Alma
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1692 results found
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Renewal POL : free the box "Manual Packaging"
When we renew POL, we would like to be able to tick or not tick the box "Manual Packaging".
Our aim is to not heritage the Packaging from the 1rst POL / PO, but to decide to re-package POL as wanted.40 votes -
EDI check in for print journals
Alma documentation states that Alma supports the following Edifact message types – INVOIC, ORDERS, OSTENQ, ORDRSP, ORDCHG. However our old LMS Aleph supported an additional Edifact message type called DESADV.
This allowed our serials agent, Ebsco, to check in our journals in on the LMS remotely via EDI once our monthly consolidated deliveries of print journals were despatched from the warehouse.
Provided our prediction patterns matched the PIA line this worked efficiently. An example of EDI text is as below:-
LIN+1'
PIA+5+0001-4788(2012)42?:1;1-9:SI::28'
IMD+L+050+:::ACCOUNTING AND BUSINESS RESEARCH'
QTY+12:1'
RFF+SNL:52280023'
RFF+SNA:52280023'The above essentially means that for order no 52280023 (linking to order no. RFF+SNL and SFF+SNA lines), check in Vol. 42, 2012, Issue 1, pp.1-96, for ISBN 0001-4788 (PIA additional product ID line)
This is an urgent improvement required and it is highly unusual that such a powerful market leader as Alma does not provide this service, which is pretty standard in much more basic systems. Since upgrading to Alma we have had to re-introduce a manual workflow which had been completely automated for the last 10 years.
Best wishes,
Neil O'Brien
Acquisitions Librarian
James Hardiman Library
National University of Ireland GalwayPhone: 00353 91 493338
Email: neil.obrien@nuigalway.ieAlma documentation states that Alma supports the following Edifact message types – INVOIC, ORDERS, OSTENQ, ORDRSP, ORDCHG. However our old LMS Aleph supported an additional Edifact message type called DESADV.
This allowed our serials agent, Ebsco, to check in our journals in on the LMS remotely via EDI once our monthly consolidated deliveries of print journals were despatched from the warehouse.
Provided our prediction patterns matched the PIA line this worked efficiently. An example of EDI text is as below:-
LIN+1'
PIA+5+0001-4788(2012)42?:1;1-9:SI::28'
IMD+L+050+:::ACCOUNTING AND BUSINESS RESEARCH'
QTY+12:1'
RFF+SNL:52280023'
RFF+SNA:52280023'The above essentially means that for order no 52280023 (linking to…
24 votes -
User ID Generation functionality also on the User Details page
Libraries can configure the automatically generated user identifiers for new patrons that are added when an operator adds a patron on the Patron Identification page. We would like that the user Primary identifier can also be generated when users are added or edited on the User Details page: Existing users (external or internal) could have their Primary identifier updated (refreshed) in a more easy and effective way by circulation desk operators.
84 votes -
Refreshing linked account expiration dates
As we understand it, there are only two ways for a linked account's expiration date to be refreshed/synchronized with the user's primary account in their home IZ:
Requesting an item from the IZ with that linked account
Staff at the lending institution go to Manage Patron Services, Find user in other institution, enter the user's identifier, and then find user
We think that the Alma experience would be improved by triggering this refresh process by a renewal attempt, by having an ability to run and schedule a job that refreshes these expiration dates on a regular basis, or by some other means.
Thanks!
As we understand it, there are only two ways for a linked account's expiration date to be refreshed/synchronized with the user's primary account in their home IZ:
Requesting an item from the IZ with that linked account
Staff at the lending institution go to Manage Patron Services, Find user in other institution, enter the user's identifier, and then find user
We think that the Alma experience would be improved by triggering this refresh process by a renewal attempt, by having an ability to run and schedule a job that refreshes these expiration dates on a regular basis, or by…
103 votes -
Have the option to turn off sorting for sets.
Our OAC department needs to generate a packing list of items that are scanned in, in the order in which they were scanned. The problem is that after creating a physical items set via scanning, the set sorts itself, and the items are no longer in order.
In addition, our Metadata Services department used to manage our corrections projects in Millennium by having a public set that everyone could access. Once the cataloger was done correcting the record, it was removed from the set.
Our problem is that once we're done correcting the record for a Physical Titles set and do a save and release, it is no longer in the position it used to be in the set. (e.g. if you were working on the first record on the first page of the set, after you save, it's no longer the first record, it's moved somewhere on the first page)
It would be very beneficial if we could have the option to turn off the sorting for itemized sets, and leave the sets in the order in which they were scanned in/loaded/created.
Our OAC department needs to generate a packing list of items that are scanned in, in the order in which they were scanned. The problem is that after creating a physical items set via scanning, the set sorts itself, and the items are no longer in order.
In addition, our Metadata Services department used to manage our corrections projects in Millennium by having a public set that everyone could access. Once the cataloger was done correcting the record, it was removed from the set.
Our problem is that once we're done correcting the record for a Physical Titles set and…
24 votes -
Make the effect of exclude process from publishing on holdings configurable
The current implementation of exclude process types from publishing has the side-effect, that a holdings record gets automatically suppressed as well if it only contains items which get suppressed based on the exclude from process types configuration.
E.g. if you have process type=acquisition, material type=issue, exclude=true all holdings which happen to only have items with material type issue in process type acquisition are suppressed no matter what. This is bad in itself, since it precludes the possibility of offering additional information to our users via the 866 field.
What makes things worse is that the bib record gets suppressed as well if the automatically suppressed holdings record happens to be the only one for the title and if you have the flag suppress bib with suppressed holdings set to true.
We understand that the current behaviour may be desirable to some, for us it necessitates weird workarounds including dummy holdings / dummy items. So we would urge ExLibris to consider making the suppression of holdings which virtually end up with no items an optional thing.
After all for regular holdings with no items we have a choice whether we want these suppressed or not. For exclude process types from publishing ExLibris made some assumption regarding the correct behaviour which for us simply don't apply.Oliver Lehner
TU Wien libraryThe current implementation of exclude process types from publishing has the side-effect, that a holdings record gets automatically suppressed as well if it only contains items which get suppressed based on the exclude from process types configuration.
E.g. if you have process type=acquisition, material type=issue, exclude=true all holdings which happen to only have items with material type issue in process type acquisition are suppressed no matter what. This is bad in itself, since it precludes the possibility of offering additional information to our users via the 866 field.
What makes things worse is that the bib record gets suppressed as…77 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 -
Configuring Physical Item Sort Routine for Alternative Call Number
We have large volumes of items that are at the same location but at a different call number. All of these items migrated on to one holdings which means the Alternative Call Number is key in determining the correct call number. Are there any plans to add Alternative Call Number field to the physical item sort routine?
37 votes -
Set an "end of term" due date, by patron group, that would be prioritized over TOU due date
We would like the ability to set a set an end-of-term due date that would outweigh the due date calculated based by the TOU on a transactions.
And, we would like to be able to apply the due date to particular user groups.
The related functionality currently available includes using fixed due dates in the TOU, or relying on patron expiration dates.
Our use case includes:
1) requiring all materials be returned at the end of each quarter.
2) student loan periods that are not fixed date due dates, but instead are short duration.
3) expiration of student records in Alma at the end of each school year, rather than quarter.
With current functionality, we can only achieve 2 out of 3 of these goals, and so currently use end-of-quarter expiration dates.
By allowing the configuration of an end-of-term priority due date that would override a TOU-calculated due date, we could achieve all 3 goals simultaneously.
And, because this use case only applies to students, we would ideally like to set such a priority due date by user group.
We would like the ability to set a set an end-of-term due date that would outweigh the due date calculated based by the TOU on a transactions.
And, we would like to be able to apply the due date to particular user groups.
The related functionality currently available includes using fixed due dates in the TOU, or relying on patron expiration dates.
Our use case includes:
1) requiring all materials be returned at the end of each quarter.
2) student loan periods that are not fixed date due dates, but instead are short duration.
3) expiration of student records in…
25 votes -
In import profiles, ability to specify which 856 $u url is used to create electronic portfolios
Scenario: We manage some electronic collections in Worldshare Collection Manager. OCLC provides bibliographic records with the resource's url in the 856 $u. Sometimes the bib records will include multiple url's but we only want to select a specific one to create our portfolios in Alma.
For example, the Worldcat master record for OCLC 957128084 has 11 856 fields. (See attached screenshot.) Some are institution specific and others belong to different access providers. In such a situation, we want to be able to select the 856 $u url that begins with "http://www.jstor.org/stable" or "https://proquest.safaribooksonline.com".
In import profiles, the "File name patterns" use regular expressions to specify which Marc files are imported by an import profile. https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/010Alma_Online_Help_(English)/040Resource_Management/060Record_Import/020Managing_Import_Profiles
Could similar functionality be added to the import profile's inventory tab to designate a "Url pattern"? So that only the url's that fit the pattern will be used to create portfolios. (See attached screenshot.)
Thank you.
Scenario: We manage some electronic collections in Worldshare Collection Manager. OCLC provides bibliographic records with the resource's url in the 856 $u. Sometimes the bib records will include multiple url's but we only want to select a specific one to create our portfolios in Alma.
For example, the Worldcat master record for OCLC 957128084 has 11 856 fields. (See attached screenshot.) Some are institution specific and others belong to different access providers. In such a situation, we want to be able to select the 856 $u url that begins with "http://www.jstor.org/stable" or "https://proquest.safaribooksonline.com".
In import profiles,…
22 votes -
Send overdue notifications only on library's open days
Since we would prefer to avoid to send overdue and lost loan notifications to our patrons on Sundays and holidays, it would be great to have a further option for when to automatically run the “overdue and lost loan job”, that is, to run it only “on the library’s open days”, based on the opening hours set in the “Calendar management”.
74 votes -
Borrowing Activity Letter
Currently, Alma limits the borrowing activity letter to list only 100 loans.
It would be great to have the letter list all loans without a limit.
24 votes -
Analytics - Last Return Date
It would be extremely useful to be able to report on the Last Return Date; this should be added to the Physical Items subject area alongside the Last Loan Date parameter
55 votes -
Automatic Loan Renewals-needs more options
Could you add the ability to configure automatic loan renewals by physical location within a library? We have some locations we would like to have auto renewals for and some that we do not.
31 votes -
Modifying a partner after recieving a borrowing request should be possible
In the SNLP workflow the partner changes from the own partner code to the partner who ships the request automatically. Therefore most of the requests have the correct partner when the item arrives at the library.
So most of the time there is no need to modify a partner and the staff's attention to this attribute is not as high as it is to other attributes of the request. If we observe this AFTER receiving the item, there is no possibility to do so.
Because we don't know to which partner we have to send back the item after it has been returned by the patron, we now have to missapply other fields of the request to store this information.
Perhaps not all libraries want to allow their staff to do so, so we suggest a new parameter which can be switched off, if it is not needed.In the SNLP workflow the partner changes from the own partner code to the partner who ships the request automatically. Therefore most of the requests have the correct partner when the item arrives at the library.
So most of the time there is no need to modify a partner and the staff's attention to this attribute is not as high as it is to other attributes of the request. If we observe this AFTER receiving the item, there is no possibility to do so.
Because we don't know to which partner we have to send back the item…78 votes -
A way to set the Scan-in-Items drop-down-menu Status to our specific workflows
In Cataloging when we scan in item barcodes to send a work order to shelf preparation or end-processing, the scan-in-Item Drop-down menu defaults to Cataloging. Acquisitions uses this to send material to us --but we want to send material to Shelf Preparation/End-Processing. So we have to manually mouse down to insert this everything single time. This is slow (uses up time). It would be faster and healthier (on our hands) if Ex Libris could reconfigure so any library unit in a library could unit set the Scan-in-Item Drop-down menu to default to (--or to "persist" or "stick" at--)the specific status we used last or the one that for our workflow we find most convenient, productive, & efficient. (And also ergonomically healthiest.)
Many thanks--In Cataloging when we scan in item barcodes to send a work order to shelf preparation or end-processing, the scan-in-Item Drop-down menu defaults to Cataloging. Acquisitions uses this to send material to us --but we want to send material to Shelf Preparation/End-Processing. So we have to manually mouse down to insert this everything single time. This is slow (uses up time). It would be faster and healthier (on our hands) if Ex Libris could reconfigure so any library unit in a library could unit set the Scan-in-Item Drop-down menu to default to (--or to "persist" or "stick" at--)the specific status…
98 votes -
Eliminate the confirmation step when editing item records.
The process of receiving journal items is unnecessarily slowed down by having to confirm every single edit. Clicking on "Save" should be enough to get the job done. Breaking out Receive as a separate step has already added a step to the process. Please consider any and all ways of reducing the amount of time spent looking at blue spinning circles. Thank you.
19 votes -
Make Add an Item Work Order Configurable
When an "on-the-fly" item is created, loaned and returned by a patron, the item is automatically flagged for routing to the Acquisitions Work Order/Workflow.
In our institution, the ACQ Department does not work on these items, and this should not be the workflow that the materials are routed to, but we are unable to change the work order type.
We'd like to be able to configure or change the work order type for these materials, and also for the check-in process to more clearly delineate and note that the item is an "on-the-fly" item in particular. In the current process, it's not clear.
When an "on-the-fly" item is created, loaned and returned by a patron, the item is automatically flagged for routing to the Acquisitions Work Order/Workflow.
In our institution, the ACQ Department does not work on these items, and this should not be the workflow that the materials are routed to, but we are unable to change the work order type.
We'd like to be able to configure or change the work order type for these materials, and also for the check-in process to more clearly delineate and note that the item is an "on-the-fly" item in particular. In the current process,…
55 votes -
Add Melingo to ALMA
Hello,
The assimilation of Melingo in Primo for the customers in Israel proved to be a useful solution.
It would be nice if it can also be implemented in ALMA.
If Melingo will indeed be in ALMA, the catalogers will no longer need to add Ktiv Maleh or Ktiv Haser in Hebrew in variant titles.Thanks.
59 votes -
Update 863/864/865 when items are withdrawn
There is a crucial step missing in the Automatic Generation of the Summary Holdings Statement Based on Items process. The process is documented here:
https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/010Alma_Online_Help_(English)/040Resource_Management/040Metadata_Management/020Navigating_the_MD_Editor_Page?uxp=true#Automatic_Generation_of_the_Summary_Holdings_Statement_Based_on_ItemsWhen items which are linked to the Holdings record are withdrawn, there is no process to update the Holdings record 863/864/865 fields to create an updated 866/867/868 field. When items are withdrawn, the user has to manually edit the Holdings records.
Since the creation of the 863/864/865 field is now automated based on received items being linked to the holdings record, there is a need for the 863/864/865 to be automatically re-created when the linked items are withdrawn.
There is a crucial step missing in the Automatic Generation of the Summary Holdings Statement Based on Items process. The process is documented here:
https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/010Alma_Online_Help_(English)/040Resource_Management/040Metadata_Management/020Navigating_the_MD_Editor_Page?uxp=true#Automatic_Generation_of_the_Summary_Holdings_Statement_Based_on_ItemsWhen items which are linked to the Holdings record are withdrawn, there is no process to update the Holdings record 863/864/865 fields to create an updated 866/867/868 field. When items are withdrawn, the user has to manually edit the Holdings records.
Since the creation of the 863/864/865 field is now automated based on received items being linked to the holdings record, there is a need for the 863/864/865 to be automatically re-created when the linked…
64 votes
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