio, can we have a facet to filter to only show those collections we have activated.
83 votes -
The text font ,font size and color of Metadata Editor
1.When using Metadata Editor, the font size and color of the editing area are not friendly to the editor.
2.The text in the editing area needs to be enlarged by 150% in the browser to make it convenient for users to work for a long time
3.The text color or font in the editing area causes the black text to look like gray, which makes it inconvenient to check the bibliography
4.Can workers modify the Metadata Editor environment to make them comfortable working environment, such as the font size, font type, and font color in the editing area?
This can help the cataloging librarian to work for a long time without causing the eyes to be worn out too quickly
1.When using Metadata Editor, the font size and color of the editing area are not friendly to the editor.
2.The text in the editing area needs to be enlarged by 150% in the browser to make it convenient for users to work for a long time
3.The text color or font in the editing area causes the black text to look like gray, which makes it inconvenient to check the bibliography
4.Can workers modify the Metadata Editor environment to make them comfortable working environment, such as the font size, font type, and font color in the editing area?
This can…
65 votes -
Expired Hold Shelf to Alma mobile
It would be practical to get the Expired Hold Shelf lists to Alma mobile so we didn't have to print them on paper.
165 votes -
Changing Holdings or Relinking Item is Possible Only in User Role Scope for SOURCE library
At present staff can move items from a library they don’t have a user role for, to a library they do have a user role for. For example, staff could move an item from the Rare Book Collection holding in one library to a Withdrawn holding in another library if they have the user role for the latter.
In the May 2021 release changing holdings for an item or relinking an item to a bibliographic record required the TARGET library to be within the scope of the user role. This prevents moving item or changing holdings for an item if a new holding is not in user scope.
The same functionality is required for the SOURCE library i.e. staff can only change items where the source and target are within the scope of the user role.
At present staff can move items from a library they don’t have a user role for, to a library they do have a user role for. For example, staff could move an item from the Rare Book Collection holding in one library to a Withdrawn holding in another library if they have the user role for the latter.
In the May 2021 release changing holdings for an item or relinking an item to a bibliographic record required the TARGET library to be within the scope of the user role. This prevents moving item or changing holdings for an item if…
62 votes -
Hide ‘edit’ option from My Library Card > Personal Details for specific user groups only
In Alma you can choose to hide the "Edit" option from the 'Personal Details' under 'My Library Card' for ALL your users by changing the parameter key 'primopatroninfo_updatable' to N
This works fine if all your users are set up as external users who automatically gets their contact information updated from a system outside Alma. But if you set up your students as external users and public users as internal users you will have to choose between letting the students update contact information that will be wiped out next time data is loaded in to Alma or not enabling public users to update their contact details anywhere.
I therefore suggest that it should be possible to choose which user groups you want to hide the 'edit' option from.
In Alma you can choose to hide the "Edit" option from the 'Personal Details' under 'My Library Card' for ALL your users by changing the parameter key 'primopatroninfo_updatable' to N
This works fine if all your users are set up as external users who automatically gets their contact information updated from a system outside Alma. But if you set up your students as external users and public users as internal users you will have to choose between letting the students update contact information that will be wiped out next time data is loaded in to Alma or not…
63 votes -
More humanity in the letters: add the name of librarians who take care of the requests
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 LetterAutomatic 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…
118 votes -
Alma should remove any whitespace before/after identifiers, barcodes, call numbers etc.
Alma should automatically remove any leading or trailing whitespace in user identifiers, barcodes, call numbers etc. - any kind of identifiers entered manually or via copy&paste. Barcodes that are not working, users that are not matched at login are examples of real-life malfunctions that cost us time to analyze, all caused by a simple trailing blank entered in a form. It could be easily trimmed by Alma itself with neglectible implementation effort.
48 votes -
Add filter to Vendor Invoices tab
I would like to be able to limit the invoices I see on the Invoice tab in the vendor records to a specific time frame or add a filter to have the ability to select the fiscal year of the invoices in the list.
This will allow me to only see truly historic invoices when and if I need to.24 votes -
Generate accession number by typing directly in field 852
Generation an accession number in 852$$h or $$j can only be done by using the menu (Tools -> MARC21 holdings -> generate accession number), or by keyboard shortcut (ctrl+schift+A) in the new MDE.
Even though the keyboard shortcut saves some clicks, we would like to type the prefix directly in field 852, followed by a character like # for example, that would indicate to Alma to generate the sequence number after saving the holding record.Example : 852 $$b library $$c location $$h RIA #
-> after saving the record :
852 $$b library $$c location $$h RIA 6785If the prefix doesn't exist in the accession number code table, there should be a warning upon saving.
Also, it would be helpful if the accession number does not need to be connected to a specific location. We should be able to choose to connect it to all locations of a library, or only one location like currently.
Best regards.
Generation an accession number in 852$$h or $$j can only be done by using the menu (Tools -> MARC21 holdings -> generate accession number), or by keyboard shortcut (ctrl+schift+A) in the new MDE.
Even though the keyboard shortcut saves some clicks, we would like to type the prefix directly in field 852, followed by a character like # for example, that would indicate to Alma to generate the sequence number after saving the holding record.Example : 852 $$b library $$c location $$h RIA #
-> after saving the record :
852 $$b library $$c location $$h RIA 6785If…
39 votes -
Accession number available by API
Hello,
To be able to develop several external tools (relabelling, cataloging, ...) we need to access the "Accession number" table by API (read and write).
This would probably give many other clients oportunities in developing external tools for managing physical collections.
Best regards.19 votes -
Open Predicted Items feature in MDE should bring in the Item Policy value from the previous item
The feature of Open Predicted Items in MDE cannot bring in the Item Policy as it does for the Material Type, which is inherited well from the previous item.
25 votes -
Provide a solution to use POLs in context of Auto Holdings collections
The Auto Holdings collections are a big help for activating electronic resources. However, if you want combine them with manage your orders for the resources in Alma, you run into problems.
Use case 1: A library orders several thematic e-book packages on a yearly basis from Springer. They activate SpringerLink Books - AutoHoldings. All e-books are activated there. If, however, the library wants to retrace, wich thematic packages they bought in which year, they are confronted with n POLs attached to SpringerLink Books - AutoHoldings with no chance to sort out quickly, which order pertains to which collection and which e-books contained therein.
Use case 2: A library orders some e-books hosted by Wiley over several years. The activation is done via Wiley Online Library - AutoHoldings Books. Where should the library attach the POLs, so that they will know in future, which e-book they ordered when?The Auto Holdings collections are a big help for activating electronic resources. However, if you want combine them with manage your orders for the resources in Alma, you run into problems.
Use case 1: A library orders several thematic e-book packages on a yearly basis from Springer. They activate SpringerLink Books - AutoHoldings. All e-books are activated there. If, however, the library wants to retrace, wich thematic packages they bought in which year, they are confronted with n POLs attached to SpringerLink Books - AutoHoldings with no chance to sort out quickly, which order pertains to which collection and which…31 votes -
'Undo Last Action' option for Resource Sharing requests
Many times, our library staff accidentally choose an unintended Resource Sharing status or scan the wrong barcode when shipping material. They either realize the error too late, or they instantly regret the results of the status change.
Currently, there is no good way to undo this type of unintended error for both partners. Manually changing the status only changes it on your end, not the partner's end, which throws off the entire workflow. This usually forces the partners to create brand new requests in order to finish circulating the material. This is more work for everyone involved and throws off stats.
We would love an 'Undo Last Action' option in the More Actions menu. This would allow for easier and faster workflow correction of Resource Sharing requests for both partners.
Many times, our library staff accidentally choose an unintended Resource Sharing status or scan the wrong barcode when shipping material. They either realize the error too late, or they instantly regret the results of the status change.
Currently, there is no good way to undo this type of unintended error for both partners. Manually changing the status only changes it on your end, not the partner's end, which throws off the entire workflow. This usually forces the partners to create brand new requests in order to finish circulating the material. This is more work for everyone involved and throws off…
31 votes
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