Illiad NCIP Plug-in Set Up Procedure

Background

The plug-in covers two ILL functions - borrowing and lending.

When an item is checked in ILLiad the plug-in creates an NCIP request with the borrower's ID and a brief bib record. This shows up as a request on the borrower's account in Alma (also viewable as a request via Primo). When the item is circulated in Alma it displays as a loan in the patron's account. The due date is set in ILLiad and honored in Alma. When the item is returned, it need only be returned in ILLiad. (It can be returned in Alma but it is not necessary.) At the point of return, ILLiad will send another message to Alma returning the item and removing it from the patron's account.

When an item is "Marked as Found" in ILLiad the plug-in checks the Reference Number field in ILLiad for the item barcode (this must be input by the lending librarian). When it matches, the item is then moved from the items home location to the Resource Sharing Lending library. When the item is returned and "Checked In" in ILLiad the plug-in sends a message to Alma and the item is marked as "In transit" to its home location. It will need to be scanned in Alma and re-shelved.

(https://github.com/vculibraries/alma-ncip)

Best Practice Recommendations

• In order for the Illiad / Alma plugin to work, the Illiad user account must match either the Primary Identifier or another designated Identifier in Alma.
• For new user accounts created for Illiad, use the Primary identifier that is exported by PeopleSoft during the Patron Load as the unique account name for the borrower.

Alma Setup

Setup requires the creation of a Resource Sharing Partner and a Resource Sharing Library or a temporary location within an establised library if not using the Resource Sharing Library that comes with Alma.

Resource Sharing Partner

In Alma,navigate to Fulfillment »  Resource Sharing »  Partners. Click Add Partner and complete the fields listed below under the General Information tab. You can view the ExLibris Documention, here.

Complete the the following mandatory fields in the Parameters tab:

Resource Sharing Library

This library must have both the Open Hours and Terms of Use tables completed in order for request to populate in Alma.

ILLiad Setup

In order to integrate Illiad with Alma, the add-on must be installed in every Illiad client that will be processing borrowing and lending requests. The client configuration is provided by VCU on GitHub and will need to be modified to look for the lending partner setup in Alma. Our settings are as follows: 

Installing the Add-On

(This install instructions assume installation on a Windows operating system. No info on Mac installations)

Create a new folder in your local machine's ILLiad\Addons directory (usually C:\Program Files (x86)\ILLiad\Addons\) and name it Alma-NCIP

Copy the three files - Config.xml, IDS_NCIP_Client.lua, and sublibraries.txt to the newly created directory.

Modify the following settings within the Illiad systems plug-in interface.

Then make sure the plug-in is activated in the ILLiad client. This is not automatic.

Once the Config.xml file is modified to reflect your Alma values, the Alma-NCIP folder, containing the config.xml, ALMA_NCIP_Client.lua and sublibraries.txt files, needs to be copied to the Add-On folder within the Illiad install location on your computer. After the files are copied, start Illiad and register the Add-on (see the documentation on activating an Add-On).

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