| RequestTitle | Module | Description |
| A purchase request with the status "Approved" can be rejected (NOT deleted) and that this information is updated in My Library(6122) | Acquisitions | Our proposal is that a purchase request with the status "Approved" can be rejected (NOT deleted) and that this information is updated in My Library (we want the user can see that their purchase request was rejected). The problem when you try to do this is that Alma warns that requests with status "Approved" can not be rejected. Ideally, when the POL associated with the purchase request is canceled, Alma should automatically reject this request and it would be displayed in Primo-My Library. (for example, the provider says the book is out of stock) |
| Ability to add notes to invoice lines from invoices that are paid and close(6210) | Acquisitions | We are aware that one can edit notes on an invoice that is already paid and closed. However, for subscriptions, journals and continuations we often have the need to add/edit notes on the invoice lines of invoices that are already closed and paid. Manually putting the invoice back in Review to edit / add notes to the invoice lines doesn't solve the problem as this makes the payment information disappear which we then have to re-enter. We require the ability to add notes to invoice lines from invoices that were already paid and closed without having to re-open the invoice. |
| Ability to delete a line item on an invoice loaded through EDI.(6390) | Acquisitions | When an invoice is loaded via EDI into Alma and there is a problem with one of the associated purchase order lines, we cannot delete that specific line item and then add it manually. We have to delete the invoice and reload the invoice via EDI after fixing the problem with a specific purchase order line on that invoice. It would be a lot faster if we could just delete the problematic line item, fix the purchase order line, and then add that purchase order line as a new line item to then be able to complete and save the invoice instead of going through the loading process again. |
| Ability to unreceive items that have left department(6138) | Acquisitions | We would like the ability to unreceive an item, even if it has left the receiving department. |
| Ability to use fixed exchange rates(6260) | Acquisitions | When there is a mismatch between the currency of an order and the currency of a fund, Alma converts these values using exchange rates which are updated automatically on a daily basis. However, the exchange rates used in the financial system of an institution don't always align with these updated rates, particularly when the institution is using hedging to provide guaranteed fixed rates. Alma should be able to be configured at the institution level to use exchange rates set by the institution for any nominated time period. |
| Acq-ability to change location, add item policy & temporary location directly from the summary page in a POL rather than being forced to go into the item to update this information(5780) | Acquisitions | When creating a print PO line, we currently have to open the item from the PO line summary page if we need to update the permanent location, temporary location and item policy. We would like to make it easier to update inventory information from directly on the PO line summary page. |
| Acq-show history in vendor /vendor account record (person who created record, date, person who modified record, what they did, date)(5778) | Acquisitions | Vendors and vendor accounts in Alma are used for material suppliers (traditional vendors), access providers and licensors. In our case and in that of most larger libraries, these functions are handled by different staff members. |
| Acquisition module - How to batch update item fields Chronology and Pieces(5946) | Acquisitions | We find that many serial items with chronology fields migrated incorrectly. We would like to draw a set of items with incorrect chronology and update both the “Chronology” and “Pieces” fields in batch. We are told that there is no option to bulk change chronology and coverage fields in Alma, or to get a set with "incorrect" chronology, and are suggested to raise it in NERS. Please refer to SF case#512473. |
| Acquisitions - Fiscal year rollover, ability to rollover remaining balances(5793) | Acquisitions | Add an option to allow institutions to choose whether they want to rollover ledgers at the end of a fiscal year to allow the carryover of any remaining fund balances. |
| Acquisitions - Hotlink needed for Invoice number from Purchase order--Line Details--Invoice Lines Tab(5794) | Acquisitions | We would like to make the Invoice Number a direct link from the Purchase order --Line Details--Invoice Lines Tab, to the Invoice. Currently we are only able to view the Line Item Detail from the Invoice Lines Tab. We frequently also need to see the Summary Tab of the invoice, or refer to other Line Items on the invoice. |
| Acquisitions module - Manual or auto claim should be addressed to "Vendor Account's email contact"(5564) | Acquisitions | According to online help, we have set "true" for the parameter "acq_use_vendor_account_email", all our order list reports and order claim reports can be sent to their "Vendor Account's email contact" successfully (see attached email). Manual and auto claims are now addressed to different vendor addresses. It causes miscommunication. Consistency is very important. https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/Alma_Online_Help_(English)/Acquisitions/090Acquisitions_Infrastructure/010Managing_Vendors We found that Alma sent out the "Communications" by using the email in "Vendor's" rather than "Vendor's Account" when we claimed outstanding order manually. It did not happen to auto claim. Provided the clip (https://polyuit-my.sharepoint.com/personal/lbsiauw_polyu_edu_hk/_layouts/15/guestaccess.aspx?folderid=00b3e36f129654fc888516af4999ee1ed&authkey=ATHBCGw5Wfg7HqPsNLSQnzM&e=038dfec7ff054a1985ad9ca4c61c912a) for reference. |
| Acquisitions Module - Series information in Order List Report(5561) | Acquisitions | Refer to Salesforce case #471344: Marc field 830 is the authority field for SERIES statement. We would like to extract MARC 830 (series information) for vendor for placing order. If MARC 830 is not available, MARC 440 will be extracted instead. We would like to set this priority. |
| Acquisitions: Ability to see and filter interested user requests when view items in department(5712) | Acquisitions | When Interested user requests are added at the order stage, and then arrive in the department, we need a more visible method for being alerted that these items need fast-tracking when they are in a work order. They do not appear in the Tasks menu Items in department - requested by patron list. |
| Acquisitions: Add fields to the Update PO Lines information job(5655) | Acquisitions | The Update PO Lines information job allows operators to run batch updates on select fields in the POL. We would like more POL fields made available for update (e.g., License link, Claiming Grace Period, List Price, Cancellation Restriction, Cancellation Restriction Note, Vendor Reference Number, Vendor Reference Type, Note to Vendor, Renewal Date, Renewal Reminder Period). |
| Acquisitions: Allow batch updating of POL fields via a spreadsheet(5656) | Acquisitions | Some fields in the POL contain a value that is more or less unique to that order (e.g., Identifier field, Vendor Reference Number field). We would like the ability to batch update the unique values in these POLs by uploading a spreadsheet containing the field's new value. For example, if we want to update hundreds of POLs with new Vendor Reference Numbers, we need to edit each POL manually. We cannot use the Update PO Lines information job, because the same update would be applied to all POLs. It would be a time-saver if we could take a spreadsheet that had each PO Line Reference Number in one field and its corresponding vendor reference number in another field, and use that spreadsheet to update all of our Vendor Reference Numbers in batch. |
| Acquisitions: Allow data from the POL notes to inform/be inherited by portfolio notes, much the way information from the POL informs physical inventory.(5652) | Acquisitions | Allow data from the POL notes to inform/be inherited by portfolio notes, much the way information from the POL informs physical inventory |
| Acquisitions: Allow direct navigation from PO numbers to "Create Invoice"(5027) | Acquisitions | After manually creating a PO or finding a PO (by clicking on "More info", then clicking on "Orders"), staff must currently cut and paste the PO number, go to the Alma drop-down menu, choose "Create Invoice", select "From PO", then paste the number into the first page of the form. This can require a lot of extra time and clicks as this needs to be done with each invoice-- particularly an issue when large orders come trickling in, each with separate invoices. Solution: Add a link from the POL that will take the user to the "Create Invoice" page. |
| Acquisitions: Assertion will be triggered when the po line price (in institution's default currency) is reached.(5501) | Acquisitions | It is suggested to convert PO line price to our institution's default currency, so it could be compared with the value which we set in the configuration (Acquisitions > Acquisitions Configuration > Configuration Menu > General > Other Settings), this request is similar as the new parameter "invoice_high_total_use_currency" under the September 2017 Release. https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Release_Notes/0099_2017/04_September_2017/Alma_September_2017_Release_Notes/01Acquisitions_-_September_2017_Enhancements |
| Acquisitions: Automated order claiming(5553) | Acquisitions | We need a solution for order claiming that works automatically for this for groups - one time orders - subscription orders - standing orders - online resource orders. |
| Acquisitions: Change currency in the order(5552) | Acquisitions | In the order the currency can not changed when the order is saved already. See attachment too, please. |
| Acquisitions: Change overexpenditure rules to ignore account encumbrances(5290) | Acquisitions | Currently overexpenditure rules take into account encumbrances. This shouldn't be the case. At present the overexpenditure limit rules are actually associatied with the available balance, which includes encumbrances. Overexpenditures, by definition, should not be associated with encumbrances in their calculation. |
| Acquisitions: Changing an invoice amount in the main field should update the fund code amount too(6389) | Acquisitions | Currently, on the "add invoice line" screen, when the price is changed the amount allocated to the fund code does not also update. In cases where there is only one fund code, updating the price field should also update the fund code allocation. |
| Acquisitions: Configuration > Searchable Columns(5693) | Acquisitions | As advised from EXL Support team and Product management, the following search operators and columns are not available, and we would like to raise it as an enhancement request. In Alma, under Acquisition Configuration > Searchable Columns: Add the following 6 options - (a) PO Line creation date, (b) PO Line sent date, (c) PO creation date, (d) PO sent date, (e) Receiving Date, (f) Activation date For all searches such as searching for Order lines, Vendors, Invoices, etc., provide more advanced Boolean operators such as AND, OR, NOT, BETWEEN, etc. to facilitate quick data compilation (instead, we currently rely on the Analytic to do this) |
| Acquisitions: Create warning when inventory/POLs are linked to a deleted license(5578) | Acquisitions | When operators link inventory or a POL to a license record, no warning is given if the license record has been deleted (i.e., is in delete status). When the user attempts to link inventory or a POL to a deleted license, Alma should warn the user that the license status is Deleted. |
| Acquisitions: Currency check in PO(5149) | Acquisitions | When creating PO to certain vendor with multiple PO lines in different currencies there is an error message preventing to create the PO. We need a way to convert the currency before the currency check to a single local currency. |
| Acquisitions: Display all past-due reminders(5798) | Acquisitions | Currently, Alma displays only the past two weeks of reminders by default. It would be better if it displayed all of the past-due reminders, and they should also appear on the Task List when they are past due. |
| Acquisitions: Display local price in addition to the foreign currency price(5686) | Acquisitions | We need the display of the local price in addition to the foreign currency price on the Invoice Lines tab and in the POL summary tab. |
| Acquisitions: EDI Invoices will successfully bill on closed PO lines(5001) | Acquisitions | EDI Invoices will successfully bill on closed PO lines. We thought this was a bug in Alma (SF case 206190) but Ex Libris support says to add an alert that the EDI Invoice is trying to bill a closed PO Line is an enhancement. |
| Acquisitions: Enhanced order record set parameters(5019) | Acquisitions | Creating and using Acquisitions sets is somewhat limited. Sometimes relevant sets can only be created using the Resource Management sets but then 'Update PO line information' job cannot be run. In some cases, exporting a report from Analytics and then loading it as an itemized set into Alma does not work. Or takes time to pull together an Analytics report and then upload to process as an itemized set. Proposed solution: Allow acquisition, item and bib level criteria be used to create sets for the 'Update PO line information' job or run POL jobs on Resource Management sets with more useful results with bib, holding, and item information. Important fields for consideration include: Ability to search sent date and receiving dates by range of dates, date is greater than or equal to, and date is less than or equal to; POL type; Material type; Receiving notes (by begins with, has, equals, and ends with); and Reporting code. |
| Acquisitions: Export of funds and ledgers(5698) | Acquisitions | In Alma new UI, all funds can only be exported alphabetically by fund names from A to Z totally, regardless of our pre-set hierarchy. In Alma old UI, the export can be done correctly according to our report hierarchy. Can EXL implement this function in the new UI or at least provide an option on how to export the funds by a pre-set hierarchy. |
| Acquisitions: Funds' Initial Allocated Amount(5613) | Acquisitions | Currently in Alma, the Initial Allocated Amount for an allocated fund is e.g. 1,000.00 ZAR. When an amount from this Initial Allocation e.g. 100.00 ZAR is transferred to another fund, the 100.00 ZAR gets deducted from the Initial Allocated Amount of 1,000.00 ZAR and is now displayed as 900.00 ZAR. In Aleph, the amount was transferred, yet the Allocated Amount remained the same, which is correct. When running reports on the Initial Allocated Amount in Alma, the adjusted 900.00 ZAR for the Initial Allocated Amount does not give a correct indication of the amount originally allocated from the institutional budget. |
| Acquisitions: Have the unique invoice identifier number display when looking at invoice history housed within a POL line record's history(5287) | Acquisitions | We would like to be able to have the unique invoice identifier number display when looking at invoice history housed within a POL line record's history. SalesForce Ticket ID: 00349610 |
| Acquisitions: Improvement to claims functionality for continuous titles(5799) | Acquisitions | There should be a way to indicate more specific information about why a continuous PO line is on the claims list. Currently claiming with vendors through Alma is only useful for one time orders, since a claim at the title level is meaningless to a vendor when claiming a specific serial volume/issue. The PO line assertions currently say “No item was received in more than x days” which is great for letting library staff know that a PO line hasn’t been received on in a set increment of time, but if the last previous issue received was indicated (to say “send next issue after x”), or the exact predicted item past due (if it exists) was indicated, then this functionality would be much more useful and more efficient to the library staff and for automating claims within Alma if desired. |
| Acquisitions: Invoicing (5549) | Acquisitions | We have set an invoice review rule "reviewing is required" (see attached - 20171106_175237 invoice review rules.png) to avoid duplicate invoicing but it does not work. Vendor may provide a new invoice no. (262128A) for the same POLs (POL-7084, 7103) in error. We prefer to have a pop-up message when we are invoicing for the same POLs. Serial titles will be invoiced for the same POLs in multiple times. That's why we prefer "pop-up" alert. We have set a rule but the invoice 262128A could go to the next status "Ready to be paid" rather than "Review". Please find screen shots for reference. We are told that "In the documentation, the AssertionCode value of "Additional invoice lines are linked to the same PO line" is defined as when The invoice contains multiple invoice lines that are linked to the same PO line. This would therefore refer only to invoice lines within the same invoice that link to the same PO Line - and not across different invoices as in your example. We do require alert message to avoid duplicate payment. |
| Acquisitions: ISSN in Description Tab of Continuing POL does not change when POL is re-linked to a different bibliographic record(5728) | Acquisitions | When POL is relinked from one serial bib record to another, the value in the Identifier/ISSN field in the POL description tab is not updated. All other fields in the POL description tab appear to be updated with information from the new bib, except for the ISSN. Impact: In the Alma Receiving Workbench, staff frequently use the ISSN to receive serials. Issues may be received on the wrong POL, or staff may not be able to find an issue, because an incorrect ISSN appears in the Description field. |
| Acquisitions: Licenses - ability to truly delete licenses(4222) | Acquisitions | An operator can "delete" a license record by going to Actions --> Delete. However, the license record is not actually deleted; rather, it is given a status of deleted. Please make "deleted" mean "deleted". Impact: There are many reasons why you might wish to completely delete a license from the system: obsolescence, test records, oops records, reduce clutter. You can truly delete all other record types, so you should also be able to truly delete licenses. |
| Acquisitions: Make temporary move requests visible in receiving workbench(5761) | Acquisitions | When in the Receiving workbench, we are not able to see if there are temporary move requests attached to items. The situation arises when an item is requested for course reserves (temporary move request) after the item has already been ordered for an unrelated reason. The problem is that acquisitions staff have no way of knowing that the item is needed for a course, so they do not know to rush the order and as a result students have to wait longer for the item to be ready for Course Reserves. |
| Acquisitions: Manual packaging, PO lines(5687) | Acquisitions | At Stellenbosch University we will always be using Manual packaging in the Purchase order line details > PO Line Details section. Please see screen capture attached. It will be very useful to be able to choose in the Acquisition configuration settings whether we want the Manual packaging checkbox marked or unmarked by default so that we can select the mark option for all our orders. |
| Acquisitions: More Flexibility to Update Order Records(5271) | Acquisitions | Currently, if we wish to update owning library (PO line owner), vendor (material supplier), acquisitions method, etc., in an active POL, it requires that we close the existing POL record, and recreate it to accommodate the changes. Please allow these updates to active PO lines. |
| Acquisitions: New "Move to Department" option (5577) | Acquisitions | We would like a new option called "Move to Department" in the Receiving workbench AND in the Scan in Items form." The new option would have the effect of marking the existing Acq process as Done, and putting the item(s) in transit to the next department. Currently, if a workflow involves moving something from the Acq department to another department, such as a central End Processing unit that handles multiple libraries, the receiving staff have to perform multiple time-consuming steps. They must 1) Receive 2) Search for Physical Item 3) Create new Work Order 4) Scan in item to mark as Done. The new option would allow for batch processing of new receipts, rather than handling each item separately, which reduces productivity. In the Scan in Items form, the new option "Move to Department" would allow staff to mark something as Done at the same time as putting it in-transit to another department. Currently, staff must first search for the item to create a new Work Order for the next department, and then Scan in the Item to mark it as done. The new option would simplify this process and improve productivity. |
| Acquisitions: Percentage load on vendor/order records(5614) | Acquisitions | In Alma, on the Vendor Account Details, provision is made for Account discount percent. This works well, thank you. However, we have a need to load a percentage also, as was the case in Aleph, in order to cover postage, possible price increases, exchange rate depreciation, etc. We require the option on the vendor record as a default for all associated orders and to change it per individual order. |
| Acquisitions: Provide ability to filter out deleted license records(4984) | Acquisitions | Problem Statement: Prior to the November 2016 release, deleted license records did not show up when the Status of “All” was selected. Now, deleted license records show up when “All” is selected. Although this is logical (All = All), there is no way to filter out deleted license records. We request that an additional Status facet be added: “All (except deleted)” that would allow us to facet license records in the same way that you may facet POLs by selecting “All (except closed)”. SFC# reference: 359593 |
| Acquisitions: Run Import Norm Rules before Portfolios Created(5642) | Acquisitions | I would like to propose that during import norm rules are processed before portfolios are created in order to give as control over the portfolios. Perhaps this could be a setting on import profile so that each order is possible. |
| Acquisitions: View and search by import file name in Monitor and view imports(5716) | Acquisitions | It would be really helpful if the file name of the marc files was visible at the monitoring screen and have the ability to search by file name or partial file name. The JOB ID number is not really that useful on this screen. |
| Add 'Change bib reference' option to additional e-resource order types(6328) | Acquisitions | We would like the option to change the bib reference on po lines that have order types equal to Electronic Collection - Subscription and Other Service - Subscription. Right now we can only change the bib reference in Alma for records with an order type equal to Electronic Title - Subscription. This is SalesForce case 567157. |
| Add ability to customize Purchase Request online form(5685) | Acquisitions | 1. The existing Purchase Request online form (after login Primo) only have two citation types – book or journal. Other common types such as ebook and AV materials should be included. 2. Only Title is the mandatory field. It’s suggested allowing the Library to decide which field(s) are mandatory. 3. All the fields are fixed and could not be changed on this Purchase Request. It’s suggested allowing the Library to add and remove the fields so that this form could be customized. At least, A Note field should be added in this Request form. 4. The ISBN entered in this Purchase Request form is used to check the Library’s holding. If it’s found in Library, the Full BIB will be populated into that Purchase Request. It is suggested the Purchase Request showing a message and alert the requestor that the Library already has the holding before submitting the Request. |
| Add additional sort function to e-resource task list to sort by status(6322) | Acquisitions | It would be very helpful to be able to sort the e-resource task list by status. The current sort by identifier is not logical or helpful. SalesForce case 583248. |
| Add ownership and availability by other institutions in the Network Zone to the Discovery Interface Display Logic Rules functionality(5660) | Acquisitions | Currently, Discovery Interface Display Logic Rules only allow manipulating services based on availability and ownership by campus and institution, not by availability and ownership by other other institutions in a shared Network Zone. |
| Add pickup location from other institution zones in Requests subject area for consortia(6395) | Acquisitions | We are currently unable to get information about what pickup location a user selected when placing a request if that pickup location is not in the local IZ (displays in Analytics as "OUT_OF_INSTITUTION"). Having this information would help us gather statistics about how and where our items are being requested throughout the NZ, which we could use to compare request / loan rates. |
| Add Restore Job for 'Receive all'(6203) | Acquisitions | If you mistakenly click the 'Receive all' button, this can have heavy consequences. A restore job for 'Receive all' jobs should be added in order to be able to work on your POLs again (Claiming, receiving, etc.). This job should work no matter if you work with the 'Keep in Department' option or not. |
| Add security levels to norm, indication, merge rules(6366) | Acquisitions | Because all norm, indication, merge rules can be edited by all staff with cataloger roles there is potential for erroneous changes for rules that are applied to batch jobs. |
| Add support for direct linking via SAML to the Alma Resource Sharing form(6303) | Acquisitions | Currently Direct linking to the Alma Resource Sharing form is only supported for PDS authentication. This request is for the same level of direct linking support to be enabled for SAML users. Currently, SAML users must access the Alma Resource Sharing form via the Primo interface, or by enabling the Resource Sharing form in the Get It tabs. This creates a lot of extra clicks for the end user. To improve the user experience of Resource Sharing we wish to offer them a direct link to the Resource Sharing form from our library webpage. To enable this we need SAML to be supported in the Alma Resource Sharing direct linking. |
| Add Vendor contact details to Analytics(6357) | Acquisitions | We would like to be able to report on the Vendor contact fields of address, phone, account code, account description, and email in Analytics. |
| Add vendor name or vendor record key to the Events subject in Analytics for Vendor updated events(6213) | Acquisitions | Events subject captures all vendor record update activity, but does not include any data that can be used to identify which vendor record was updated. |
| Allow customer to control ability of expired and inactive external patrons to place requests(4578) | Acquisitions | Currently, external patrons that are expired or inactive in alma, but able to authenticate in Primo, can place requests. We would like the ability control whether expired / inactive external patrons can successfully place requests. The business case involves the extra processing involved in cancelling requests placed by patrons who are not allowed to place such requests. Since we operate in a large, consortial environment, this issue impacts us not just locally, but consortially. |
| Allow for Alma Analytic data publication time to be set by institution(6200) | Acquisitions | Allow for Alma Analytic data publication time to be set by institution. Currently data is published at 4pm daily, and refreshed in analytics around midnight. However, updates to records after 4pm are not reflected in analytics until midnight the next day. This creates a day long delay in reporting short term loans after 4pm. Can the time be changed so that institutions either have a selection of times available, or can define their publish time to better align with their hours of operation. |
| Allow pre-loading standard opening hours based on begin and end dates.(6199) | Acquisitions | Allow pre-loading standard opening hours based on begin and end dates. Currently, standard opening hours are active for three years from the time they are created and/or updated. This means that operating hours must be updated on specific days in order to accommodate changing library hour schedules. It would be helpful to have several standard operating hours set in Alma where each set of hours is based on a start and end date. This would improve hours management for more than just the current hours. |
| Alma Analytics: Expected receiving dates are often incorrect(6324) | Acquisitions | In Alma Analytics the expected receiving dates are often incorrect or trashed in the Funds Expenditure Subject Area. We would like to be able to report on these. This is SalesForce Case 41546. |
| Avoid a negative available balance on purchase order lines and/or invoice lines(6144) | Acquisitions | When there is not enough money in the fund to cover the amount on the purchase order line or invoice line, we need Alma to WARN the operator of the insufficient funds and prevent filing the purchase order or invoice until the problem is resolved. While you can create an Analytic Report, but it will show only after the negative balance is created. The objective is to prevent a negative balance in the first place. |
| Bulk Selection of Open POLs(6356) | Acquisitions | When paying an invoice, a user would be able to pull up a list of all open POLs by vendor, check off those covered by the invoice, and select a group action to create invoice lines. |
| Change Missing Data tab to distinguish between zero and null(6302) | Acquisitions | Use the green checkmark icon when a value of zero has been successfully loaded, or use a third new icon to indicate a value of zero. Use the red error icon only when the value is null. |
| Change POL inventory type from "Print" to "Electronic" (or vice versa)(6367) | Acquisitions | We have a staggering number of records that migrated to Alma with the incorrect POL inventory type. We need to be able to convert these to the correct type, but currently we have to do this by closing or cancelling the migrated POL and creating a new one. We need a way to modify the POL inventory type in place without losing the invoice history of the order. I understand that this solution has been proposed before, and the response from Ex Libris is that this enhancement would cause "relational conflicts" in the database. However, it is a major impediment -- and one caused by insufficient flexibility on the part of Ex Libris' migration scripts. |
| Convert list price to local currency in item's inventory price field(5583) | Acquisitions | In Alma, we also require - for reporting purposes, inside the library and to our finance dept - that the final price from the PO line is converted to our local currency and automatically written to the item's Inventory price field. |
| Create ability to accurately predict serial items for subscriptions starting in “Winter”(5665) | Acquisitions | How to create predicted items for the first issue of the subscription year starting from Winter issue? Currently Alma ignores MARC Holding field 854 subfield x (Calendar change) which prevents the system from accurately predicting the serials with this pattern. Currently, it is not possible to state that both of the following will happen simultaneously: (1) first issue to be published is winter, i.e., chronology j = 24 and (2) it is not the last issue of the cycle. What is wanted is this prediction: v.65:no.1(2016:Winter) v.65:no.2(2016:Spring) v.65:no.3(2016:Summer) v.65:no.4(2016:Autumn) What Alma creates is: v.65:no.1(2016:Winter) v.65:no.2(2017:Spring) v.65:no.3(2017:Summer) v.65:no.4(2017:Autumn) |
| Deactivation of Electronic Resource End Date and History(6317) | Acquisitions | If we have an electronic resource (portfolio/collection) that has been cancelled and has an end date in the future - we require a more straightforward way to close the order and create a 'Deactivation' in the Electronic Resource Activation Tasklist for ALL of the resources attached to that Purchase Order. We would also like Alma to reflect the 'History' of the Deactivation as currently we cannot see the date/time/operator of when electronic portfolios or collections were deactivated and/or deleted |
| Delete Old Expenditure Transactions(6288) | Acquisitions | We are trying to clean up old funds and ledgers, which migrated into Alma when we began using it. We would like to re-purpose fund and code names. It is not possible to delete funds and ledgers if transactions are connected to them. While it is possible to delete old allocate transactions, it is not possible to delete old expenditures, which effectively prevents us from deleting old FY funds and their ledgers. |
| Display order for Interested Users(5699) | Acquisitions | After adding “Interested Users” to 3 POLs that already contain 1 Interested User, though the input sequence is the same, we found the display order of the names is different to the order during input. The final display of the new users are also different in the 3 POLs. We would like the display order to show the list of names in the order to which we input them. |
| Enable configuring VAT on the purchase order line level(6261) | Acquisitions | Libraries should be able to enable configuring VAT on the purchase order line level so that it can be taken into account for encumbrance calculation. |
| Improve Encumbrance, Disencumbrance and Expenditure functionality(4610) | Acquisitions | The timing and use of encumbrances, disencumbrances and expenditures needs to be improved to both match the actual time of events and ensure appropriate accounting expectations are met. |
| Improved filtering of portfolio lists(6406) | Acquisitions | Provide more ways to limit the CZ portfolios list that appears after a title search. For example, one journal can have over a hundred portfolios to choose from and it’s time-consuming to review, even after using the existing interface and material type facets. Suggest adding: ability to limit to non-consortial portfolios; to only free portfolios; to already active or non-active. |
| Improvement to Receiving Workbench(5797) | Acquisitions | Add buttons to "Open Predicated Items" and "Withdraw Items" on the Received Items List (receiving workbench) and make the Receiving Note box trigger a pop-up alert during receiving (or just make that box a brighter color when it contains text) to ensure that the receiving operator notices it, since it can sometimes contain important information. |
| In Fiscal Year Rollover, Fund Description and Fund Notes should be rolled over to the new Fund.(5585) | Acquisitions | When we rollover our funds to a new fiscal year the fund description and fund notes in the old funds are not rolled over to the new funds. This is SalesForce case 185828. |
| In Review to Paid(6422) | Acquisitions | Allow an invoice to be marked Paid when in the status of “In Review”, regardless of the payment method. |
| Item Billing Linked to Patron Billing(6237) | Acquisitions | Add the ability to view billing history for an item in Alma and link it to patron billing. It is difficult to move back and forth between item information and patron billing. Our Access Services folks would like to streamline this connection. |
| Location not included in the Fulfillment Network showing as pickup location(6140) | Acquisitions | We would like to be able to limit pickup locations for institutions within the fulfillment network to only those locations participating or configured for the fulfillment network. |
| Make all related format PO Line Types available when using the Order or Additional Order functions.(6399) | Acquisitions | When using the Order or Additional Order functions, not all PO line types are always available. For example, when a PO line is already attached to an Electronic Collection, any additional orders will only allow for a limited number of PO line types: Access Service - Subscription; Database Service - One Time; Digital - Non Archiving; Other Service - Subscription; Other Service - One Time; Physical - Archiving. Make all possible purchase types for a specific format available at all times. |
| Make Suppressing a location function the same as suppressing a holding in all publishing jobs(6362) | Acquisitions | Holdings records in suppressed locations should be automatically tagged as suppressed so these values are indicated in publishing profiles and Analytics. This way, suppression indicators would function the same whether they are being published to Primo or another source. |
| Patron Billing Invoice(6238) | Acquisitions | Add an option to send a billing summary invoice to patrons. |
| Portfolios in an electronic collection/package should inherit data displays from the collection's service(5054) | Acquisitions | While portfolios that are part of an electronic collection/package inherit the properties that are set at the service level, those inherited properties do not display in Alma in the individual portfolios. For example, the proxy value in the individual portfolios will always display in Alma as "No" even when the true value inherited from the electronic collection's service is "Yes." Similarly, a public or authentication note entered at the electronic collection or service level does not cascade down to the individual portfolio display in Alma either. Currently, the only service level information that appears in a portfolio is the Service Parse Params. Request: Data elements that are set at an electronic collection's service level (specifically, proxy settings and public/authentication notes) should cascade down to the portfolio level display. Staff shouldn't have to check two places to see the correct setting. |
| PPDA issue: POL automatically created with Order line type: Physical – One Time upon clicking Approve and Order for PPDA requests.(6439) | Acquisitions | DDA purchase request are one such requests created automatically through Primo and goes into Alma as a Purchase Request. The request is created automatically as opposed to one that is created by raising the PO Line. And the POL is automatically created with Order line type: Physical – One Time upon clicking Approve and Order for PPDA requests that the libray receives. We are not able to change the configuration on our side to Print Book – One Time and there is no option to change. In the February Enhancement 2018, there is a workaround, but it does not help as Order Line Type can only be updated if it’s not closed or packaged and this happens only after we clicked Approve and Order. |
| Search result discrepancy when searched by 'Order titles'(5697) | Acquisitions | The search result in 'All titles' and 'Order lines' are different using the same search terms but in different Chinese characters. Can the same indexing rule for 'All titles' be applied for the searches done in 'Order lines’? Case 1: Search simplified character record with Traditional Chinese characters Search in 'All titles' by traditional characters 中國年鑒全文 got 1 record. Search in 'Order titles' by traditional characters 中國年鑒全文 got 0 record. Case 2: Search traditional character record by Simplified Chinese characters Search in 'All titles' by simplified characters 中文电子学位论文服务 got 1 record. Search in 'All titles' by simplified characters 中文电子 (the first 4 character) got 12 records. Records containing both simplified and traditional characters. Search in 'Order lines' by same simplified characters 中文电子学位论文服务 got 0 record. Search in 'Order lines' by the first 4 characters 中文电子 also got 0 record. Search in 'Order lines' by traditional characters 中文電子學位論文服務 got the expected 1 record. |
| Select a template when creating a new authority record from the BIB heading(6344) | Acquisitions | At the moment in Alma, it's possible to create a local authority directly from the BIB heading (F3 -> "create authority" button) We can't choose the template for this authority. It's always the same template (regardless of the MARC BIB record field, and regardless of the default template). Here are two solutions (A or B) A. When clicking on the "create authority" button, we should be able to choose the authority template we want. B. When we're pressing F3 in field 100 -> clicking on "create authority" -> template for author authority When we're pressing F3 in field 830 -> clicking on "create authority" -> template for series authority (title) When we're pressing F3 in field 6xx -> clicking on "create authority" -> template for subject authority etc. |
| Serial management issues - provide a flexibility to select number of items to be created in prediction.(5664) | Acquisitions | Prediction of serial issues The current setup is to create items for a whole year. Please provide a flexibility to select number of items to be created. We don’t want to have 365 items for a daily publication. It is difficult for us to locate a particular issue to receive (e.g. 2018: Jan 21), especially when the items do not contain Enumeration information (e.g. Apple daily .o1616992x). When we sort the items by description, Jan is filed behind Feb. Is it possible to filter/sort the item list by Chronology I and Chronology J? Also, for the weekly magazine, there will be 52 items per year and its pattern may change slightly year by year due to the public holiday, e.g. Time magazine ISSN0040-781X. When there is a combined issue pattern change, we have to withdraw all forthcoming items with incorrect enumeration/chronology information and re-create a new set of items by prediction, another 52 items will be added and we will need to repeat this exercise every year. Is there any setting that we can change to help us to filter a long list of items? |
| Show Transaction Reason on Fines and Fees Details Page(6239) | Acquisitions | Currently, in order to see how a fine was closed/paid/waived/bursared, you have to go to the fines/fees details, change status to Closed, and then click each fine individually to see how it was closed. We would like to streamline evaluating fines by adding payment method as a column option to the details page. |
| Simultaneous file attachment to POL - multiple files(6305) | Acquisitions | Provide an option where multiple attachments can be uploaded simultaneously in the POL. Attaching multiple files one at a time becomes tedious, especially when updating multiple POLs. Simultaneous file uploading is not uncommon. |
| Split role user manager in 2: the user manager and the patron manager(6348) | Acquisitions | Right now any operator at any level with a role enabling the right to edit/delete users in Alma has the rights as well to change or delete roles or scopes of anyone else, even of the Alma administrators (!). Roles shall be fine tuned in a much more granular way, as to have two separated types of managers and administrators. - Patron managers shall be enabled to create and edit Patron Users, but not to edit/delete roles assigned to other users, esp. Libray staff Users. - User administrators instead should be enabled to edit/delete roles of other users, including Library Staff Users. |
| Streamlining the identification and deletion of disused financial information(5654) | Acquisitions | As per our retention schedule: Accounts Payable Records Invoice Payable Records Records document a department's expenditures and purchases. The series may also be used to research, evaluate, and monitor prior transactions and/or track the budget. Records may include but are not limited to departmental purchase orders; contract release orders; balance sheets; bills; invoices; invoice vouchers; journal voucher/entry forms; price quotes; State of Oregon Purchase Orders; departmental requisitions; justifications of purchases; payment authorizations; reports of receipt of goods or services; and related documentation and correspondence. Record Copy: Units Retention: Retention: 6 years, destroy. Other Copies: Units Retention: 2 years, destroy In practical terms, this means that we need to get rid of invoices, POLs, and other financial documents that have been disused for 7 years or more. In III Millennium, we were able to use create lists to identify disused order records (POLS) and quickly delete them from the system. Due to the differences in our current products, I’ve spent months working to identify these records. Deleting them has been more challenging than it needs to be as a result. For instance, we’re unable to delete POLs that have activated resources. In practical terms, this means that we can’t delete the POL for the ebook we purchased ten years ago, because the resource is still active. We can’t delete POLs with linked invoice lines. In practical terms, this means that we can’t delete POLs that have any payment activity in Alma. This isn’t a big problem now, but will be in 4 years when we can’t delete any of the POLs for monographs we purchased in Alma. Apparently, Analytics holds onto all of this information. So even if we manually unlink each invoice line from each of the thousands of POLs we’ll eventually need to delete (which I’m not suggesting is a viable option!) the information will still persist in Analytics, in violation of the retention schedule. So, I’d like to see an enhancement that allows us to easily and efficiently identify and delete disused financial data from our ExL products. |
| SUSHI harvesting job scheduled monthly(6308) | Acquisitions | Currently the only scheduling option for the SUSHI harvesting job is every Saturday at 03:00. For many vendors, COUNTER data is only compiled and released to SUSHI once a month. Until this data is ready, the weekly harvest job returns error files. We should have the option to schedule the SUSHI harvesting job for once a month, ideally for a day in the middle of the month when most data is available. |
| Toggle Missing Status from Physical Item Editor(6136) | Acquisitions | We would like to be able to toggle an item to or from "Missing" status from the Physical items editor. |
| Validity of opening hours configuration should be configurable(6211) | Acquisitions | Opening hours configured for libraries are valid for a period of 5 years initially. The entries can be renewed by editing and saving, this pushes the "until" value 3 years ahead. |
| Vendor Contacts (Contact People tab) are added as internal contacts in Alma(5588) | Acquisitions | When you enter Vendor Contact Details in Alma (Contact People tab) the internal contact form is used and the vendor contacts are stored as internal contacts. This form is inappropriate for Vendor Information. It asks for non-applicable fields such as gender and birth date and there is nowhere to add important information such as the contact's name, title and company they are associated with, work phone number, cell number, fax number, etc. This is SalesForce case 4060. |
| Waiting for Payment invoices - batch assignment(6209) | Acquisitions | At the moment, for each invoice in “Waiting For Payment”, we have to click the dropdown to select a function, e.g. “Assign to” and then choose a name from the “Assign to” dropdown list. It will save a lot of time if there were for instance ‘tick boxes’ on the left hand side to select several invoices, then choose from one of the functions and submit in batch. |
| When linking an IZ collection to a CZ collection, expand the match method for those local portfolios that do not have ISBN/ISSN(6133) | Acquisitions | Currently, when linking an IZ collection to a CZ collection, any local portfolios that do not have ISBN/ISSN are not linked. |
| 12 hour clock for loan due times(5718) | Administration | Allow libraries to use the 12 hour clock or the 24 hour clock for loan due times. |
| Ability to add a role profile to a set of users(6398) | Administration | With the Update/Notify Users job, you can add a single role to a set of users, but you can't add a group of roles from a role profile. It would save a lot of time to be able to add a role profile to a set of users. |
| Ability to choose which notes appear on the User Notes tab or to control the order(5102) | Administration | We would like to request an enhancement for User Notes. We would like to be able to choose which notes appear on the User Notes tab or at least be able to control the order of the notes. The most common business case is our patrons have to fill out an equipment checkout agreement form in order to check out laptops. When this has been filled out we put a note in their patron record stating it is okay for them to check out laptops. We need to be able to see this when we open a patron record (or at the very least when we click on User Notes), without having to click on More user notes exist in order to see if the note might be there. In general, being able to manipulate the order of user notes would be very useful, rather than relying on a strict chronological order of notes. |
| Ability to download job report/events for all reports, successful, completed with errors, failed, etc., without contacting Ex Libris(5741) | Administration | Currently, in order to receive the job results for some Fulfillment Jobs which have failed or completed with errors, in this case the Restore Job which fails constantly, we have to put in a SalesForce ticket with ExLibris. |
| Ability to drag and drop rows in all ordered configuration tables(6387) | Administration | Right now when you need to re-order rows in certain configuration tables (for example, Fulfillment Unit rules), you have to click the Move Up or Move Down arrows on an individual row to move it. If you are moving the row more than one place this becomes cumbersome. Some tables like the Display Logic Rules already allow you to drag and drop the rows to re-order them. We would like the ability to drag and drop rows in all ordered configuration tables. |
| Ability to link a user to a role profile(6402) | Administration | Currently if you add, update, or remove roles in a role profile, these changes do not propagate to the user accounts who were previously assigned that profile. We would like the ability to link a user to a role profile, so that updates made to roles in the profile, they are also made to the roles of the associated user accounts. |
| Ability to run patron purge on a set of user records(5304) | Administration | We would find it helpful to be able to run patron purge on a set of user records, or alternatively for Alma to add a user delete job that runs on a set. |
| Add a Preferred Name field to Alma(5300) | Administration | Currently the only option to bring preferred names into Alma is to replace the legal name with the preferred name. However, we still need to be able to verify a user by their legal name in cases when the only identification they have available is a legal form of identification, such as a driver’s license. Therefore, we request the ability to load a preferred name to the Alma User Record as a separate field from Legal Name. This would involve creation of three new fields in the user record: Preferred First Name, Preferred Last Name, and Preferred Middle Name. |
| Add condition to repository import profile to prevent barcode duplication upon import(5186) | Administration | Duplicate inventory with duplicate barcodes currently are allowed to be created from embedded holdings data when bibliographic record files using a repository import profile. Alma batch imports are not currently designed to match on barcode, and there is no fail-safe mechanism to prevent or warn against creating items with barcodes that already exist in the system. It would be preferable to have an automatic match and reject on barcode function be added to the match profile or inventory information tabs of import profile. This match and reject on barcode function would have to operate simultaneously with the main match profile chosen for the import profile. |
| Add the ability to schedule custom jobs in both the NZ and IZs(5498) | Administration | Add the ability for customers to schedule custom jobs in both the NZ and IZs. |
| Alma letters: provide a label for each and every xml element (e.g. add missing @@due_back@@ label for xml element /notification_data/incoming_request/due_date in Resource Sharing Shipping Slip Letter)(5341) | Administration | In Fulfillment / Alma letters please provide a label for each and every xml element. Right now it may happen that for a xml element in a letter the related label is missing (for example, @@due_back@@ label for xml element /notification_data/incoming_request/due_date is available in may letters but is missing in Letter Resource Sharing Shipping Slip Letter), thus preventing real multilingual communication with the patrons. |
| Change default selection of work order statuses(6259) | Administration | The statuses for work order types are always listed in the order in which they were added to Alma, and cannot be changed. This is a problem when the most commonly used status isn't the first one on the list, as the default selection is always the first. We frequently have to click and change the selected status in various workflows. It would simplify our workflows and reduce clicking if we could choose which status for each work order type will be the default selection. |
| copy opening hours between libraries(6108) | Administration | Since many libraries within an institution have the same exceptions to regular operating hours due to holidays and institution changes, please set up a way to copy the hours AND EXCEPTIONS from one library to another. |
| Create separate roles for Fines/Fees Payment and Waiving, and Claims Returned(5734) | Administration | The auditors at our institution require us to limit the number of staff members who have PAY_FINES_FEES and WAIVE_FINES_FEES PRIVILEGES. We also noted that the CLAIMED_RETURNED_PRIVILEGE is present in roles that we cannot accept as belonging in Repository Manager role, among others. The Circulation Desk Operator - Limited should not have this privilege at our institution. For larger institutions there are some privileges that need to be assigned more judiciously. |
| Customize User Role Privileges(5792) | Administration | It would be helpful to be able to customize user roles so that users have specific capabilities based on the duties of their job rather than roles with access to many things not needed. For example, we have student workers who do more specialized work (such as reserves or processing new materials). We would like to give them the ability to do just the tasks they need to do for their jobs and nothing more. |
| Enable IP control for SRU search Integration Profile(6181) | Administration | The SRU profile can be enabled at Alma Integration Profile. All public users can search cataloging records of the Institution Alma through the SRU URLs. For example: https://<Alma domain>/view/sru/<institution_code>?version=1.2&operation=explain But there is no IP control to restrict this URL to be viewed by certain IPs only. Therefore, we would like to request an IP control function to this SRU profile. |
| Expired Roles Removal Job(6283) | Administration | Problem: We employ a number of student assistants every semester, each with their own individual Alma account. We add the appropriate roles they need and enter an expiration date for the role. However, even if the roles have expired, they still appear on our Staff Login report. Proposed Solution: Create a job that can be ran (either on-demand or scheduled) that searches for Expired Roles and removes them from user records. This saves hours of manual labor of having to go through each user record and delete these one-by-one. |
| Improve cross-functional navigation(5241) | Administration | Open more than one window (tab) to more easily navigate between functional areas |
| Include line number for XML validation errors in Alma Letters(6137) | Administration | When you are using XSL within Alma for changing letters, the errors should specify what lines in the code (and have the ability to show you the lines) the errors are coming from. This way, you don't have to use external validation tools to validate the xsl and figure out where the error is located. |
| Incorrect estimates for records in sets. Number exported is not number given from Alma.(5590) | Administration | Alma seems to have two issues with sets: 1. the number of results in the set are estimated and are not the exact number of results. Users would like to know the real number of results and not an estimate 2. The number of records exported is far less than the number of estimated results if the result set is large. For example: I created a set of Physical Titles where material type = 'Journal'. The result set was 330,227 records. I then ran process 'Export Bibliographic Records' on the set. Only 46,901 records were exported (instead of 330,227). I ran the job twice and got the same results both times (see SalesForce case 21980). |
| Increase options and flexibility for scheduled job frequency(5223) | Administration | Currently, scheduled jobs are run on a frequency pre-set in Alma. Libraries do not have the ability to customise the frequency to suit our business needs. An example would be the Fines/Fee Bursar Transfer job, it is currently restricted to Every Sunday, Everyday and Every 2nd of the month. Another example would be the Inventory Remote Storage Update job, which is scheduled to be run every 2 hours. Neither of these schedule suits our business workflow. We would like to have the flexibility to indicate a time/date when the job should run. |
| Make "Recent Pages" Optional(5641) | Administration | "Recent Pages" display on Alma dashboard/landing page should be optional and users who want more real estate on the dashboard should be able to remove them. |
| Make fine/fee types editable(5636) | Administration | Many of the fine and fee types in Alma's FineFeeTypeDefinition's Description table do not apply to us. Rather than providing customers with a fixed list, why not create an editable table of Manual Fine and Fee Types, similar to the Reasons for Transactions table that controls options for waiving fines? |
| Preferred Language Alma Primo(6354) | Administration | When a users preferred language is set in Alma it only affects the language for email correspondences and does not determine the language preference in Primo, this has to be set by the user. |
| Primo VE: Need for new ‘Discovery Manager’ roles(6516) | Administration | Create Discovery Manager roles and give customers the possibility to assign Discovery roles to colleagues who are in charge of specific content updates in the front end (notably Tag management, Resource Recommender management, Primo Central Index activations/deactivations) and who are not necessarily Primo administrators. For more flexibility and granularity, different roles (or parameters to add?) should be created. For example, a staff user in charge of Resource Recommender management should not necessarily have access to PCI activations. |
| Primo widget in Alma(4648) | Administration | Currently you can only have one primo widget that searches multiple views. At minimum you should have a widget available for each library in Alma. However, each library could have multiple views in Primo and would want a widget for each views. These widgets should be able to recognize who is logging on and set the widgets for the library the user is associated with. This could be accomplished by adding additional parameters to the “Primo Widget Configuration” table, allowing for view ID and location to be selected, in order to limit one’s search query. Additionally, you would like to see this be auto-populated based upon the “Current Location” of the user that is logged into Alma. |
| Read only view of user record information(6216) | Administration | There is a need to provide our faculty librarians with a role that allows for a read only view of the user record information e.g. user details, addresses, contact details, etc. |
| Remain on the same screen when Current Location is changed(6218) | Administration | At the moment, when 'Current Location' is changed, this action results in the Alma user being taken to the home screen afterwards. This is inconvenient, especially when working in a patron record, as it means several steps to get back to previous screen. It would be much better if the user remained on the same screen after a location change. |
| Sort order of libraries/locations(6517) | Administration | We have an issue with the way our libraries/locations within a campus and IP range are sorted, especially which librarylocation is displayed first (on the brief results view). When there are titles held in multiple libraries and locations, enable the ability to determine which library and locations will appear first, second, third, etc. in the record. |
| User profile: General message by sms(6372) | Administration | From the user profile it is possible to send a general message by email. We would like to be able to send a general message by sms as well. |
| "Manage purchase request" available in Analytics reports(5559) | Analytics | Alma allows the export to Excel of the data found in the "Manage purchase request" option. The export is usually a slow process, which will surely slow down as the purchase requests stored in Alma increase. We would like all this information to be available in Analytics so that we can manage it in a simpler way. We request the implementation of this improvement in Analytics |
| Ability to track use of Alma General Electronic Services (GES) by our users in Primo(6253) | Analytics | We have added a number of General Electronic Services (GES) to our Primo display via Alma. These include a link to our eBook help page, with details on navigating various platforms and accessibility standards, a link to our AskUs help service when our users need personal assistance, an option to search for Open Access versions by DOI via Unpaywall, and a link to our Request Form for special manuscript collections which have staff mediated access. We think these are all valuable pathways to assist users in accessing our content and services. But we have no way to assess or prove this, and make good evidence-based decisions, as data on the use of these services is not made available in Analytics. Are they just noise on the screen, or do our users appreciate and use these links? We don’t know! We’d like to see this data in Alma Analytics in the Link Resolver Usage subject area for each configured Alma GES in Get It and/or View It - both those with static links and those using OpenURL attributes - including the service name, views, and clicks (specifically OpenURL Context Measures, OpenURL Context Details, and Request Date). Screenshots have been provided for the four GES described. |
| Acq-make vendor information reportable : (right now almost no vendor information is—only create date, modification date, vendor code, vendor name, additional code, ERP code are currently available):(5781) | Analytics | Add status, vendor account, libraries, creator, modifier, vendor type, payment method under account, contact information. Currently there is a very limited amount of information that is reportable about vendors—create date, modification date, vendor code, vendor name, additional code, ERP code. We would like to make more vendor and vendor account information reportable through Analytics. We propose adding the following: At vendor level--financial system code, Notes, Vendor type; At vendor and vendor account level--Status, Libraries, Contact information, Creator (person who created record), Modifier (person who updated record); At vendor account level--Vendor account code, Note, Expected receipt after ordering; Interface names |
| Add "Request Fiscal Month Key" to Requests subject area(6388) | Analytics | Add fact for Request Fiscal Month Key to allow for more consistent formatting across Analytics reports from different fulfillment-related subject areas |
| Add circulation desks from other institution zones into Fulfillment subject area for consortia(6394) | Analytics | The Fulfillment subject area allows the user to see what circulation desk the item was loaned from, but only if it is a circulation desk in that IZ. Circulation desk information is visible in the individual item records in Alma (in the "Fulfillment Activities" under the History tab), but this information is not pulled into Analytics. Having this information available in Analytics the same way we have it available for items circulated in our own IZ would be extremely helpful for gathering statistics on loans that are made through other IZs in the Network Zone. (currently, these show up as "OUT_OF_INSTITUTION") |
| Add Fulfillment Unit as a data point in Analytics.(4889) | Analytics | We should be able to list or count all Items that belong to any location mapped to a particular Fulfillment Unit, e.g. list all items for a library in any No Loan location. |
| Add POL "Receiver" as an element in Analytics(5742) | Analytics | Add POL "Receiver" as an element in Analytics. (Or, modify POL fields available to include History tab aka Purchase Order Line Details.) Add POL Receiver as an available element in Analytics. The order operator is available in the Fund Expenditure area called "PO Line Creator," however the receiver operator is mixed in with the general "PO Line Modified By" field, which also includes catalogers who may touch the item, or System changes (see Figures 1 and 2 in attachment). |
| Add User Note Creation Date and Creator as query-able fields in Anayltics(6371) | Analytics | Please make it so that we can create analysis in analytics that display the creation date and creators of user notes. Both fields would be very useful filters for us. |
| Allow all 852$x holdings record subfields to be reportable in Analytics(6123) | Analytics | Presently, only the first 852$x in a holdings record is reportable in Analytics; any subsequent 852$x subfields are not reportable. |
| Alma Analytics - Physical Items SA - Holding Details dimension is missing creation and modification information(5593) | Analytics | In Alma Analytics > Physical Items Subject Area > Holding Details dimension the Creator, Creation Date, Modified By and Modification Date fields in Alma are missing from the Holdings Details in Analytics. Users want to know when any record (be it bib, item or holding) is created and who created it and modified and who modified it. This is SalesForce case 459284. |
| Alma Analytics: Interested User field in the Funds Expenditure Subject Area, to also include the primary identifier(5695) | Analytics | Orders are created by users via portal forms, where the interested user is captured. When reporting on theses orders in Analytics however, you can see the interested user, but not the primary identifier attached to the interested user. This causes problems when the analytics report is used to feed into other systems, i.e. CRM system., as the interested user is not unique and there could be more than one individual with the same name. I would like to request a new field is added in Analytics to be able to report also on the primary identifier of the interested user, in addition to their name. When an interested user is selected in the Alma interface, it is usually from a drop down list, where you can choose the list of users, and so there will always be a primary identifier attached. |
| Analytics e-inventory area: create more granular fields for coverage(5596) | Analytics | Currently, the coverage of portfolios is covered in Analytics the following way: - coverage information combined - embargo months - embargo operator - embargo years We would like to have a more granular set up for the coverage, as is is presented in the portfolio (in addition to what is already availabe): - coverage from year - coverage from month - coverage from day - coverage from volume - coverage from issue - coverage until year - coverage until month - coverage until day - coverage until volume - coverage until issue |
| Analytics: Add attributes in Fund Ledger for Fund Rules settings(6212) | Analytics | Setting from the Rules section of the Fund Summary tab should be available in Funds Expenditure > Fund Ledger in Analytics so they can be included in budget reports. |
| Analytics: Add indicator for Course Reserve Loans(5595) | Analytics | Current methods for running reports in the Fulfillment subject area for items on course reserve are clunky and, we suspect, unreliable, especially when reporting on loans for items that are no longer on active course reserve. We would like to see a Course Reserve Loan indicator, much like the In House Loan or Booking Loan indicator added to this subject area. This indicator would allow us easily report on Course Reserve loans, or exclude them from a report. |
| Analytics: Reminder(6421) | Analytics | Improve the “Add Reminder” functionality by: o Adding it to analytics. It would be very useful to create and schedule reports on reminders by type, status, and etcetera. o Add an email field to the reminder that will push it to the person for whom it is created. Currently, someone has to remember to go check reminders, which is not very effective. |
| Create and implement an NZ Analytics instance that can reasonably accommodate consortia level data is required.(6304) | Analytics | An Analytics instance that can reasonably accommodate consortia level data is required. NZ Analytics (https://csu-network.alma.exlibrisgroup.com/mng/login) is frequently unusable. It is clearly not designed or supported to handle the volume of data of all 23 campuses. Reports regularly take 20-40 minutes to run (this is accounting for reasonable filters), and more often than not reports timeout or crash. Examples of reasonable filters would be: -while in the NZ instance, filtering down to just one institution out of 23. -While in the NZ instance, filtering data on electronic resources by LC classification for 1 year for 23 campuses. |
| Enable more than 10 Local fields in Analytics(5637) | Analytics | You can have up to 100 local field 9xx but can only publish to Analytics 10 at the time as "Local Params", please enable to publish at least 25 bibliographic local fields. Also, the option to configure the local param fields should be subject to customer customization rather than through a sales force case. |
| Fix post-timeout reentry to Design Analytics Module(5755) | Analytics | Following a Design Analytics timeout, reopening the module from Alma leads to a non-functional login screen. |
| How can we improve Alma? Report on empty viewit screens and better link resolver usage reports(5487) | Analytics | I would like to be able to report on empty viewit screens. Currently the link resolver usage area is not so useful, missing the openurl itself, and limiting the data that is being reported to very few request metadata elements. Im missing, in addition to the openurl, the date/vol/issue details as well as request article title and book titles. My goal is to be able to use these reports in order to analyze problem points - currently I'm missing crucial data that will help me analyze problems. |
| In Analytics -> Requests SA -> Physical Item Details, work order department is missing(5586) | Analytics | In Analytics -> Requests Subject Area -> Physical Item Details, when Process Type = Work Order Department the actual work order department the item is in is missing from the Physical Item Details. This is SalesForce Case 140601. |
| Local currency in Analytics(5152) | Analytics | Enable local currency in analytics reports for all fund and ledger types. We need the option to draw acquisition data in local currency even from closed or inactive funds |
| Make 245 $p, $n, $s, $k, $f, $g part of "Title" criteria in Analytics(6361) | Analytics | Currently, the Analytics criteria “Bibliographic Details – Title” returns the 245 $a and $b in combination. This leaves out a good portion of the information needed to distinguish titles in series or parts from one another. |
| New Analytics subject area: Cataloging(6309) | Analytics | While it is possible to get some data on cataloging activity from the Events subject area, the format of the data is very difficult to use, and the sheer size of the Events subject area make running reports in this area painfully slow. ExLibris should create a new Analytics subject area for Cataloging, where metadata editor activity can be analysed. This subject area should contain tables for Event Date, Event Type, Bibliographic Details, Holding Details, and User Details. |
| No NZ-level file sharing area in Alma Analytics for consortia(5611) | Analytics | The following folders are available for Alma Analytics users: My folders – A read / write personal folder accessible only to the logged in user. Alma – A read-only folder containing out-of-the-box reports produced by Ex Libris. Your Institution – A read / write folder for the institution or consortium to save and edit reports. It is accessible and visible only to the institution/consortium. It has the name of the specific institution/consortium. Community – A read / write folder visible and accessible to save and copy reports for all institutions. Includes reports and dashboards of all the institutions with Alma in the world. It contains only queries (no data of other institutions is visible). The only way for consortial members to share reports is through the community folder or through the use of the institution folder, where a consortial level could be an institution but all consortial members would need a separate login to the consortium-level instance. |
| Out of the Box Analytics Reports for Circulation Statistic Questions(6350) | Analytics | Add to the out of the box Analytics reports for Industry Standard Reports to include reports for ARL to include: 1) ARL question 17, Number of initial circulations, excluding reserves; and 2) Number of Circulations of reserve items |
| Purchase orders for electronic resources to include a "Receiving note" field(6311) | Analytics | As is available for purchase orders for physical items, a receiving note field for electronic resources would be beneficial. It would not be the same as an activation note, we are hoping for a free text field that could have information entered into it at the time a purchase order is created, and this text field would be permanent, but subsequent notes could be appended. There is currently a receiving note for physical items, and in this field we will enter information about what academic school the item is ordered for, how the request was received and what kind of communications might have to go out when the item is received. Submitted as Ideas Exchange - https://ideas.exlibrisgroup.com/forums/308173-alma/suggestions/36496669-receiving-note-for-electronic-resources |
| Retain Patron Statistical Identifiers(4986) | Analytics | For anonymization to occur in Alma Analytics, first the Handle Historical Archiving job must be run and then the ETL must occur. After anonymization, none of the user details are displayed in Analytics; however, the following information is kept: Patron Details (job category, user group, record type, and account type). However what is not maintained and needs to be is the statistical identifiers. We had planned to use them for grouping patrons in reports based on user type, major, department, etc. However, right now they are removed and provide no use if you have anonymization turned on. These are not at a level that they cause us any concerns with privacy. Please pull these out of Borrower Details and put them in Patron Details so they are retained. |
| Set column properties by user/set default column property to “Repeat”(4997) | Analytics | The column properties in Analytics should either default to “Repeat” or be able to be set as a preference by the user. |
| Usage Date field and the Invoice Subscription Date should be available in the Cost Usage area(6301) | Analytics | Usage Date field (already available in the Usage Data subject area) and the Invoice Subscription Date (already available in the Funds Expenditure subject area) should be available in the Cost Usage area in order to customize precisely which usage data are being compared to which expenditures. Also, a Real Cost Per Use measure should be added, and the existing Cost Per Use measure should be labelled Estimated. |
| Acquisitions: Information about the "Interested Users" in the List "Electronic Resource Activation Task List" is needed(4958) | Electronic Resources | To work with the "Interested User"-Functionality in the context of Electronic Resources we need the Information about the "Interested Users" in the List "Electronic Resource Activation Task List" in a seperate column. |
| Add a public note field in interface record(5626) | Electronic Resources | From time to time, a vendor interface goes down temporarily. While we follow the access issue up with the vendor, we add a public note for our students and staff indicating that the interface is temporarily down. The issue is that often we have many electronic collections with the same interface, and therefore must add a public note to each and every electronic collection that uses the affected interface, and then remove all of the notes once access is restored. Since all of these electronic collections link back to a single interface, it would be great if there were a field in the interface screen to add a public note about temporary interface unavailability that would appear in the discovery layer for all eresources (portfolios) in the electronic collections linked to that interface. This would improve the process by significantly reducing the time it takes to add/remove public notes to multiple electronic collections - and also reduce human errors when a public note for a particular electronic collection is missed. See the Ideas Exchange item: https://ideas.exlibrisgroup.com/forums/308173-alma/suggestions/16374049-add-a-public-note-field-in-interface-record |
| Batch de/activation of settings at service level(6142) | Electronic Resources | Batch update to Collection / Services fields are essential when there are changes on Proxy setting (de/activation or remove the re-direct proxy script), add a public note scheduled maintenance or unexpected downtime message to all the collections of a specific interface, bulk updates for collections when there is a change of policy. Now we have to make the update for Collection or Service level one by one, which is time consuming and labor intensive. |
| CZ : eportfolio preview(6420) | Electronic Resources | Add the ability to view the details of an electronic portfolio that is in the Community Zone prior to activation. |
| Improve display of Electronic Collections, Services, and Portfolios(5276) | Electronic Resources | The Alma display of Electronic Collections, Services, and Portfolios is very confusing. It's hard to tell at a glance which level you are in. Our institution uses campuses, and there's no way to quickly tell which level has the campus setting applied. |
| Include an “add from a set” option for adding local portfolios to CZ-linked electronic collections(5651) | Electronic Resources | Currently, local portfolios can only be added to CZ linked electronic collections individually (one by one) or via file upload using the portfolio loader option. We'd like the ability to add local portfolios to CZ linked electronic collections using the "add from set" option. This is the same option that already exists for adding local portfolios to local electronic collections. |
| Include Public Notes associated with electronic collection and electronic service in the BIBs API Retrieve Bibs service(6286) | Electronic Resources | The BIBs API Retrieve Bibs service provides electronic inventory information equivalent to that in the Primo View It display, except it only includes Public Notes at the portfolio level, not those associated with the portfolio’s electronic collection or electronic service. Up to three additional API calls are needed to retrieve the complete set of Public Notes for a single portfolio using the Electronic Resources API, and many bibs have multiple portfolios associated. |
| Last time portfolios were added, modified, or deleted in Community Zone e-collections(5749) | Electronic Resources | When viewing an electronic collection in the Community Zone, a modification date displays, but this only reflects modification of the collection itself, rather than the portfolios included. When viewing a CZ collection, we'd like to see additional dates provided specifying the last time that portfolios were added, modified, or deleted. |
| Make it possible to change the default behavior for “Handling bibliographic records without inventory” when deleting a portfolio(5707) | Electronic Resources | When deleting a portfolio, the current default option for "handling bibliographic records without inventory is "Do Nothing." It's not possible for institutions to change what displays as the default in the drop down list. Make it possible to change the default behavior for “Handling bibliographic records without inventory” to “Delete bibliographic record(s)” or “Suppress bibliographic record(s)”. |
| Make more information viewable from Portfolios list(6404) | Electronic Resources | On a CZ portfolios list after a title search, provide a way to view more characteristics of the portfolio, such as the URL, publisher, free/not free, without having to activate the portfolio (comparable to the View button in SFX). |
| Portfolio Management: simplify process to remove, relink, and delete portfolios in electronic collections(3792) | Electronic Resources | There are cases when portfolios are linked to the wrong collection by mistake, or the contents of an electronic collection change. There should be ways to remove a set of portfolios from a collection or link a set of portfolios to a different collection in a batch just like it is possible to add a set of portfolios to a collection using the "Add from set" option in the Electronic Service Editor. Please add the ability to "Remove from set" as well as “Link to different collection.” Portfolios are often identified for deletion or to be moved to another electronic collection after performing a portfolio or title search. Please also add the ability to "Delete" and "Remove" portfolios in the portfolio search results and in the portfolio list for titles (brief portfolio displays). |
| Process to delete a set Portfolios of a Electronic Collection(5688) | Electronic Resources | To manage local Electronic Collections (neither Collections nor Portfolios nor bibliographic records are linked to CZ data), a process is needed to (re-)onvert a set of Portfolios that are already part of an Electronic Collection back to Standalone Portfolios. |
| Report to EL(6418) | Electronic Resources | Add Additional e-mail field in the Report to Ex Libris form in Alma to allow copying others on the support case. |
| “Restore” the reading list to its original location (5639) | Fulfillment | We often have large amount of course reserve items that need to be moved from a permanent to temporary location and back again. We would like to be able to “restore” a reading list to its original location in ALMA by running a restore job on a defined set of reading lists or through adding a restore action to reading list functionality. Bulk restore would improve efficiency by removing the need to scan in items individually. |
| Ability to activate / deactivate Notes in User Account(5185) | Fulfillment | The functionality to activate/deactivate Notes (same as for Blocks), by use of active/unactive option. There are occasions where we want to keep the note for future reference but record that it’s not currently applicable, e.g. if we’ve had a conversation with the user about returning items late owing to a particular reason. We may want to refer back to that note if it happens again, but we also want to have a way to record it’s not ‘currently’ applicable. |
| Ability to add Citation Details fields to the Citation display in Edit Reading list or Edit Citation screens(5648) | Fulfillment | Currently important information for reading list workflows like Edition are not displayed in the Citation, but only in the tab ‘Citation Details’. Fields like Edition are more important to display at a glance for citations, than the currently displayed Subject or Series. We would like to be able to display all Citation Details fields in the Citation display, configurable through the manage column display feature |
| Ability to both include and exclude facets on Borrowing Requests, Lending Requests, and Monitor Requests & Item Processes pages(5658) | Fulfillment | Currently when using the Borrowing Requests, Lending Requests, and Monitor Requests & Item Processes pages, you can limit the results via facets by including the records with the a facet value you want to see (but even then, only one per category). It would be helpful and easier sometimes to be able to use a process of elimination and eliminate what you know you don't want to see, especially when you aren't sure exactly what you want to see. |
| Ability to choose whether books are due when the patron record expires, or at the normal time(5103) | Fulfillment | Option to set configuration rules for fulfillment so that if you checkout a book, it always goes for the entire loan period and does not automatically get the expiration date of the patron record as it's due date. Business case: expiration dates for most patron records come from an external system, but the library wants patrons to be able to complete their loan of an item instead of getting a truncated due date. The truncated due date confuses patrons, who are used to a specific loan length (i.e. 6 weeks). |
| Ability to configure manadatory fields for digitization request form(6314) | Fulfillment | We would like the digitisation form to have the ability to make the fields like Chapter, page number or comments as Mandatory or not. "Raised as SF (#00517303) - ExLibris response was "Current Alma does not provides the feature to configure mandatory fields for Digitization request differently from Resource Sharing. If you want to configure mandatory fields for Digitization request, this is an enhancement issue. " |
| Ability to select which user groups receive the FulUserBorrowingActivityLetter (5737) | Fulfillment | We would like the ability to send the FulUserBorrowingActivityLetter to our student groups mid-semester before we block registrations and at the end of the semester to our faculty and staff before they leave for vacations/sabbaticals. When we first came up on Alma at the beginning of the Spring Semester in 2016, our users were shocked to get the Borrowing Activity Letter, as they were not expecting it. We now feel that it would be useful if we could send this letter out for our students before registration period, so they can clear their fines/fees and not be blocked from registering. Likewise, it would be very helpful to send these reports to our faculty/staff users or to all our university community members before the end of the term. The ability to create and enable profiles that allow for setting the user groups to whom the notice should apply is available for the Fines and Fees Notification. We would like to see the same functionality for the Borrowing Activity Letter. This would allow us to control who receives notices before a scheduled or on-demand run of the job. |
| Ability to sort Resource Sharing borrowing and lending requests list(5224) | Fulfillment | Currently, the Resource Sharing Borrowing and Lending Request lists' facet allow us to filter results but not sorting. For example, the "Request Date" and "Last Updated Date" can be filtered by "Today", "Up to a month ago", "Up to a week ago" etc, however, the individual requests are still sorted only by Title alphabetical order once the filter is applied. We would like to have the option to sort by date |
| Add "proxy for" and "proxy of" to user search criteria in the persistent search(5750) | Fulfillment | We would like to see "proxy for" and "proxy of " added as user search parameters in the persistent search menu, as part of All and as separate criteria. As it is, there is no easy way to search for a proxy relationship in Alma. One has to know who the proxy is in order to confirm whether or not they are a proxy. For example, a faculty member may have 1-3 research assistants and they want to ensure that they are all in good standing. We should be able to search for the faculty member and see all proxy relationships together. |
| Add bulk recall job with ability to truncate due date) of recalled item(5752) | Fulfillment | Currently, in Alma, an item can only be recalled by placing a request. When a large number of items need to be recalled we must place requests individually, which can be a lot of work for staff. A useful solution would be to add a bulk recall job with a number of parameters pertaining to the item. Ideally, the bulk recall feature would do the following: submit the recall to the patron, truncate the due date (configurable), and place a resource sharing request on their behalf (enable/disable option). The truncated loan period time should be configurable in days and hours. |
| Add Course Information to the Excel columns exported from the Alma Citations page(5710) | Fulfillment | We would like Department Name, Number of Participants, and Term added to the export from the Edit Citations screen. We make purchasing decisions based on citations tagged as Key Texts, which department they are for and how many students are on the course. It would be useful to have all this information in one place and would allow us to work more efficiently and effectively with this export. |
| Add date range parameter field to Bulk Waive Job; move it under Fulfillment Menu(5738) | Fulfillment | We had a mishap with the Overdue and Lost Loan Profile configuration feature in early January that resulted in a couple hundred patrons receiving lost loan fines and their loans receiving the lost status prematurely. I was able to use the Bulk Waive Job to waive their fines but with one very big complication: because I could not specify, by date, the fines for the patron groups affected, we ended up waiving fines/fees for lost items that were marked lost ourside of that time period. So faculty members and graduates who had legitimately lost our books or had not returned them received forgiveness because Alma did not allow us to set the fine dates to a specific range. This is problematic for our institution because we rely on the lost item fines and lost item replacement fees as a tool to ensure we receive our items back. Because of the size of our patron population we need to be able to control better who is affected, by this job in particular, and who is not. A simple solution to this feature would be to add date range fields. If I could have chosen to forgive only fines that were applied between 1/8/18 and 1/23/18, it would have saved us a lot of additional work and explanation. Unfortunately, because date range was not available as a parameter, I had to send out a number of emails and create workflow work- arounds to fix the additional problems the Bulk Waive Job feature caused. Further adding it under the Fulfillment menu makes more sense. There should be no other department in a library that is adding/fines fees other than Circulation and Resource Sharing. I understand not every institution is organized to have those two areas under the same department, but having this feature under Admin, opens it up to people who should not have access to it. able to use the Bulk Waive Job to waive their fines but with one very big complication: because I could not specify, by date, which fines for the patron groups affected, we ended up waiving fines/fees for lost items that were legitimately lost. So faculty members and graduates who have legitimately lost our books or have not returned them just received forgiveness because Alma did not allow met to narrow the fined date to a specific range. |
| Add Destination Location as a required element for Temporary Move requests (5589) | Fulfillment | When creating a temporary move request, the Destination Location should be required. If users neglect to add a location to a temporary move request it is not clear where the item should go once it arrives at the destination Library. Staff see two errors: "Failed to change the item information. Please use the Change Item Information tab." & "The field Location is mandatory, please enter the required data." If the location is mandatory for the item to be received, it should be a mandatory field in the request. |
| Add expiration date and renewal options to Proxy User(5594) | Fulfillment | Add expiration date and renewal options to Proxy User. This is SalesForce case 9470. Our faculty usually provide assistants with proxy permission for a semester or academic year, it would be great if staff were able to set an expiration date and action renewal of proxies. Currently staff need to maintain lists of proxies outside of Alma to delete on certain dates. 1. Ex Libris should add expiration date and renewal options to the Proxy User. 2. When expiration dates are able to be added to the proxy relationship, the patron granting proxy access should receive an email notification when the proxy is about to expire. 3. When a proxy relationship is established, the patron granting access should receive a confirmation email. Currently we spend a great deal of time at the beginning of the semester, emailing patrons to confirm their request has been received. 4. We have found multiple instances of faculty and staff who have more than one proxy associated with their account - in some cases up to 10. It is time consuming to go to each proxy account and add the same faculty or staff details, it also presents a problem if a faculty member asks who their current proxies are, we have no way to retrieve this information from Alma. We must consult our increasingly large spreadsheet maintained outside of Alma. It would be very helpful if we could click on the proxy tab and see a list of all the associated accounts. A better design of this workflow would seem to be allowing the proxy relationship to be created from the requester's account, this would enable a staff member to open up Prof Smiths account, add as many proxies as they need and see any existing relationships. |
| Add extra functionality to the borrowing and lending resource sharing tasks lists in Alma(6244) | Fulfillment | Add in extra functionality to the borrowing and lending resource sharing tasks lists in Alma so that they alert staff: to renewal requests sent to the lender; to when a lender returns an item to the borrowing partner; and, to support libraries with automatic locate profiles enabled, borrowing requests in the status of 'Ready to be sent'. |
| Add functionality to batch check-in/check-out items in the patron record.(6397) | Fulfillment | We need to be able to extend loans that have reached their renewal limit. The use case for this is faculty who may have a large number of items out, and they call the circulation desk and ask if staff can extend their due dates. Rather than having them bring in all their items to be checked in and checked out, circ desks at their discretion sometimes just re-check these items out over the phone. Currently this requires the circ staff member to check in each item by barcode and then check each item out again. For patrons with dozens or even more than a hundred items on their record, this can be time-consuming. The change due date function in the patron record wouldn't be ideal for this because we want to create a whole new loan, with a refreshed allowed renewal period. This also applies to the Batch Change Due Date function which has another problem of not being able to limit to a set of users. We'd like to have a some kind of functionality in the patron record that can created a new loan for all selected items. |
| Add information to Lending reject screen(5719) | Fulfillment | When rejecting a lending request, display the request title and external identifier on the reject screen. |
| Add Job Description to FulResourceRequestSlip XML(6330) | Fulfillment | We would like to start using office delivery. However, we would deliver to a department and not to a faculty/staff address. We store our departments in the 'Job Description' field in the User Record. However, we tested this and have found that the Job Description is not in the FulResourceRequestsSlip XML so we are unable to add the Department/Job Description to our Requests Slips for Department Delivery. |
| Add Leganto discussion notes to Brief Citation display(5708) | Fulfillment | When a new library discussion note has been added to a citation, we would like this to be visible at list level in Alma (Edit Citation screen) and on the full citation list (ie, the note will display next to the blue 'Alert' text). Currently we need to click into each citation to view the notes, and cannot use use ctrl + F in browser to identify similar notes. |
| Add Pop-Up Notice at Scan in Items(5299) | Fulfillment | Please add an option to allow a pop-up notice in Scan in Items for hold requests. These pop ups are important, as staff have to acknowledge them before proceeding. Right now while we scan in materials returned from other consortium libraries, the only way we know that there is a hold on an item is the on screen display. Since staff are usually processing these in bulk, the chance of missing the hold is more likely without an additional alert. |
| Add preferred pronoun field that displays in Fulfillment Manage Patron Services display(6396) | Fulfillment | We will be asked to provide a place to store preferred pronoun for our users (e.g. he/his/him) at some point in not too distant future. We cannot use Note field for this information because we have been told by Ex Libris that if we import notes the entire note section in a user record is overwritten. We need a configurable field (i.e. we can add the categories of preferred pronoun) that displays in the patron info section of the Fulfillment Manage Patron Services display |
| Add print slip option to Active Hold Shelf Screen for print on demand option(5751) | Fulfillment | The ability to print hold slips from the Active Hold Shelf feature would be extremely helpful for our institution. If for some reason, automatic printing in Alma malfunctions, which often happens, we can still print on demand hold slips for patron holds and get them on the hold shelf and ready for pick up. Please add a print option to the Active HoldShelf screen that will allow us to download the slip as a PDF so that we print from a local printer. |
| Add Proxy Enabled and Proxy Selected to e-book/e-article brief record templates for Course Reserves.(5002) | Fulfillment | In Course Reserves please add Proxy Enabled check box and Proxy Selected drop-down to the e-book/e-article brief record template. It is our best practice to enable the default proxy for both electronic articles and electronic books when we are linking to subscription articles or e-books that are password protected but this information is not on the brief template. We have to create the brief record, find it in the list, go into the portfolio, then update it and save it. This is a lot of extra work when these fields could be on the brief template. |
| Add Repository Citation Improvement in Reading Lists(5787) | Fulfillment | When adding multiple repository citations to the same reading list we have to click through the same sequence of buttons over and over. Specifically, from the reading list page you click Actions --& Add Citation --& Add Repository Citation --& search for the title and click Select --& return to reading list page. You have to go through this sequence for each new citation. It would be more efficient to allow the user to remain on the search screen so that additional searches can be performed instead of being returned to the reading list page after clicking Select. A Done/Finished/Back button could be added to return the user to the reading list when all citations have been added. |
| Add the ability to "or" data inserted into parameters of a General Electronic Service url(4920) | Fulfillment | Add the ability to "or" data inserted into parameters of a General Electronic Service url. This is needed as different sources put the title in different OpenURL fields (for instance title vs. btitle). If Alma allowed "or-ing", we could do something like "https://search.library.wisc.edu/search/catalog?match=All&title={rft.title}|{rft.btitle}" (where the | is "or-ing"), we would only need one GES to cover the variations in OpenURL data. |
| Add the Citation Id to Citation Brief display and Citation Edit page(5709) | Fulfillment | We would like the citation ID to display on the citation search screen, reading list view/work on screen and on the edit citation screen as it would speed up searching functionality and directly improve cross working between Leganto and Alma. |
| Add/Remove/Edit drop down menus w/o Contacting ExLibris: Fines/Fees types(5736) | Fulfillment | We would like the ability to add and remove options from the Fines/Fees Types menu without having to contact Ex Libris. Currently, the workflow is to contact Ex Libris if we'd like to have options added. We cannot request to have options removed. The ideal functionality would be a configuration menu, not unlike the waive fee reasons, that we could use to add and remove fine/fee types. In the least a way to reorganize the list would be helpful. |
| Adding reset button to the volume filter in the GetIt tab(6194) | Fulfillment | The filter in the GetIt tab allows users to filter the display of the volumes by year, volume or description. It would be helpful to add a RESET button that will reset the values chosen and display all values available. |
| Addition of a new fulfillment policy type for a flat overdue charge/fine(5657) | Fulfillment | This request is for the addition of a new fulfillment policy type for a flat overdue charge/fine. This policy should be able to be used alone or in conjunction with the Overdue Fine policy type in Terms of Use for Loans. So, it would need to be a separate policy type from Overdue Fine. We are requesting a functionality enhancement to allow a library to use both period-based fines (hourly, daily) in addition to a flat overdue charge, as it encourages library patrons to return items with short-term loan periods in when they are due. The addition of a new fulfillment policy type for a flat overdue charge/fine, separate from the Overdue Fine policy type in Terms of Use for Loans, would allow a library to use either or both policies as needed. |
| Advanced Search should come back for Users(6188) | Fulfillment | In the previous Alma interface, you were able to do an advanced search query to pull users and then create sets from them. You could then take the sets and run jobs against them. It appears you can no longer do this except in Analytics. Doing via search was much easier. |
| Alert for requests on unavailable items that are older than 24-72 hours(5733) | Fulfillment | Currently Alma does not proactively report whether there are patron physical item request on items with a physical status of "item not in place". This is problematic for our institution because we are a large institution with a large amount of requests daily. As a result, we have multiple units that handle the request process. without a proactive and obvious report or notification that requests are not being filled, these requests will go unattended, and our patrons unsatisfied. As we have discovered, using the monitor requests and in process feature does not provide all requests on unavailable items (if there is more than one holdings, or two items on a holding, one that is unrequestable and one that is not, the "owning library" will come up as undefined.). As a result we must use analytics to capture the rest and there is no telling whether or not that report is complete as well. If a list of unfilled requests over an amount of time was present in the Tasks widget, similar to the "pick up from shelf" list, that would be helpful. If the system is unable to move an active request to a holdings with available items, then the system should alert the staff either with an emailed notification, a generated list that posts to a widgit, or a configurable, reoccurring report, that there are pending patron physical item requests on items with a physical status of "item not in place" |
| Alert message when lost item is checked in(5395) | Fulfillment | Currently the lost item check-in message does not appear if no lost item replacement fee and refund policies of the lost loan fines have been configured. Request ability to configure Alma so that the lost item check-in message appears regardless of lost loan fines configuration. |
| Allow NZ/Consortium resources to be included in Display Logic Rules.(6241) | Fulfillment | Currently, Display Logic settings are limited to IZ resources. We'd like to be able to combine IZ and NZ resources when configuring a display logic rule |
| Allow patrons a minimum loan period before items can be recalled(5779) | Fulfillment | Alma should be able to allow patrons to have a loan for a minimum amount of days before it can be recalled. Currently, we can only set the number of days a patron can have an item after it has been recalled, regardless of how long the patron has already had the item. An example: If a person checks out an item, then someone else puts a hold on that item the next day, the first patron only has the loan for one day plus the post-recall period. We would like a patrons to have a general circulating item for a minimum set period of time before it can be recalled. This period would ideally be configurable by number of days or weeks allowed. |
| Allow pickup library staff to change pickup location on a fulfillment network request(5704) | Fulfillment | A fulfillment staff member at the pickup institution should be able to change the pickup location on a patron's fulfillment network request before the item is placed on the hold shelf. Changing the pickup location should result in the patron being notified of the new pickup location when their "On Hold Shelf" letter is generated. This should be possible for requests on local items (this is currently possible), as well as requests on items owned by consortial members within our fulfillment network (this is not currently possible). |
| Allow Rollback to previous Request Status in Resource Sharing Requests(5659) | Fulfillment | Resource Sharing Requests are frequently scanned too many times or otherwise mishandled by staff, causing them for instance to arrive at the borrowing library in a Completed state instead of in a ready to be received state. The ability for staff at the borrowing library to rollback the Request Status from, for instance, Complete to Shipped Physically would allow the borrowing library to "revive" the request, instead of coordinating a new request with the lending library. |
| Allow to specify a temporary location for Requests - Restore Temporarily Shelved Items job(6427) | Fulfillment | We would like to request for the Job ‘Requests – Restore Temporarily Shelved Items’ be configurable so that we can select from which temporary location we would like to place item restore requests on. Currently, the library does not use this job because it is configured to identify and place restore requests on all items currently in any temporary locations. We would like to be able to use this job to facilitate Course Reserve inventory activities, and the library has other workflows in place (New Books for example) that would benefit from this feature. |
| Alma allows circ desk operators to add a credit to a user record(6331) | Fulfillment | Staff assigned the Circulation Desk Operator role manage all aspects of fines and fees. This seems like too much 'power' for Circulation Desk Operators, especially since many are students. The Limited Circulation Desk Operator role is too limited in other ways for it to be very useful for students working at circulation desks. The reality of financial operations and security at libraries is more complicated than Alma allows for in the current roles. As a solution we propose that the management of fines and fees be split off into separate roles so that these privileges can be assigned at the discretion of the library. The limited role would allow the user to view fines and accept payments. The advanced role would allow the user to add and waive fines and fees and create credits. |
| Alma Mobile App missing option to adjust the Change Type to Permanent or Temporary in Scan In items(5006) | Fulfillment | In the Alma Mobile App you cannot change the 'Change Type' to Permanent or Temporary when scanning in items. This greatly limits the usefulness of the Mobile App |
| Alternative Call Number Field to be added to Resource Request Slip(6185) | Fulfillment | Ideally we would like more flexibility as to the fields that we can add to the Resource Request Slip. Specifically we would like at least one additional field to be added, namely the Alternative Call Number Field |
| Alternative Call Number visible in Manage Patron Services-Requests(5950) | Fulfillment | In Manage Patron Services, tab Requests, we can’t display or add Alternative Call Number. For us is important the visibility of this field due to it’s our location system. We would like this field to be displayed. |
| Alternative process for resource sharing borrowing requests rejected by last partner on rota(4995) | Fulfillment | When a resource sharing borrowing request is rejected by the last partner on the rota the request is automatically cancelled. Instead of automatically cancelling the request it would be useful for the request to appear in the task list with a status such as "Borrowing requests rejected by final partner" or "Borrowing requests: End of Rota" which indicates the need for the request to be reviewed by staff. This method would mean the request isn't cancelled and then staff can add new partners to the rota or decide to cancel the request if there are no other options for fulfilling the request. |
| Applying fees when an item is requested but not picked up by the requester(5690) | Fulfillment | Current behavior : There is no such option in Alma for applying fees by the system automatically when a request is not picked up by the requester before the hold expiration date. Charges can only be added manually. Desired behavior : The system should provide an option so that a fee could be generated by the system automatically for every request that is not picked up or cancelled by the patron on or before the hold expiration date. This will prevent the abuse of the request service and to encourage users to cancel the request when the item is no longer needed. |
| Assessed Fines Letter - Ability to Send a Letter Notifying Users That Fines Have Been Assessed(5650) | Fulfillment | We need the ability to notify patrons at the point that fines are assessed on their library accounts. Some libraries use the Borrowing Activity Letter for this purpose, but we find that this approach causes confusion for our library patrons.The solution to these problems is to send a letter when fines are actually assessed on user accounts. The letter would be triggered either by the renewal of items resulting in fines or by the return of items resulting in fines. The existing Return Receipt Letter contains all the necessary data elements for this purpose. We request a similar letter that can optionally be configured so that it will be triggered any time a fine is assessed on an account. This would occur when overdue items are scanned in via “Scan In Items” or “Return Items” as well as in the Returns tab of the patron account. It would also occur when items are renewed. |
| Audit for lending request printed/reported(5720) | Fulfillment | Create an audit trail when a request has been printed or reported. Include the date, time, and operator. |
| Auto-Fill Booking Form(5769) | Fulfillment | Currently when a patron selects “Booking request” in Primo for an eligible item, they must then enter a specific hour and minute for both “start time” and “end time”. Since patrons are generally not familiar with our booking Terms of Use, this often results in a cryptic “No items can fulfill the submitted request” error message if the booking duration requested is longer than what is allowed. The enhancements we’d like to request are two-fold: start and end time should be less granular, using hour or half-hour increments rather than minutes, and “end time” should auto-fill based on whatever “start time” the user selects based on the duration allowed by the relevant TOU. |
| Automate Borrowing Request Processes(5632) | Fulfillment | Currently, we create a weekly Analytics report of all items with status Request sent to Partner and Update Date of more than three days, and then send email reminders manually to each partner via General Message. There is no status update for the request that we can apply in Alma, and the whole process is time-consuming and open to human error. We would like a set of options that allow us to automate processing for borrowing requests. When a partner does not respond within a configurable number of days, a reminder letter will be sent by email to the partner and the status of the request will be updated to indicate that a reminder has been sent. Alternatively, the request to that partner could be automatically cancelled and sent to the next partner in the rota (as is done for lending requests). |
| Automatic loan renewal (5667) | Fulfillment | Currently, a loan handled by the job “Notifications - Send Courtesy Notices and Handle Loan Renewals” where renewal was prevented due to a number of reasons, it is not included in future instances of the job, unless its due date has changed. When a block is lifted we need to do a manual job in order to get the loans that weren`t renewed back in to the “Notifications - Send Courtesy Notices and Handle Loan Renewals” job. Since we don`t know which loans that are affected, it requires us to make lists in analytics and then manually change due date on these loans. This is complicated and can`t be done by all the staff. It is also time consuming since we ideally need to do this every day. Loans that weren`t renewed due to blocks will be handled by the “Notifications - Send Courtesy Notices and Handle Loan Renewals” job when the blocks are lifted. Much the same as currently is the case with loans that weren't renewed because of pending requests. They will be renewed when requests are cancelled or fulfilled by another item. |
| Change citation type after resource sharing request created(5156) | Fulfillment | If a patron selects the wrong citation type (book or journal) when they submit a resource sharing request via Primo, it's not possible to change the citation type in Alma. This means that the wrong fields display when you open the RS request in Alma and has an impact on statistical reporting. We have to delete the request and create a new one to get around this problem. |
| Change course reserves restricted and suppress flags to checked(5812) | Fulfillment | In the course reserves brief, change the settings of the course restricted and suppress from discovery flags to both be checked OR change functionality so that the settings are sticky. Course Reserves staff have to check them every single time. This is SalesForce case 111726. |
| Check for attachments in the Digitization Process(6248) | Fulfillment | When managing Digitization Requests, there is no control in the last step (when files or URLs are attached) that a file or URL has effectively been attached or correctly uploaded. If operator clicks on 'Done', the request is completed without any alert!! |
| Choosing hold or recall when placing a physical item request(5801) | Fulfillment | When entering a physical item request, there should be an option to override the Loan Recalls Configuration table. In most cases, we want to recall the item, but there are circumstances in which we may prefer not to. There is currently no way to control this on a case-by-case basis. Currently Alma requires a blanket decision on whether to initiate a recall when placing a physical item request, with no way to handle exceptions. When placing a physical item request that will result in a recall, the form should include an option to place the request without enforcing the recall (a passive hold that will prevent renewals). |
| Circulation Desk History(5402) | Fulfillment | We would like to have a Circulation Desk History. It would be something similar to the "Loan History" in Aleph. The loan history in Aleph is more or less a list with all the actions done by this Aleph-Client. We are aware that ALMA is a cloud-based system but it would be good to have a function like this. When a worker has many patrons at the same time - mistakes can happen, like a wrong fee/type. This is a problem because the cash booking will be wrong. With the history they could always control their own - and usually when you see what you have worked on in a list, it is easier to remember and to fix it shortly afterward. It could be some kind of widget or button where you see "listed" everything that was done in this circulation desk, descending by date/time. Of course not everything done at a circulation desk has to be kept. Only recent history would be kept, with number of days configurable by the library. The list needs to be "live", not a report that is only available a day later, because to have a list one day afterward because some issues must be fixed the same day. Operators like to get things done when is not so hectic anymore but also in the same day. |
| Configuring different email addresses for each circulation desk in letters(5802) | Fulfillment | We have multiple circulation desks, and we would like Alma to be able to use a different email address in the "From" field for each desk when sending letters. This way, when a user replies to the letter, the reply is sent to the appropriate desk. |
| Course reserve workflow(5390) | Fulfillment | Streamline the workflow for adding an item to a course reading list. Reducing the number of steps required to add items to courses will simplify and streamline workflows. Add a new option to the action menu of a Reading List line that allows a user to go directly to “Change item information at Scan in items". |
| Create reading lists by importing a file to Alma(6318) | Fulfillment | Create reading lists by importing a CSV or XLS file to Alma (formatted similarly to the files we supplied when migrating list data from our old system to Leganto). |
| Customize display of fields in Alma Article request form(5633) | Fulfillment | We would like the option to display the fields in the Alma article request form (found in Alma --> Fulfillment --> Resource Sharing --> Borrowing/Lending Request list) in the following order: Journal name, year, volume, issue, pages, article title, article author, and issn - and not in the order these fields are currently hard-coded (e.g. author initials splits volume and issue, and publication date is at the end of the form). |
| Customizing the "Register New User" form(6321) | Fulfillment | We would like to customize the "Register New User" form to hide fields that are not used by the library |
| Display request history in Item Fulfillment history(5197) | Fulfillment | Currently, the request history is not shown in the fulfillment history of the item. Requests are part of our fulfillment workflow, with specific actions: print slips are printed, items are picked up, etc. In order to be able to analyze problems with the workflow, we need to know when an item was requested, when the request was cancelled, in combination with when the item was put into transit, put on hold shelf and finally loaned. The information can be found in Analytics, but this causes a lot of work as the analysis of workflow problems has to be done by a system administrator. If the request history were simply integrated to the item fulfillment history, librarians could do this research themselves. |
| DOI and PMID in a Resource Sharing request(3672) | Fulfillment | When placing a request via the Resource Sharing form in Primo/Alma (not the citation linker form) with DOI and/or PMID, currently Alma does not automatically populate the Resource Information page with resource information. This enhancement would like Alma to have the ability to search for the resource information and populate the Resource Information page when the resource sharing request is submitted using the doi and/or PMID. For Articles, it should include Article Title, Journal Title, Author, Volume, Issue, ISSN, Pages, Start Page, End Page and Publication Date; For Books, it should include Title, Author, Edition, ISBN, Publisher and Publication Date. |
| Enable a different digitisation department for a circulation desk that doesn’t support digitisation(5808) | Fulfillment | We have a circulation desk for our remote storage location but this circulation desk does not support digitisation. We would like to be able to be able to configure it to be served by a different circulation desk just for digitisation. This would mean that when items are checked in, they would be put in transit to a different circulation desk for scanning and then put in transit back to the original circulation desk once complete. |
| Enable Ability to Send Users a Privilege Expiration Letter(6131) | Fulfillment | User Registration TOUs have an "Expiration Alert Period" which only alerts staff in Alma when a user's priveleges will soon expire. No actual notice is sent to the user. Our institution would like to be able to send users an email (letter) 30 days before their privileges expire, notifying them of the upcoming expiration. We would like to be able to customize the time frame (if needed); as well as the group(s) to whom the letter would be sent. |
| Enable customer-defined order of locations in the Get It menu(5683) | Fulfillment | Currently, the locations in the Alma resolver (Get It menu) are not sorted in a consistent, meaningful manner. There is a "use IP best locations ordering" option, but this option is insufficient for many institutions. For instance, in many cases, users are off site or not in a library building, and many institutions do not reserve IP addresses for specific buildings Ideally, we would like the ability to explicitly define the preferred order in which locations are sorted. For multi-campus institutions, customers should be able to define the location order for each campus. |
| Enable staff users to override any TOU(5179) | Fulfillment | Enable staff users to override any TOU. Library staff need to have the option to perform certain actions that otherwise might need manual handling. For example, we would like reference (not for loan) items to be non-requestable for patrons but for Library staff to be able to override this as needed. Work orders do not always provides the desired solution. We are trying to minimize the use of work orders that sometimes bring unnecessary complications to our work flows. |
| Exclude expired users from bursar integration job(6391) | Fulfillment | Our bursar is not currently able to collect charges from users who are no longer at the university. So we want to be able to able to exclude these patrons from the reports that are sent to the bursar with bursar integration. The fact that this doesn’t exist now has prevented us from implementing integration. We would like this functionality to be an additional filter in the bursar integration settings that would exclude users whose expiration date is in the past. If it could specify an actual or relative date, this would be an additional improvement. |
| Expand Display Logic Rules for physical fulfillment services(5682) | Fulfillment | Current Alma functionality only allows for Display Logic Rules to be defined based on a selection of User Groups. Large institutions may have many libraries and hundreds of locations to configure and manage. Defining what locations allow for physical requests, booking, digitization, etc. would result in the need for dozens of Fulfillment Units. Also some services, e.g. general holds could not be controlled in this way. It would be much simpler to manage and more flexible in practice if the Display Logic configuration allowed for us to turn on/off services based on library, location, and availability. Relevant parameters to be able to control the display of services might include: 1. Physical Item Library 2. Physical Item Location 3. Physical Item Availability This enhancement would allow for a sustainable, simplified approach to Fulfillment Units while still allowing for the flexibility/complexity of a library that has several hundred Alma locations. e.g. if a particular library collection did not want to offer booking services or general holds, it would not be necessary to create a new Fulfillment Unit, it could simply be hidden from patrons using Display Logic Rule. The service is turned on, but patrons cannot access it, essentially turning it off. This approach also allows for the flexibility for library staff to initiate requests for special circumstances within Alma as needed while keeping the services "turned off" to patrons. At present, if a service is denied to users via the Fulfillment Unit, it prevents staff from overriding the system in special circumstances. |
| Fewer clicks should be needed for Fulfillment Network Requesting (5818) | Fulfillment | Fulfillment Network Requesting should take fewer clicks and be less confusing, especially for Guest users. When requesting from Fulfillment Network institutions through Primo, it takes a lot of extra clicks, is confusing to users, and Guest (non-logged in) users especially are likely to be misled about whether their request has been placed. For Fulfillment Network items, when a patron clicks Request they should be taken directly to the request preferences screen (the dialog where they select the pickup location) whenever possible. If they must login first, then upon clicking Request they should be taken directly to the login screen then redirected to the request preferences screen to complete placing the request. |
| Fix Call Number sorting problem on the Pick Up Requested Resources screen(6263) | Fulfillment | When sorting by 'Call Number - Asc' on the Pick Up Requested Resources screen, some items don't appear where they should in the list. This happens when items have a different number of digits after the decimal point in their Call Number. For example, an item with the Call Number 302.3083 SC would appear incorrectly below the item with the Call Number 302.35 AC. The opposite is true when sorting by 'Call Number - Desc'. |
| Fulfillment: Enhance the configuration of physical item recall(4025) | Fulfillment | This request seeks to enhance how Alma's request mechanism handles recall of loans to ensure patrons respond quickly and equitably when demand for resources is high. Many libraries need to make multiple physical copies of key titles available to their customers. These copies may be held in multiple holdings within and across multiple library sites. Despite holding a large number of copies there are insufficient funds to provide a copy for every patron, therefore we are reliant on the requests function to circulate stock effectively. Currently in Alma when a request is placed on a title where there are 10 copies all out on loan, and none available, a single real-time recall notification is sent to the patron who has the oldest loan, changing their loan status to recalled, but none of the other patrons with a copy are made aware of the potential demand for the item at that time. Ex Libris characterise this as an optimal 'just in time' recall approach. |
| Fulfillment: loan embargo parameters needed(4629) | Fulfillment | Fulfillment Patron loans - add ability to create temporary embargo on loans. What we would like to be able to do is configure Alma so that patron x cannot borrow the same or like item within x period of time. This is especially critical for our high demand technology items like laptops and ipads. |
| Fulfillment: When placing a resource sharing request item requestability as well as loans availability must display in Primo(4856) | Fulfillment | In Primo, a patron when placing a Resource Sharing request can easily see whether there is an item that is on the shelf (“Available”) at another library in a shared NZ environment. However, the patron cannot see whether the item’s TOU (location and item policy) allow the item to circulate on resource sharing. Without the patron having to take additional action, can Primo either a) prevent patrons from being able to place resource sharing requests on items with non-Resource Sharing TOU, or b) somehow make it clear to the patron that this item is not available for Resource Sharing? Currently, users frequently place resource sharing requests on items that are not available for Resource Sharing per the TOU, only to immediately receive a cancel letter. This situation all too regularly occurs and it erodes the user faith in the system and their belief in the library’s ability to fill their requests. |
| Fulfilment unit / TOU and age restriction(5503) | Fulfillment | Currently, it is not possible to restrict user under age to access content that are restricted (e.g. over 18 years old) although there are already birth date information in user's record. Staff could check student age manually at the counter but it is not possible to handle in self-check machine. EXL has suggested an alternative approach to move under-aged user to a special user group but this approach would need alternative update routine other than normal synchronization job. |
| Generate Fulfillment Network On Hold Shelf Letters from the Pickup Library, not the owning library(5703) | Fulfillment | Currently when an item requested through our consortium’s fulfillment network is scanned in at it’s pickup location, the “On Hold Shelf Letter” that is sent to the patron is generated from the item’s owning library instead of the pickup library. We would like the On Hold Shelf Letter to be generated from the pickup library’s “On Hold Shelf Letter” instead. |
| Hold Reminder Notices(6135) | Fulfillment | We would like the option to send multiple notices for requested items, a "reminder" that the item is still waiting for the patron to pick up. |
| Improve the display of "Requested Items" under "Fulfillment – Manage of Patron Services"(6455) | Fulfillment | Improve the display of "Requested Items" under "Fulfillment – Manage of Patron Services" with: a. Call No., Description and Copy ID b. Barcode c. Use the phrase "Pick Up Location" instead of "Managed by" (it is misleading) |
| Improvements needed for Claims Returned Process Type(5095) | Fulfillment | Since moving to Alma Claims Returned processing has become overly complicated because Alma’s functionality for Claims Returned does not align with library needs: 1. Most users only report an item as returned when it is billed to their account as Lost. Yet in Alma once the item is Lost the option to use the process type Claims Returned is no longer available. 2. Claims Returned cases are time sensitive. Searches in Alma will return a set of Claims Returned items, but it does not include the loan note or a modification date when exported to Excel. Claims Returned does not appear in Monitor Requests and Item Processes. We are forced to use Analytics, which adds 1-2 business days to search turn-around time. 3. Claims Returned is a user service issue, very sensitive in nature. We need to be able to track notes about the user’s claim and subsequent searches. These notes are attached to the loan itself and will be deleted if the item is located and returned, which is not desirable for many libraries. 4. Claims returned cases often drag on for months. Currently we cannot retain the Claims Returned status if the item is billed as Lost as part of the library’s automated processes. At this point the Claims Returned process type is removed, which makes it difficult to keep track of the item. Meanwhile, the patron may still have an active dispute with the library. Libraries need to be able to retain the Claims Returned process type alongside Lost. For these reasons the Claims Returned process type is not used by many libraries. We would prefer a usable process in Alma that removes the need for workarounds. We recommend an overhaul of this process type in order to make Alma’s internal process more usable: 1. The ability to mark an item billed as Lost as Claims Returned with the option to retain Lost as the primary process and retain fines. 2. If the library opts to remove the Lost process type when marking an item as Claims Returned libraries they will have the option to retain or refund fines. 3. If fines are retained they will not be billed a second time if the item is returned to Lost status 4. That we have the option to retain notes related to Claims Returned cases if the item is located and returned (currently viewable only through Analytics) 5. Simple management of Claims Returned items from the fulfillment menu. We need to be able to easily track Claims Returned cases without the need for Analytics. In a perfect world it would be easy to see items most recently marked Claims Returned, view and update notes associated with the item, and email users. |
| Improvements to Library selection for Overdue and Lost Loan Profiles(5729) | Fulfillment | When setting up an Overdue and Lost Loan Profile it is not clear that if the field is left blank the profile will apply to all libraries. This is not clear unless you refer to the documentation for setting up the profile. This information is essentially hidden, which can lead to setup errors with deep ramifications to user accounts. In addition, when setting up an instance of a rule you are limited to selecting one library. This means that if just one library within your institution needs an exception you are obliged to create separate profiles for each of the other libraries, even though each of these other libraries may have identical profiles. The solution for these problems is twofold. First, we would like for “All Libraries” to appear in the text field so that it is apparent that this is the default selection for the rule. This option should also appear in the dropdown menu. In addition, the dropdown menu should also allow us to choose one or more libraries from the library drop down list in the overdue and lost profile, as is possible for other lists on this profile page and elsewhere in Alma. This would allow us to manage multiple libraries' notice scenarios with one profile. |
| Include call number for Resource Sharing Borrowing Requests(5691) | Fulfillment | Resource sharing item records from affiliated libraries contain no call numbers. The call number is not part of the information currently sent through to create the request on the borrowing side, so the call number does not exist in the record in the borrowing library. We organize our hold shelf by call number. Without the call number, it is difficult for counter staff to find borrowing requests on the shelf, making it difficult to locate the book on the shelf when the user comes to collect it and to clear the hold shelf when the request expires. If the call number were imported it would appear under the Request tab in the user’s account, and in the Expired Hold Shelf list, which would solve this problem. |
| Items going to owning library to fulfill home delivery requests(6313) | Fulfillment | When an item belonging to another library that has an active home delivery request is returned or scanned in at another library's circulation desk, the item is put in transit to the owning library for the request to be fulfilled. The home delivery request should be fulfilled from any loans desk regardless of which library the item belong to. Raised as SF (#00524282) - Product Managers team replayed that though it doesn't seem very intuitive, this is how Alma was designed: the current design allows for the personal delivery to be done only by the owning library. So the next step is to pursue this as an enhancement. |
| Limit items in Reading List Print Slip Report to reserves location(6419) | Fulfillment | At present, the Print Slip Report lists all items from all locations for each citation included in the reading list. We would like this to limit to only those items that are in the course reserves location. |
| Local control of copy used to satisfy "Patron Physical Item Request"(5681) | Fulfillment | When a user requests or recalls a book in Primo where the library has multiple copies, we would like to be able to control which copy gets recalled. This is similar to request ID 5491, but we'd like even more granular control than setting up a rule.Currently, the system places the request on whichever copy has been checked out the longest, but often we want the system to recall a specific copy of a book (i.e. we’d like to recall the copy that is not on loan to a faculty member). If there is a request or recall on a title where the library has multiple copies, it would be sent to a queue where a staff member could choose the item to be recalled. |
| Make “ignore_lender_due_date” parameter a partner specific parameter(5756) | Fulfillment | Currently the ignore_lender_due_date setting is a global setting that determines when the due date for resource sharing items is decided. If the setting is turned on the due date is decided by local rules at patron checkout, and if it is turned off the due date is decided by the lending library when the materials are shipped. In our consortia, we want our consortia materials to have a loan period decided at checkout so our patrons have a consistent loan period for all consortia items regardless of how long it takes for materials to travel between campuses. All the rest of our resource sharing items come from libraries around the world with varying loan periods that we should adhere to. By making this a partner specific setting we would be able to respect non consortia library’s policies and provide consistent loan periods for consortia items at checkout. |
| Make personal delivery labels in Resource Sharing request form configurable. (5809) | Fulfillment | We have had many complaints from users who do not understand what Work Address means in the pickup/delivery location drop down menu in the resource sharing form, or they don't even see it. We much prefer the layout within the patron physical item request form where home and work address are separated from pickup locations under a personal delivery heading and where we can customise the labels for Home and Work Address. Please make the same functionality available in the resource sharing request form so that we can make all of our request forms a consistent experience for users. |
| More Citation Type Options When Adding Brief Citations(5795) | Fulfillment | Description: When adding brief citations to a reading list we are only presented with these options: "Physical Book," "Physical Article," "Electronic Book," and "Electronic Article." However, we often create brief citations for other citation types such as DVDs. The options for citation type should be expanded to When adding brief citations to a reading list we are only presented with these options: "Physical Book," "Physical Article," "Electronic Book," and "Electronic Article." However, we often create brief citations for other citation types such as DVDs. The options for citation type should be expanded to include many more types of materials. When the citation type is incorrect it confuses both reserves staff and patrons. For example, we create brief citations for DVDs, but unless we change the citation material type they show up in the reading list as a book. If the citation material type is changed to DVD, this does not affect the display of the record in Primo, which will still display as book because the bibliographic record’s resource type and material type are set for book. The options for citation type should be the same as the options for material type found in other modules of Alma. Adding additional citation types should result in records that display properly in Alma and in Primo, without needing to modify the bibliographic record. |
| More control over Alma user Fulfillment privileges (6375) | Fulfillment | Ability to have more granular control over user roles in ALMA. |
| More flexibility with sending due date reminders(6220) | Fulfillment | We would like to be able to determine how many reminders will be sent to our patrons and when will they be sent, even if we renew automatically items with different loan periods (2 weeks, 1 week, 3 days etc.) and run the automatic renewal every day. |
| Need item-based request priority(5491) | Fulfillment | We need to be able to configure a request TOU which allows to define an item-based request priority, based on item policy. When there are two identical items available for requesting, I want to indicate to Alma which one to prefer. We have a library responsible for legal deposit. Of all documents of legal deposit, we have two items, one which can be requested for the reading room, the other which can be requested for loan. When a patron places a request on the holding, Alma decides randomly which one of the items to provide. We would like to configure Alma to say that the loanable item for home use is of higher priority than the one for the reading room. There exists currently the possibility to add a request priority in a request TOU, but it only applies two patrons of a different user group (as informed by case #00434491) |
| No overdue letters or fines for recalled items until after the original due date(6215) | Fulfillment | We want recalls to shorten the loan period of an item from e.g. 30/90 days to 14 days and no recall fine to be charged. Even though the recall shortens the loan period, we need the system not to send out any overdue letters or charge any overdue fines until after the original due date. |
| Non-requestable Items on Course Reserve can be requested when submitting a temporary move request.(5584) | Fulfillment | We have discovered that items on Course Reserve can be selected by Alma to fulfill temporary move requests. All of the course reserves belong to a Fulfillment Unit that is designated as 'No Requesting' and we need to ensure that materials on CR are truely 'unrequestable'. We are able to work around this by placing temporary move requests at the item level but we would prefer to continue submitting at the title level and rely on Alma to select the optimal copy for recall. This is more efficient. |
| Notify when a title (esp. electronic portfolio) chosen in a Leganto reading list is deleted in Alma(6360) | Fulfillment | Especially when dealing with electronic titles, for example when importing them, Alma may delete some portfolios. However, researchers may have previously selected these portfolios for their Leganto reading list. But nobody would notice that, until the students find a broken link in Leganto. To avoid that right now we perform a manual check, relying on an analysis in Analytics looking for Electronic Titles selected for reading lists before running the import, and comparing that with the list of deleted portfolio we have when the import is finished. It's however time consuming. It would be much better to get a notification when the deleted title was previously included in a leganto reading list, so that the librarian can replace the related entry with an alternative copy. The issue is esp. relevant to electronic titles, however it may also occur with physical titles that are withdrawn, an implementation of such a warning for both electronic and physical titles would be the best solution. |
| Notify when a title is deleted in Alma that is referred to in Leganto Reading Lists(6325) | Fulfillment | The user should get warning notifications against citations when titles included in a leganto reading list are deleted, so that the librarian can replace the related entry with an alternative copy. |
| Option to auto-populate Reading List Name and Code fields with identical values from Course Name & Code Fields(5785) | Fulfillment | In course reserves, we use identical Name and Code values for a course and its corresponding reading list. Would it be possible to auto-populate a Reading List's Name and Code values based upon its course? |
| Place requests on books in missing status(5721) | Fulfillment | Allow staff initiated patron physical item requests for items in a missing status. We frequently need to place a patron physical item request on an item in missing status so we can notify the patron if and when an item has been found. Currently we must keep track of these holds outside of Alma, then clear the missing status before placing a hold for the patron. This hold will allow us to keep track of these requests in Alma which would streamline the process. We cannot user the parameter that allows missing item requests, because this will allow users to request the item themselves via Primo/Summon. |
| Placing digitization requests via Primo on holdings without items(5576) | Fulfillment | Currently, titles with no inventory for their holdings do not appear to provide a title-level Digitization Request option in Primo. A General Digitization Request functionality (like there is currently already one with the General Hold Request) would allow libraries to offer broader Digitization services. This missing functionality has unfortunately a negative impact on the patrons and the services that libraries offer. |
| Prevent patron physical item requests are unavailable copies(5732) | Fulfillment | Patrons are occasionally able to request items through the discovery interface with a physical status of "item not in place" in the system. When this happens, Library staff are not notified of the request, which sits on the item until it is filled or cancelled. If there is an available item (physical status "item in place") on another holdings, Alma does not move the active request to that holdings. This type of behavior is problematic for our institution. We provide a number of paging request and request delivery services at Penn and throughout our consortia. We advertise swift turn around for patron requests (1-2 business days) and record statistics on this turn around. If the system is not going to notify us that a request is pending on an unavailable item, then the request needs to move to an item that is available to fulfill the request. One solution to this problem is to enable requests to move from holdings to holdings until an available item is found. Staff who monitor the Pick from Shelf list for that library will be alerted that the item in question is needed to fulfill a patron physical item request. We would also be able to configure whether or not this request can be converted to a resource sharing request or moved to another holdings. |
| Prevent staff in library A from modifying loans at library B(6111) | Fulfillment | Currently, a circulation desk operator that has a role in library A can be assigned only to desks of library A, but can loan/renew/make lost/claim return items of any library. A parameter on the role should enable restricting the role to allow only processing items of the scoped library. |
| Provide patrons notification of reasons for failure to renew a loan(5782) | Fulfillment | We would like it to be possible to notify users when they have an item on loan that cannot be renewed, and to explain the reason to them so as to avoid confusion to patrons. Reasons may include: - because it is requested, - the patron has reached their expiry period - or the item has reached its maximum renewal period. Currently when an item is about to go overdue a notification is sent to warn a user that an item must be renewed or returned even if there is a request on the item. However, when a renewal is attempted, whether by the patron, automatically, or by staff, it fails, e.g. because of the request, with no notification of the failure which is confusing to the end user. |
| Re-loan should not cause automatic renewal of items already on loan(5634) | Fulfillment | When loaning an item to a patron, who has this item already on loan, the system automatically renews the loan (if possible). An option in configuration is needed to suppress this automatic renewal for the following reason: too many errors occur, when the item is automatically renewed. If the patron intends to return the item and the circulation desk operator by accident scans the item for loan, then the item is back in the library stacks but by accident renewed for the patron (who will get claimed!). |
| Remove 'Location' as a MANDATORY entry in 'Change item Information' module(6256) | Fulfillment | We use the 'Change Item Information' module to make specific changes to item records, in bulk. It is extremely helpful to be able to make these changes once, and then just scan in all the barcodes that this should apply to. However, sometimes we want to make changes ONLY to one aspect of the item record. For instance, sometimes we want to make a change only to the 'Item Policy'. Unfortunately, the module currently FORCES the user to pick a 'location', even if they do not want to make changes to that field. This is extremely cumbersome if we are scanning in items from multiple locations, and wanting to change their 'item policy' but leave their individual locations intact. NOTE: Even though 'location' is not marked with an asterisk, indicating it as a mandatory field, if you leave it blank, you receive the error message "Failed to change item's information. The field Location is mandatory, please enter the required data.” Ideally, the best option would be to eliminate ANY mandatory fields in the 'Change Item Information' module, EXCEPT for 'barcode'. This would allow any individual aspect of the item to be changed, without forcing the user to change other fields that they don’t want to change. |
| Resource Sharing - Borrowing Request Private Note(6315) | Fulfillment | There is a public note which automatically displays in the brief display on the Resource Sharing Borrowing Requests page. The private note does not automatically display. A borrowing request has to be opened and the Notes tab selected to see what has been recorded as a private note. This private note should display on the Resource Sharing Borrowing Requests page. |
| Resource sharing form customization(5622) | Fulfillment | Increase the customisation available for the Alma resource sharing form. The ability to edit the HTML, CSS and branding of this form would be ideal. Currently this form lacks the ability to add custom/library branding, and the accessibility of the form is extremely poor. This is particularly noticeable when direct linking to the form in Primo. Libraries would like the ability to add custom branding such as heading and logo image to the forms page, plus the ability to customise the CSS of the page. In an ideal scenario we would gain the ability to edit the HTML of this page. |
| Resource Sharing: Assignment of lending requests(3674) | Fulfillment | To assist in managing Resource Sharing requests a new “All” tab is required to allow all requests to be seen at once. This will allow all team members to action items assigned to other team members more easily, rather than having to search the Unassigned and/or Managed by Others tabs. It will also allow a team leader more oversight and management of the requests. This new tab should be visible to all Resource Sharing users (Operator and Manager). |
| restore item to permanent location upon return (optional)(5731) | Fulfillment | We would like the *option* to set particular locations so that when items are returned in Fulfillment Check Out/Checkin (whether the items are actually checked out or not) they would be restored to the permanent location of the item. |
| Retain the External ID even if the Resource Sharing request is canceled.(5497) | Fulfillment | After a Borrowing Request is sent to a partner library, upon cancelling the request, the External Identifier will also be removed from the request. Only the Internal Identifier will be retained. As a result, when the partner library get in contact regarding the request, a search by External Identifier in the Borrowing Request queue will return with no request information. We would like the External Identifier to be retained.The reason we would like the Ex ID is because it is a patterned identifier and that makes it easy to limit down, where to us the internal ID is just a string of random numbers. Our goal is to be able to run reports on either the Lending or Borrowing Request subject areas in one set. If we need to run some on Ex ID to get the Borrowing and Lending sides to match up and then run more on the Internal ID just to get a full snap shot of our RS environment that is a lot of work. |
| Select All citations across multiple pages in Edit Citations screen(6319) | Fulfillment | On some Alma results pages (e.g. Course Reserves > Citations) the 'Select All' checkbox only selects items visible on the current page (100 maximum). It would be useful if the user can select all items (within the currently filtered list) across multiple pages, particularly when making bulk status changes. |
| Send Bounced Emails to Owning Library Email(6234) | Fulfillment | Add the ability to configure bounced emails to automatically route to the item's owning library instead of only being able to route to a single email address. |
| Set Pick-up Locations to the Circulation Desk Level(5192) | Fulfillment | We would like to be able to set Alma pick-up locations to the circulation desk level; currently it can only be done at the library level. We would like to be able to distinguish between multiple circulation desks at the same library. In our case "a library" can have multiple physical locations and this functionality would allows us to offer pick-up at other locations as well resulting in a better service to our students. |
| Setting "Physical non returnable" as default value for articles in the Resource Sharing Form displayed in Primo(5550) | Fulfillment | In the 2016 August release of Alma there was introduced a possibillity to configure the Resource sharing form displayed in Primo. We have done that and we have removed the "Digital"-option in Requested format as we only want Physical and Physical Non Returnable as the two possible options. When a user opens the Resource sharing request for a book the default format is checked as Physical. Thats fine. When a user opens the Resource sharing request for an article the default format is checked as Digital. This is not visible, but it is set as hidden. We want the possibility to set the default form to be Physical Non Returnable for articles and not Digital. |
| Split the function of the User Manager role(5288) | Fulfillment | Creating a User Record entry level permission would help alleviate issues for our circulation staff. Currently, staff without User Manager cannot bring in walk-in users or enter in new community users to the system. At the same time giving them this permission allows them to edit roles permissions for any other user in the system, which is a bit of a security problem. User Manager role should be split up to be something like User Entry and then User Manager. |
| User profile - Add field for last active date(5631) | Fulfillment | We would like to have a field in the user profile that shows user’s last active date, i.e. loan, request or return. This field should also be available in Analytics. This field will be useful when deciding which user profiles to purge. We would like to limit the number of user accounts in Alma by purging regularly. Students are loaded into Alma from our SIS, with an expiration date. We purge these accounts a year after expiration date. If they still would like to use our library, we add them with a new account and different user group. |
| User profile: General message by sms(5628) | Fulfillment | From the user profile it is possible to send a general message by email. We would like to be able to send a general message by sms as well. Sometimes, for small messages like "you have forgotten your library card in the counter", it is easier to reach a user by sms. |
| User/Patron notes deletion(6219) | Fulfillment | We would like to be able to delete all the notes in patron's library account on Alma at once. Now we have to delete them one by one |
| Value of fulfillment request(6240) | Fulfillment | Add the availability of information in the FulLoanReceiptLetter.xsl Alma letter to include the value of the current loan (i.e. item list price) and also the sum value of the history of loans to date, for the patron. This would allow the letter to be customized to tell the user the amount of cost avoidance achieved by using library services to gain access to circulated items. |
| Waitlist functionality for short term loans(5791) | Fulfillment | Our reserve materials circulate for 2 hours and 4 hours, and they are non-requestable by patrons. They are on a first come, first served basis. Patrons frequently come to the reserves desk to ask if certain items are available. When we tell the the item is checked out and due back in 2 hours, the patrons have no way to ensure that they will be the next person in line to check out the item. This often results in frustration for the patrons because someone else might come in sooner and check the item out before they return. It would be helpful to have a waitlist functionality for short term loans. This would allow patrons to put their name on a list to be next in line once a short term loan item has been returned. Alma would send an email/text to the patron when the item is returned telling the patron they have a specific window of time (e.g. 5 minutes) to check out the item. During that window of time no other patrons can check it out. After the window of time has expired the next person on the waitlist receives an email/text from Alma saying they can now check out the item. For the circulation desk operator it would be helpful to have a waitlist page in Alma that displays which items are currently on the waitlist, how much time is left in each one before the window of time expires. This will help operators to know at a glance where all the waitlisted items are in the waitlist process. This waitlist system is different from a booking request because the waitlist does not require a patron to select the date and time of when they want an item. Instead, it is simply a list of names of patrons who want to be next in line when an item arrives. The waitlist functionality would only be available when an item is checked out; a patron can't put their name on the waitlist if the item is on the shelf. Ideally the waitlist function could be done by both staff and patrons, but this should be up to the Alma institution. The institution can decide whether to turn waitlist function on at all. If they turn it on, it will at a minimum be administered by staff. Additionally, they can decide to turn on a patron-facing side that allows patrons to add their names to the waitlist. Ex Libris also plans to develop an embargo period on loans, which means items can't be checked out to the same patron within a specified window of time. This is very helpful, but it is not the same thing as a waitlist functionality. We need a system that will let patrons get in line for a loan. |
| Ability to acquire Multiple copies or multiple accesses on a single order using Order API(5225) | Interoperability & Integration | When we purchase multiple physical copies on Gobi on a single API order e.g. 6 copies, the API order created 6 items, and the “quantity for pricing” are correctly copied in to the order, but in the percentage of funds, it only funded 1/6 of the item price (16.7%), thus the order landed in the inReview status. When multiple electronic copies are ordered in one API order, only one portfolio is created, and not all electronic copies are funded and the order lands in an inReview status. i.e. if we order 3x3Users - we need the correct number of inventory to be created in order to track our electronic holdings (for industry reporting purposes - number of items acquired). |
| Ability to include "Interested user" functionality in the Order API (5220) | Interoperability & Integration | Currently the Order API does not include the function that can map the “requester's email” field on the vendor's platform to ALMA's "Interested User" in the POL. Without this function, acquisition staff have to order on the vendor's platform first, then complete the order information in Alma by adding "interested user" and selecting to notify the user. This creates unnecessary inefficiency. |
| Adding information about access to e-resources on Brief Display(6520) | Interoperability & Integration | When a network of libraries does not share the same license coverages, it is possible to configure distributed access to e-resources in Alma using the IP range of corresponding libraries (through inventory groups). However, the information about which library has access to which resource is not readily available to patrons, and one has to find different workarounds to display the information on the Full Display. It would be very useful to have the possibility to add this information on the record RTA text on the brief display, namely to have the list of libraries / inventory groups whose patrons have access to the full text resource, instead of the “Online Access” link. |
| Allow institutions to customize the order of locations which appear in RTA(5638) | Interoperability & Integration | The locations which appear in Primo's RTA section of brief results are ordered alphabetically by Alma location code. Display order should be more customizable by the institution. Use case: an institution's first location code is A&SC, which is "Archives & Special Collections." This is a non-circulating collection, but because it's first in the institution's Alma location code list, it shows as the first "Available at" location to users in the Primo interface. Users go through the effort to get to the Archives & Special Collections unit, only to discover that they can't check the item out from that location. |
| Alma Link Resolver(6128) | Interoperability & Integration | We would like the ability to configure the Alma Link Resolver to additionally check the publication dates of a request from the citation linker based on volume/issue. |
| Alma: Support exact limitor in SRU-search(6182) | Interoperability & Integration | The SRU does not support the exact operator (==) only the contains (=) in alphanumeric indexes. This would mean that when we search for for instance an ID, we also get in return documents where the ID searched for is part of another ID. This gives us problems if we want to for example updated the bibliographic records based on the result. Then we need to be sure that we get the correct result-list. Example: Searching for this ID: 20522 returns two books that are linked to the authority 20522 , but also a document with this ID in 650$$0 <subfield code="0">(DNLM)D020522Q000532</subfield> https://bibsys.alma.exlibrisgroup.com/view/sru/47BIBSYS_NETWORK?version=1.2&operation=searchRetrieve&recordSchema=marcxml&query=alma.authority_id=20522 We would like that the == operator was supported for alphanumeric indexes we would only get the first two correct records and not the false match. I hope that this can be added to the SRU search index as this has the potential to cause errors in our data. This has been discussed in case: # 00466853 |
| bursar integration option to export fine/fee credits even if minimum value > 0(6287) | Interoperability & Integration | Alma currently will not export credits if you set a minimum value for the bursar fine export. We would like the system to permit us to set a minimum value for the bursar fine export, but still export credits. |
| Create access to mapping tables in the configuration API(6130) | Interoperability & Integration | The Alma Configuration API allows a client with the appropriate API key to read the contents of Alma’s code tables. Many important configuration options are stored in mapping tables, which are not available in the Configuration API. It would be very helpful for API developers to have access to configuration options stored in mapping tables, for application customization and for tracking or backup purposes. |
| Display item policy in item record(6236) | Interoperability & Integration | It would be useful if item policy could be configured as a field to display in either the brief or full item display. Currently, the loanable indicator is defined by the fulfillment terms of use, which is dependent on users signing in in order for Primo to calculate the loan policy specifically for that user. Having the option to display the item policy from Alma as a field in Primo would be beneficial as this does not change dependent on the user type or fulfillment rules. It would also provide more information to users irrespective of whether they are able to sign into Primo (e.g. users not affiliated to the institution will be unable to sign in) and makes it clearer and easier for staff to explain to customers why a particular item can/cannot be borrowed. Having the option also, would mean institutions can opt in or out of whether to display this field. |
| Display of request history in Library Account information surfaced in Primo(3931) | Interoperability & Integration | Currently end users can see the history of their loans in their Library Account via Primo. It would be of benefit to them to also see the history of their requests placed (including resource sharing requests). |
| Enhancing security and management of API keys(6430) | Interoperability & Integration | Currently the security management of API keys is very limited. There is no way to limit or control how an API key is used besides the basic "area", "environment" and "permissions" setting. The API reports are also lacking details. |
| Extension Indexing for Alma-D(5580) | Interoperability & Integration | Publish the complete amazon S3 repository URL of a file contained as a digital object, so that Primo could fetch the data with a file splitter. |
| Improved CSS in getit and viewit tabs(5574) | Interoperability & Integration | Improve and Enhance the options for customizing use and application of CSS within the data results that Alma provides to the GetIt and ViewIt tabs in Primo, so that the CSS in custom system delivery skins can be used control the display of information in those tabs at a more granular level. For example, the use of CSS IDs for individual form elements to enable customization of the look and feel of request forms.This would greatly enhance the enable more robust delivery options through Alma service pages. |
| Include alternative call number in the information pSome librariesublished to Primo(6204) | Interoperability & Integration | Some libraries are using alternative call number in items when they have several items with different call number owing to the same branch library and they don´t want to have a different holding for every item. In that situation the user can´t locate a book in Primo using the actual call number of the book (i.e. the alternative call number) because currently Alma is not able to publish to Primo the alternative call number of the items. I request that the alternative call number of the items should be included in the information that Alma publishes to Primo so that it can be included in Primo PNX search fields. |
| Link resolver delivers physical holdings for wrong titles for PCI records(6201) | Interoperability & Integration | The Alma mashup in Primo routinely delivers physical holdings information for the wrong title. When viewing a Primo PCI record, if the library does not have full-text access, the Alma link resolver attempts to find a match on physical title. This often works poorly. The mash-up may deliver holdings information for a completely different bibliographic entity, with no match point other than title. The problem is particularly severe with short titles such as "Shakespeare." The user has no idea that the holdings information presented in Get It is for an entirely different work. They may then request it or get it from the shelves, see that it's for a different work, think the library has made a gross error, and is frustrated that we wasted their time. We propose that the mash-up deliver a minimal amount of Alma bibliography data when presenting physical holdings for PCI records, so the user can determine whether the work whose holdings are in Get It is indeed what they're looking for. There are cases when the mash-up delivers a different edition, which for some users may be sufficient, and for other users, unacceptable (such as when they are verifying pagination for the footnotes/bibliography of a publication they are working on). Presenting bibliographic information would allow users to have the full information at hand. Furthermore, in addition to brief bib details, there should be a link to the bib record for which the holdings are displayed. This will allow the user to follow the link and see the full bibliographic information for the title in question so they can make an informed decision. This could be implemented as a small section above or beneath the physical holdings, with a header such as "Showing the availability for... (brief bib details). See full record (link)." The new data elements should have unique class IDs for CSS purposes. As the system works currently, the user has absolutely no idea they may be requesting a different edition or a different title altogether. Examples of the Alma link resolver presenting the wrong holdings: Example 1: PCI book chapter entitled "Shakespeare Criticism in the Twentieth Century," which is a chapter of "The Cambridge companion to Shakespeare" from Cambridge University Press, 2001. The Alma link resolver presented the holdings for this book: Shakespeare : Readers, Audiences, Players. University of Western Australia Press, 1998. Example 2: PCI book record for title: William Morris : Artist, Writer, Socialist. Cambridge University Press, 2012, by May Morris. The Alma link resolver presented the holdings for a 1936 edition of the work. NOTE TO ALMA WG: please do not combine this with NERS 6128 which asks for pub date to be added to link resolver. That is not what we're requesting. |
| locations & holdings info from Z39.50 server(5735) | Interoperability & Integration | Please note that I took this ticket content from previous tickets submitted by Orbis Cascade as this is having significant impact on us as new customers, but doesn't seem to have progressed thru the process previously. We have attempted to set up ILLiad to check local holdings and availability using Alma's z39.50 client. The problem is, we are unable to get availability information as well as holdings information. In the developer's network, here: https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/alma/integrations/Z39.50, the supporting attributes listed are all bibliographic. We want Availability added to the supported attributes. Use Case: ILLiad Z39.50 settings allow us to map to XML or MARC format records, but not both simultaneously; we have to pick one or the other. From what I can tell, our XML records contain availability details but no holding-level details (which volumes we own of a serial, specifically), and the MARC records do not contain availability details, but do contain holdings-level information. We need both availability and holdings-level information to be returned, so it seems Ex Libris will need to allow more data fields in either the XML or MARC records. |
| Make available via the Retrieve Job Instance Details API a full report of scheduled SIS user batch load jobs, including reports of rejected users(4969) | Interoperability & Integration | Make available via the Retrieve Job Instance Details API (https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/alma/apis/conf/GET/gwPcGly021p29HpB7XTI4If2K/a0Xsh6fJL0RW8W442AeK7R1hXqv2jFFMKx9DsER7MNJPGkb5Q=/37088dc9-c685-4641-bc7f-60b5ca7cabed) a full report of scheduled SIS user batch load jobs, including reports of rejected users. Currently, only details of manually scheduled jobs are available via the API, and the list of rejected users is not included. |
| option to not show related holdings locations (5340) | Interoperability & Integration | related holdings are confusing to our users, and there is currently no way to stop these from showing. See attached file for a screenshot. We have been told this is an Alma configuration that cannot be changed, but the way it is presented in Primo is the issue: either have an opt-out from showing these, or re-design the display in a better way |
| Show the number of holds on an item in Primo's Get It tab, status(5109) | Interoperability & Integration | Primo does not display information about holds on an item in its default display. Only after a hold/request is placed and the user checks her list of requested items does she see her place in the hold queue. Users should be able to see the hold queue within the get it/availability tab in Primo by default. |
| Using the Mac Safari browser for Alma should be fully supported.(5640) | Interoperability & Integration | Currently, the Mac OS Safari browser is not supported for Alma (https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/010Alma_Online_Help_(English)/010Getting_Started/050Alma_User_Interface_–_General_Information/010Browser_Requirements) Furthermore, until the February 2018 release, Safari has successfully worked in Alma without problem, going back at least until late 2014. However, with the February 2018 release, you now get the endless spinning blue line when loading several pages, such as the User search results screen. Safari is supported by Primo: https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Primo/Product_Documentation/New_Primo_User_Interface/010Frequently_Asked_Questions#Browser_and_Device_Support Safari is supported in SalesForce: https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=getstart_browser_aloha.htm&type=5 |
| Versions of bibliographic records(6342) | Interoperability & Integration | Currently the previous versions of bibliographic records can be viewed in Alma. We would like these versions to be accessible via the API “retrieve bibliographic records”. |
| Z39.50 search, Bound-with records produce multiple results resulting in error(6320) | Interoperability & Integration | Bound with records produce multiple results (and errors) in Z39.50 search because MMS ID is found in MARC tag 773 (tag used to denote related item). Need Z39.50 to only query 001 for single retrieval on MMS ID.This is SalesForce case 627332. |
| 655 to Genre(6441) | Resource Management | The Genre display field in Primo VE only utilizes $v for the 6XX fields, This is incorrect and bad cataloging. Genre should include the entire 655 field - both in display and in the Index, which includes the Facets. |
| Access to Item Record from Holdings Record for Vendor Created Records(6359) | Resource Management | When doing copy cataloging, you often need to edit the bib record, then set up the holding, then edit the item. When creating new item records, it is easy because there is a button to create new item record when finished creating the holdings. When working with EOD or vendor API created records that have item records created by the ordering process, you cannot get to the existing item record when you finish the holdings. You instead have to click back to the bib, click View inventory, click View items, click the "..." button, the click on Edit. We do not have the barcode available to click on to edit the item. |
| Add a “Back to Results” button that removes the current need to back out of a record multiple times to get to a logical continuation point in the original list.(5246) | Resource Management | When it is necessary to work through a list of records manually, it would be very helpful to have a “Back to Results” button that removes the current need to back out of a record multiple times to get to a logical continuation point in the original list. For example, when going into an Item record and switching to the Notes tab - it takes three clicks to back out to the results list. The “Back to Results” button would need to return to the same point at which you left the list to work on a record. |
| Add a linking job for mass linking of NZ records to IZ(5662) | Resource Management | Currently the only way to use records from NZ in an IZ is to search them in the NZ and perform an action like "order" or "link" on every single record one by one. There are, however, situations where an IZ wants to use a bulk of records. For this purpose we need a possibility to link records in bulk and create inventory for the linked records. We imagine a linking job that takes as an input a logical or itemized set of records saved from a search in the NZ. The linking job can create physical and electronic (and digital) inventory, similar to current import profiles. The inventory operations for electronic inventory should include an option to specify the desired action if the record and a portfolio exist already in the IZ, out of the following choices: - Add new portfolio. - Update portfolio information (the URL). - Don't do anything. |
| Add a Prev and Next option to record displays(6431) | Resource Management | Looking to improve navigation between records in a result set. |
| Add ability to search description field on List of Items page(5489) | Resource Management | Please add the ability to search the "list of items" pages in Alma using the text in the Item Description field. The list of searchable fields on this page is hard-coded and can't be changed locally. Those searchable fields currently consist only of call number and barcode. |
| Add advanced search for audience level search(5694) | Resource Management | Besides availability to create additional search indexes, adding advanced search item for the audience level in the 008 field is useful. |
| Add criteria from the POL to other types of advanced repository searches(5653) | Resource Management | Add criteria from the POL to other types of advanced repository searches. |
| Add due date sorting facet in list of item records(5717) | Resource Management | There is no way to sort the list of items under a bibliographic record by due dates. |
| Add functionality to OOTB publishing profiles(6435) | Resource Management | OOTB publishing profiles for national catalogues do not offer the same functionality options as locally created publishing profiles. It would be helpful to integrate the functionality available in custom profiles as options to enhance the OOTB profiles, avoiding the need for two separate profiles publishing to the same platform. |
| Add index for MARC 867/868 fields in Alma(5796) | Resource Management | Alma's index for the summary holdings field only searches the MARC 866. The 867 and 868 are also standard summary holdings fields for supplementation and indices, but they are currently not searchable in Alma. |
| Add MMSID header when creating digital titlles sets(6134) | Resource Management | Currently, when we import digital material records as digital representations which is digitized from the physical books, first, we usually create all titles set using the “MMSID”header, to put the physical titles into a collection. But only digital titles can run the withdraw digital representations job. So it would be very useful to add MMSID header when creating digital titles set. And then we can use this set to apply the withdraw digital representations job. Or add “all titles”content type in withdraw digital representations job instead. |
| Add OCLC number to physical item export(5041) | Resource Management | Large scale weeding projects would be made much more efficient if Alma offered the ability to include OCLC numbers in the physical items set export details. Currently, we are in the position of using a work-around where we must create a title-level set based on the same items. There are bib-level elements present in the physical item export, so we assume this is possible. Ultimately, we would prefer the option to select which fields export for every export we perform, but the addition of OCLC number to physical item exports would be a great first step. |
| Add ORCID ID to CZ Authorities vocabularies search(6242) | Resource Management | Field 0247 $$a XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX $$2 orcid used in authority records and is currently not searchable in CZ authority vocabularies. |
| Add Related Records link to the display customization options for a retrieved list of bibliographic records.(6365) | Resource Management | It would benefit workflow to have the 'Custom view' option for 'Title information order' to make the active link 'Related Records' available as Orders and Requests are. |
| Add the ability to edit the labels of non-local fields as one can do with local fields on the Customize Indexes Labels page(5772) | Resource Management | When only certain subfields of a MARC are indexed, it would be helpful to be able to indicate on the Advanced search screen which subfield is being searched. |
| Add the ability to view, select, and apply an action to multiple item records at the same time(5757) | Resource Management | Currently from the List of Items page, one can select multiple item records but the actions listed in the Actions drop-down menu cannot be applied to all of the selected items. |
| Adding more search criteria to local field in Repository Search(5696) | Resource Management | One of our local fields (997) is used for searching catalogue date (“catdate”) in Repository Search. Since we can only search the field by "Contain keywords, Contain phrase or Is empty", we would like to be able to have "Equals" and "Between" as searchable criteria, or some other criteria like "> , >= , < , >=" instead to search a range of specific cataloguing dates. |
| Administration: Resource Management (Sets): Ability to save queries in the Community Zone Or Network Zone(4144) | Resource Management | It is possible to search the Institution Zone and save your search strategy as a saved query. It is not possible, however, to save a search strategy done in the Community Zone or Network Zone. |
| Allow for users to delete multiple sets at the same time(5744) | Resource Management | Currently when a user needs to clean up their list of sets they have to do so one by one. This requires clicking on a drop down list, finding the delete option, confirming that you want to delete it, and the page resets to the top. See attachment |
| Allow NZ searches to identify what type of institutional inventory is attached(5775) | Resource Management | In finding and removing bibliographic records without inventory from the NZ, and when looking for specific types of inventory, it is essential that we are able to use the Physical titles and Electronic titles advanced search parameters. Unfortunately, since Alma can't currently see what type of inventory is attached to NZ bib records (when the inventory is stored in IZ accounts), these advanced search parameters do not currently work in the NZ account. Request an Alma enhancement that allow NZ searches to know what type of inventory is attached to NZ bib records. |
| Allow the Browse Bibliographic Headings/Heading Type: Subjects list to be configured so vocabularies not used by the institution can be suppressed or moved to the bottom of the list(5770) | Resource Management | For Resources > Browse Bibliographic Headings > select Heading Type: Subjects, the Vocabulary list includes vocabularies that we don't normally use. We would like to prevent a vocabulary from displaying in this list or re-order the list so most used vocabularies appear at the top of the list. |
| Authority Control Task List – filter improvements(6343) | Resource Management | We would like two enhancements to be implemented in the Authority Control Task List: the possibility to save preferred filters and an extra filter ‘last Modified by’. These two features would save a lot of time for cataloguers as it would enable them to display only tasks they are concerned with. First, saving preferred filters would enable cataloguers to load quickly the tasks they have to deal with instead of the thousands of records having problems. For instance, excluding records linked to the CZ or those suppressed from publication. Second, a filter ‘last Modified by’ would enable cataloguers to focus on records they have edited themselves and therefore to correct linking issues themselves. |
| Automatic renewal of serial predictions(6346) | Resource Management | Currently, predictions are not automatically renewed when entering the latest issue of a serial in Alma. Librarians, in this case and for each prediction, must open and renew it manually. This is laborious, and if one prediction is forgotten because the journal has not arrived on time, new items will not be claimed. So, is it possible that Alma renews automatically serial predictions? We do handle more than 3'500 predictions. An automated process would save precious time. An alternative workaround would be to display a popup to warn librarians to renew prediction. |
| Batch remove process types(5725) | Resource Management | We need the ability to remove/change an existing process type on an item record in batch. This will aid immensely in correcting record sets and other record misconfigurations. |
| Be able to configure Alma pop-ups in Acquisitions and Resource Management(5277) | Resource Management | Many parts of the acquisitions and resource management workflows include pop-up messages to alert you about something related to a change you are making. For example, if a description template will be applied. For our work, these are often unnecessary and a nuisance. They slow down processing of materials, rather than assisting it. We'd like the ability to turn off pop-ups at an institution or individual user level. |
| Browse Shelf List: result + 1, stickiness, metadata display(6202) | Resource Management | When you Browse Shelf List in Alma and enter a value, your entry shows as the first row in the result list. It should be the 2nd row, so that you can see the proceeding entry. Staff have to click to see the proceeding entry every time they use this tool. When performing shelflisting, catalogers search for the first shelflist number of the NEXT base number. The one prior to that would be the last shelflist number of the previous base number. In Alma, the searched-for entry appears at the top of the list (instead of second in the list), requiring one to click again to go the previous page. Changing the position of the search result to second on screen will greatly streamline the shelflisting process. The Browse Shelf list dropdown options are not sticky. Every time a cataloger needs use the tool they have to re-enter these values: - call number type - library - location Making these values sticky would improve efficiency and be more ergonomic. Lastly, when you Browse Shelf List, the Description column of the result list does not have the necessary metadata needed for shelflisting. Currently, staff have to go into multiple records in Edit Mode to see the metadata they need to evaluate when determining shelf marks. What should display in the Description column is the main entry: so 1XX plus 240 or 245. (That is, show 240, and if it does not exist show 245). |
| Cannot search MARC field 790 in Alma(5591) | Resource Management | For a variety of benefits we plan to implement use of the 790 field for local tracings (such as former owners) to be used for special collections materials. Now we see that we can't search that field at all in Alma, only Primo. Since Alma does index 59X fields as "local notes" and 69X fields as "local subjects" would it be possible to index 79x as well? This is SalesForce Case 472025. |
| Change Holdings area to match Items(5401) | Resource Management | Editing Holdings requires knowing all of the codes for your institution's locations and libraries. If the Holdings area were more like the Items area then the choices for locations and libraries would be on pull down menus. A History tab similar to the one on the Items screen would also be helpful. |
| Change Physical Item Job should ignore default MARC holdings template when changing location(5949) | Resource Management | When using the Change Physical Items job to change an items location, we are running into problems because of the way Alma processes this job. Alma creates a new holding with the same data as the original holding and reattaches the items to this new holdings record. If all items are changed to the new location, the original holding is deleted. When creating the new holding, Alma uses the default MARC holding template. Our default is set with 852 indicator 1 set to 1 for Dewey Decimal classification, as this is used for the majority of our active holdings. This means that, on changing a set of items from 1 location with "Other" classification type to a second, also with "Other" classification type, Alma creates the new holdings record with 852 indicator 1=1 instead of indicator 1=8. Which means that a second normalisation process then has to be run over the same set then to the correct indicator. This is double handling; it would be better if Alma ignored the default holdings template and obeyed the default call number type of the physical location instead. |
| Change Physical Items job – adding notes(4918) | Resource Management | The Change Physical Items job allows you to add notes to Internal notes 1-3 or Statistical notes 1-3 as the only value in those fields, and there are options to not add the note if text already exists, but there is no option to add the note IN ADDITION TO notes that already exists. In other words, append additional text either before, or after, text already existing in the field. Also, when you choose the option to skip adding the note if the field is not empty, there is no report identifying which records were skipped. The addition of a report would provide evidence that the current text has not be inadvertently changed. Both of these conditions should be addressed. |
| Consistent “Change holdings” functionality on page “List of Items” and “Physical Item Editor”(5948) | Resource Management | This request seeks to make the “Change holdings” functionality on two pages consistently. This concerns two issues: 1) When using the buttons “Actions” -> ”Change holdings” on the “List of Items” page after selecting the respective items, only specific holdings are selectable. 2) When changing holdings for all items of a holding using the buttons “Actions” -> ”Change holdings” on the “List of Items” page, the now “empty” holding will not be automatically deleted. This is in contrast to behavior on page “Physical Item Editor”, where one can select all locations available and one gets a confirmation message that the holding will be deleted respectively. |
| Create a Separate Search Index for Specific OCLC Number(5684) | Resource Management | Currently, the OCLC Number for a record is indexed in the search index "Other System Number." This is not ideal, since the Other System Number indexes other numbers related to vendor record, CONSER, related item, etc. We request that Ex Libris provide a separate search index for OCLC number based on the presence of the '(OCoLC)' prefix in the 035 $a and/or $z, or (without prefix) in the 019 $a if there is a number in the 035 with an (OCoLC) prefix. Currently these specific (OCoLC) numbers are mixed in with other numbers occurring in the 019, 035, 773, 774, 775 777, 786, 800, 810, 811, 830 $w tags and subfields. Disambiguating these specific (OCoLC) numbers from the "other system numbers" would allow us to use them as unique identifiers. We see the potential for: Improved search Improved matching upon record import Cleaner Excel exports from Alma (we currently have to clean this field every time we export) Creation of a new Analytics field for OCLC number in Alma Analytics Establishment of a model for non-OCLC systems to create other unique search indexes |
| Create new Citation Type for Equipment(6307) | Resource Management | Right now we are given one of two options to quick catalog an item. These options are Book and Article. There should be a citation option for equipment, with relevant fields for equipment. Not everything housed within Alma is a book or article. We need to have a citation type with fields specific to equipment such as "model number", "inventory ID", "serial number", "manufacturer", "model series", etc. and remove irrelevant fields such as "chapter title", "publication date", "ISBN", "place of publication", etc. |
| Delete a holdings record when its last item has been moved to another holdings record(6254) | Resource Management | When moving an item record to another holdings record associated with the same bib record (change holdings), and that item record is the last item record on the holdings record, the holdings record remains, childless. |
| Display all changes made on an item record on the History tab(5760) | Resource Management | The History tab of an item record does not record all changes made. |
| Enable Individual Portfolios for PubMed(5540) | Resource Management | There is not a way to set up individual profiles for the Publish to PubMed Profile for individual colleges that share one Alma instance. This functionality is important and should be enabeled. Without it, patrons using PubMed will not be aware which results are available in full-text through their college's databases. |
| Enable to turn top-level collections to sub-collections(6225) | Resource Management | Currently it is possible to turn a sub-collection into a Top-level collection, but not vice versa. |
| Expand Export to WorldCat options & Make default setting configurable(5764) | Resource Management | Allow insitutions to fully configure publishing default from Alma to OCLC. When creating a new MARC21 Bibliographic records in the MD Editor, the Export to WorldCat default setting is Publish bib. It is an incorrect assumption that every newly created bibliographic record should be sent to OCLC. An institution should be able to set the publishing default as it prefers. In the MD Editor, the Export to WorldCat "Don't publish" option results in a record being sent to OCLC with "d" (Delete) in the Leader 05 position. The record is exported to OCLC and the institution's holdings symbol is removed. It would be helpful if the terminology used for Export to WorldCat was more explicit. "Don't publish" should mean don't export/send to OCLC. "Publish bib" should mean export to OCLC based with the Leader/05 position as set (and retained) in the MD Editor (e.g., If the record has LDR/05=d (Deleted), it will be exported and the institution's holdings symbol will be deleted from OCLC). Ex Libris acknowledged the problem by adding a single statement in the Publishing to OCLC documentation that reads: If a record is marked as Don't publish, it is published as deleted (a d is added to the LDR position 5). When creating a new MARC21 Bibliographic records in the MD Editor, the Export to WorldCat default setting is Publish bib. It is an incorrect assumption that every newly created bibliographic record should be sent to OCLC. An institution should be able to set the publishing default as it prefers. |
| Import matching profile – Ability to limit to only physical or only electronic(6351) | Resource Management | Currently, import profile matching does not allow the option of limiting to only electronic or only physical. There are times when we want a fairly permissive match-point, but do not want electronic records to overlay physical records or vice versa. (There is another enhancement request for limiting matching to only one electronic collection, but sometimes that is too limiting. We want electronic portfolios that match an electronic title in a different collection to be added to that Bib record. However, we do not want electronic records to match with physical records and overlay them.) |
| Improve Upload electronic holdings job - Missing titles(5788) | Resource Management | The automatic upload of institutional holdings (Elsevier, Ovid...) is a very interesting functionality. It would be great if all "subscribed" titles available in the publisher's holdings file would be taken into account. This would increase the service. Currently, portfolios not available in the CKB are not added. They should be added and at least, listed in the weekly job report. This report should also draw our attention to non activated portfolios with multiple MMS records found for identifier in catalog. |
| In the item record, the Generate Description button should use the pattern in the 853/854/855 field of the holding record.(6401) | Resource Management | Currently, the pattern used by the Generate Description button is determined by Description Templates, which are configured in Alma Configuration > General > Description Templates. But these templates only permit a single pattern for a given combination of Enum and Chron fields. If only the EnumA field is filled in an item record, the Generate Description button will use whichever Description Template best matches having only EnumA. This ignores the fact that one title might be published as v.1, another title as no.1, and a third (German) title might be bd.1. In the current version of Alma, the Generate Button would use the same Description Template for all three titles, and the library would have to manually edit the Description if they wanted it to match the publication pattern. This is silly and wasteful; the correct description pattern should already be encoded in the holding record in the 853/854/855 field. That is the MARC standard for recording this information. Alma should use that information when generating a Description field from Enum and Chron values. To make this more convenient, the Pattern Type and Linking Number from the ENUM/CHRON tab of the item record should be duplicated in the General tab, just as the EnumA, EnumB, ChronI and ChronJ values are duplicated in the General Tab. The Pattern Type should default to 3 (853), and the Linking Number should default to 1. This tells the item record which 85x field to take the pattern from. The Description Template configuration can then be completely removed. |
| In the MD Editor, have the ability to create item record templates(5766) | Resource Management | To streamline item editing, the user should be able to create item record templates to set values that are used repeatedly. It is preferable that all tabs are available for the template. The General Information and Notes tab fields are needed most. |
| In the MD Editor, move the Set Management Tags options out of the Tools menu into top-level check boxes or displays(5762) | Resource Management | The Set Management Tags (Suppress from Discovery; multiple Export to WorldCat options) are not easily accessible. |
| In the MDEditor using “Expand from Template” functionality have templates apply fields/subfields regardless of whether they currently exist in the bib record(5278) | Resource Management | When using “Expand from Template” in the MDEditor we would like to see templates apply fields/subfields regardless of whether they currently exist in the bib record (e.g., bib record already contains a 546 for language, and we want to add an additional 546 for type of notation via template. Using the template will do this: 546 $a Spanish words with interlinear French translation $b Staff notation. It adds the subfield b for type of notation to the existing 546 rather than adding a new 546 field: 546 $a Spanish words with interlinear French translation. 546 $b Staff notation. ) |
| In the Physical Item Editor, provide options for retaining holdings information when changing the Permanent Location of an item.(6400) | Resource Management | In the Physical Item Editor, changing the Permanent Location currently has the following behavior when the changes are Saved: * If no holding record already exists with the new location, the item is attached to a new holding record, copying all metadata from the old holding record with only the library and location changed. * If one holding record already exists with the new location, the item is automatically attached to that holding record (possibly changing the call number of the item). * If multiple holding records already exist with the new location, the item record is automatically attached to one of those holding records (without giving the user a choice, and possibly changing the call number). * If the item was the last item on the old holding record, the old holding record is deleted. This behavior is not clearly explained in the documentation, and it can cause the loss of important data. The call number may unexpectedly be changed. If the new location already has a holding record, all information from the old holding record is lost, including notes and the old call number. The record has been deleted, so the user cannot even copy fields to the new holding record. This behavior should be changed to the following: * If no holding record already exists with the new location, the item is attached to a new holding record, copying all metadata from the old holding record with only the library and location changed. [same as current behavior] * If one or more holding records already exists with the new location, display a summary of the holding records, including call number and call number type. Also display the current call number and call number type, for comparison. Give the user buttons or checkboxes to do the following options: a) Pick an existing holding record, attach the item, and let the item use that call number. b) Pick an existing holding record, attach the item, and copy the current call number into the Alternative Call Number (and Alternative Call Number Type) of the item record. c) Attach the item to a new holding record, copying all metadata except library and location from the current holding record, and set the copy value in the holding record to distinguish it from other holding records at that location. * If the item was the last item on the old holding record, give the user the following options (similar to the options when moving the last item to a new bib record): a) Retain the old holding record b) Retain and suppress the old holding record c) Delete the old holding record. |
| Include MMS ID matching option for building Physical Titles itemized sets(6364) | Resource Management | Using bibliographic record MMS IDs is not available as a match method when creating Alma repository itemized managed sets for Physical Titles and Physical Items. |
| Increase Search External Resources search options in the MD Editor and auto-populate the search fields following no results found in Alma(5758) | Resource Management | The Search External Resources page has a limited number of search options. For example, the LCCN (010) and Publisher or Distributor No. (028) are common standard numbers that are not listed for searching WorldCat. Also, after getting a "No records were found" in a repository search, having the Search External Resources page auto-populate with the search criteria used would save time. |
| Job to scan in items in bulk(5571) | Resource Management | The Alma system does not currently allow users to “Scan-in” items via any kind of batch process. This leaves our student assistants and other staff with two options for accomplishing work that requires scanning in numerous items: 1. Students place items on a cart and bring them to the Stacks Management office, where the student can scan them in one-by-one and then return them to their proper shelving locations. 2. Students scan the items with portable barcode scanners before re-shelving them. Once the students have finished these scanning and re-shelving tasks, they return to our Stacks Management office, where they download the scanned barcodes from the portable scanners to a computer workstation as a .txt file. The student then uses a locally-written macro script that feeds one barcode at a time from the list to Alma’s “Scan-In Items” page. |
| Last Item Dialog Box in Withdrawing Items(6312) | Resource Management | We would like the ability to control the default choice in the last item dialog box when withdrawing items. https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/010Alma_Online_Help_(English)/040Resource_Management/050Inventory/040Managing_Physical_Resources#Withdrawing_One_or_More_Items The list presents: Don’t change the holdings record Delete the holdings record Suppress the holdings record from externalization Delete bibliographic records that have no other holdings Raised as SF (#00552126) and ExLibris suggested to submit as an enhancement request. |
| Make all Physical Item Editor tabs available at the initial creation of an item record(5765) | Resource Management | When creating a new item record, only the General Information tab fields are available. Having all tabs available at initial creation would allow the user to add notes before saving. |
| Marking "Item is in temporary location" as Yes via Import Profile(5886) | Resource Management | It is possible to set default temporary library and default temporary location in item records via the import profiles in the "Inventory Information" tab, advanced mapping policy view. However, there is currently not a way to mark "Item is in temporary location" as Yes to set as the default in the physical inventory (item record) in the import profile. I filed a salesforce case (#00521546) and was told that this functionality does not exist currently. |
| Massive copy of records from the community zone to the local catalog(6121) | Resource Management | In our institution, we have thousands of active electronic records for our institution but belong to the Community Zone. We want to copy massively these records to our catalog without having to do it one at a time. Our usual procedure is, from an excel file in which we have the ISBNs or ISSNs of the electronic documents, to upload the portfolios from the electronic collection itself. In this way we bring and activate in our institution the portfolios of the collection, but this does not generate a local copy in our catalog of each of them. So, we have many thousands of portfolios brought to our institution in this way, but now we want to know how we can copy them to our catalog without having to do it one at a time. We need to add many records from our IZ but linked to the Community Zone a marc field 526. In this note field we provide information on the recommended bibliography for our degrees. We need to load that field 526 via API. The addition of this field 526 allows us afterwards that users can search in Primo for the bibliography recommended for their studies. Currently, Alma does not allow the incorporation of this 526 field by API if that record is not copied in our catalog, so we need that record to be copied in our catalog. Adding this field to a record that is not copied in the catalog is possible if it is done one by one, but we want to do it via the API since it is several thousand records. However, the API gives an error if you try to put that field in a record linked to the CZ, without a copy to our local catalog. Conclusion: We want to copy massively records from CZ to catalog without having to do it one at a time |
| MD Editor drag-and-drop fields(5616) | Resource Management | The ability to easily move fields in the MD editor, preferably by drag-n-drop or some other one-step process. |
| Move portfolios from one e-collection to another without losing their link to the bib that is already in Alma(5754) | Resource Management | We would like to move portfolios from one e-collection to another without losing their link to the bib that is already in Alma. |
| New NZ normalization rule action be created that would allow removal of duplicate 035(5777) | Resource Management | When we load updated OCLC WorldCat or vendor-supplied records into the Alma Network Zone, there are times when we need to retain a vendor record numbers (e.g., a YBP Gobi ID or Marcive Shipping List Record Number) which are not present in the OCLC master record. Therefore, we would like to create a normalization rule that allowed the existing 035 fields to be carried forward to the replacement record. However, after 2, 3, 4, or even 5 overlay cycles, the resulting record could have a hundred or more 035 fields, with many fields containing identical content as other 035 fields. Therefore, we would like to carry forward the 035 fields, but only retain a single instance of identical 035 fields. |
| Physical Items Default Sort at User Level(6358) | Resource Management | When looking at a list of physical items for a title, the system would remember the last sort routine selected by an individual user. |
| Provide an option to view URL in CZ portfolios(5790) | Resource Management | It would be helpful to be able to look in any Portfolio (particularly Community Zone portfolios) and be able to quickly see exactly what the Linking URL is, eg by providing a View link under the title. This would be helpful for link troubleshooting as well as allowing for quicker capturing of the link (without having to decipher the Service Parameters or actually click through the Test Access process) for adding to documents, emails etc and enables ability to confirm that the portfolio or package information is the one we want to link to. |
| Provide Overlap Analysis Functionality for Print(5711) | Resource Management | Currently, Alma’s native overlap analysis functionality is limited to electronic resources. We want to be able to run an overlap analysis on our print holdings to compare them with an external print preservation repository to determine what we have in common, what is unique to them, and what is unique to us. Having this data will allow us to make evidence-based weeding and preservation decisions. |
| Provide the ability for an institution in an NZ environment to load files with local fields to the NZ and have the local fields localized to their IZ as part of the loading process(5076) | Resource Management | Create the bility to import bib records into the Network Zone with local fields and keep/protect the local fields in the bib local extension. Currently, we can import a batch of bib records with local fields into Network zone, e.g. our theses with local subjects in 690s. However, the local fields are stored in the Network zone bib records without the local field icons. The next day when the Alliance picks up the records from OCLC and drops them into the Network Zone, the local fields are wiped out. We request an enhancement that, for institutions in an NZ environment, will provide the ability for an institution to load files with local fields to the NZ and have the local fields localized to their IZ as part of the loading process |
| Provide the ability to search on a bibliographic record's Leader position 05 (Record status)(5773) | Resource Management | Add MARC Leader position 05 (Record status) to the list of bibliographic tags that can be searched. |
| Publish all item fields into AVA(6333) | Resource Management | Publish all item fields into the AVA or make it customisable which are published. |
| Resource Management - Request to create alert in Alma to indicate if localized CZ bibs are suppressed after CZ porfolios are activated(6120) | Resource Management | We find that when we activate portfolios from Community Zone, we will not be alerted by Alma that the localized CZ bibs are suppressed at the Institutional zone during activation. Is it possible to alert us that the localized bibs are suppressed when we carry out the activation job? Please refer to SF case #563216. It is suggested we raise this as NERS enhancement request |
| Scores and sound recordings should be separated out as their own bib-level material type(5248) | Resource Management | The bibliographic material type of Music inexplicably combines scores (Leader/06 c or d) and sound recordings (Leader/06 i or j) into a single facet. Scores and sound recordings should be separated out as their own bib-level material type. |
| Serial management navigation enhancement (6143) | Resource Management | The current setup is to create items for a whole year. It would be essential to enable the flexibility to select number of items to be created. This would allow for quicker navigation of list of items, and reduce the number of inaccurate predictions. For weekly publications. there will be 52 items per year and its pattern may change slightly year by year due to the public holiday, e.g. Time magazine ISSN 0040-781X. When there is a combined issue pattern change, we have to withdraw all forthcoming items with incorrect enumeration/chronology information and re-create a new set of items by prediction, another 52 items will be added and we will need to repeat this exercise every year. Depending on the publishing frequency (e.g. daily publication) and the number of copies of a subscription, we might have over 10 pages of predictions in a list of items. This greatly increases the amount of clicks needed at times to locate the item you are looking for, unless a new search capability for “description field” is available/enabled. |
| Serials: Editing of Description Needed(5612) | Resource Management | When opening predicted items, the Description-Field is populated by the data provided in “Next Predicted Item´s information” and displays these data in a certain interpunctuation-logic. Unfortunately, this logic is not equal to the description- (and interpunctiation-) logic used in German speaking countries (which is following ZETA-Standard) – and there is no possibility to edit this. Since there has to be a correct description (for sorting etc.), the only way is to open and edit every single item once it is created by prediction pattern. This is causing a lot of unnecessary work to be done manually - we need the description template to be editable so that items with a correct description can be created automatically in the first place! |
| Shelf report shows items out of order in range(6417) | Resource Management | The shelf report functionality should be enhanced to report which items are out of order within the call number range on which the report is run. Currently the shelf report only tells you which items belong outside of the call number range on which the report is run, are not in place (when Alma thinks they are in place), or are in place (when Alma thinks they are not in place). Dean Lingley at Purdue has developed a separate application based on an API that reports which items are out of order with the call number range on which the report is run, but it would be much more convenient if Alma provided this functionality as part of the built-in shelf report. |
| Single Issue/Journal Binding requires a lot of extra steps, process should be the same as for multiple issue binding.(5587) | Resource Management | In Alma the steps to bind a single issue/journal are not the same as for binding multiple issues. Single issue binding takes a lot of extra steps that should not be necessary. This is SalesForce Case 89590. |
| Split screen option in MD editor(5615) | Resource Management | When working with serials holdings records, the ability to have a list of associated items open in a split-screen view. |
| Support best practice displaying Creative Commons licences for digital titles/representations(6257) | Resource Management | Creative Commons best practice guidelines include linking to the licence details. Currently, to do this we have to use HTML markup in a rights field in the metadata to display it in the Alma viewer. Access rights in Alma control delivery of the representations to users. CC licencing is different, in that it specifies what the user can then do with the representation/file(s). All CC licenced material could use the one Access right (eg. Open Access), but there are many flavours of the CC licence that could apply within that, and which should be linked to. |
| The “Create Physical Item Work Orders” job should be expanded to allow users to add work order Status in addition to Type and Department to a set of records.(4922) | Resource Management | The “Create Physical Item Work Orders” job should be expanded to allow users to add work order Status in addition to Type and Department to a set of records. Currently adding Status is a 2nd separate step. After running the job to apply Type and Department, you must then sign into the appropriate Currently At location, Manage In Process Items, and then apply the Work Order Status (limited to one screen of 20 records at a time). Very Inefficient! |
| The ability to put all Templates into folders.(6353) | Resource Management | The ability to put all Templates into folders to tidy up the long list of Templates that we have. |
| The spreadsheet created when exporting a search result to Excel combines too many fields into single cells(5768) | Resource Management | The Excel spreadsheet produced from an All Titles search result combines Creator/Publisher into a single cell, all of the Subject fields into a single cell, and all of the holdings into a single Availability cell. It would be helpful if the spreadsheet data was split into more refined cells and/or if the spreadsheet could be configured on demand. Attachment provided. |
| Update the Metadata Configuration for MARC21 Bibliographic and MARC21 Holding to include all valid MARC21 fields and subfields(5771) | Resource Management | When editing in the MD Editor, an alert may appear indicating that a field or subfield is not valid or is not listed in the profile. However, the field or subfield is valid for MARC21. The user is not able to easily add the valid field/sufield to the Profile Details page. An effort should be made by Ex Libris to bring the MARC21 fields and subfields up-to-date in Alma and to maintain currency if users are not permitted to add/edit the MARC21 configuration. |
| View linking information for Electronic Portfolios and Collections in the CZ prior to activation.(6377) | Resource Management | Currently, it is impossible to see linking information for Electronic Portfolios and Electronic Collections in the CZ that have not been activated in the local IZ. In order to be seen, the portfolio or collection must be activated in the IZ before linking information is available for review. This makes it very difficult to determine if some collections in the CZ are what the local institution really wants to activate. Parsers and static URLs in the portfolios and collections should be visible in the CZ and should not require activation to be visible to the operator. |
| View title statement(245p) in community zone(5567) | Resource Management | Currently 245p were not displaying in the electronic collection of community zone record. It creates difficulty to distinguish them when viewing journals such as "Nature Publishing Group Journals" Steps to replicate: Search for “Electronic Collection = Nature Publishing Group Journals” > “Edit Service” > Portfolios > A list of titles without |p is displayed. |
| Working with members of a set(6393) | Resource Management | Currently the functionality for working with members of a set is clunky. We would like to see the following improvements: 1) the ability to sort and filter; 2) after clicking “remove selected” it should return you to the page you were working on, not the first page; 3) the ability to select members on multiple pages, rather than having to perform actions on a per-page basis; and 4) page selection option at both top and bottom of the page. |
| Add facets to itemized managed sets(5706) |
| Requesting that facets be added to itemized managed sets as they are in logical managed sets |
| Add logical grouping ability to Managed Sets(6392) |
| Currently, logical grouping is not supported in Managed Sets. To some degree this is supported in Analytics, although the process is cumbersome, but in Managed Sets there is no option to group logical statements, in effect within parentheses. This means that mixing AND and OR Boolean operators is not possible. The only way this can be accomplished currently is through combining sets, but this creates itemized rather than logical sets. We would like functionality within Managed Sets that allows us to group sets of conditional statements, for clarity and also to allow mixing Boolean operators. |
| Add the ability to create different Note Types under the Users note tab.(6139) |
| We use APIs to load and sometimes alter Alma user data. One example is replacing legal names with preferred names (Alma does not yet have fields dedicated to preferred names). When we replace a legal name with a preferred name, we'd like to add a note specific to this scenario that indicates a name has been changed and includes the legal name. The legal name will then still be in the Alma user record and can be used for verification, the collection of fines and fees, etc. We'd like to have a note type that is reserved for this purpose, and that means we want to create our own note types to avoid collisions with other library staff use. We have asked for different barcode types in the past, and had them added, and this seems like it could be solved in a similar manner. |
| Administration: Expand Repository Advanced Search Options(4057) |
| Expand searching capabiliites: in repository search: All searches should have functionality to search 'contains', 'does not contain', 'is empty', 'is not empty', 'begins with' |
| Better support of language translations in Alma(6429) |
| Our Library supports multiple languages besides English, with 3 languages enabled in "institutional languages" configuration. With multiple languages enabled, we found that it is a huge pain when we need to view and edit the translated terms in Alma. For example, the translations of physical location name, physical location external name and course name etc are ONLY accessible via Alma UI by clicking on the "Globe" icon that appeared next to the English (default) name. There is no way to view or edit these translations via export lists, Analytics, course loader or even API. |
| Configurable item lists(5557) |
| In the several item lists we need to display several columns. In the item list "Item - in department" we need for instance columns for the item fields Description Inventory number Item policy We would also like to have more sorting possibilities, for example for Description Inventory number Call number Furthermore it would be good if the notes were completely visible, for example via tooltip. |
| Configuring Popups(6119) |
| We would like be able to control which Alert popups we want enabled and which one's we would like to disable. A mapping table for each functional area like the one attached maybe. |
| Cursor auto-return after refresh(6226) |
| Can the field that you are editing be the one that is central to the display after the screen is refreshed. |
| Editable labels/titles/popups(6327) |
| Make editable all system headers, pop ups, labels, warning text, and other on screen denotations. This functionality is available as 'manage labels' for Leganto and would therefore extend consistency across the system |
| Enable different time formats for Alma interface and letters(6129) |
| Currently, it's only possible to set one time format within Alma (Configuration Menu > General > General Configuration > Other Settings > system_time_format), which is used universally in the Alma interface (e.g. in patron records, in monitor jobs). Could the 'system_time_format' parameter be divided into two please: 'system_time_format_interface' and 'system_time_format_letters'? |
| Fulfillment: Alert / message for non renewed patron loans(4661) |
| We would like to have a meaningful alert/message as to why an item/s are unable to be renewed for a patron. Examples of reason reasons could be: (1) already renewed maximum amount – with option to over-ride, (2) on hold for another patron, (3) patron record has expired, or (4) patron has a block (eg. fines or fees). |
| Import Profile: Manual Handling required(6443) |
| Whenever an Import Profile has an issue loading records, it gives the status "Manual Handling required". However, if you have a profile auto-load, there is nothing sent to users to indicate there is an issue with a profile, so it sits there until someone notices records are missing. |
| Improve sort functionality and make consistent across all lists(6326) |
| Implement a set of sort criteria consistent across all lists, e.g. Alphabetical, Numerical, Chronological, and Status based sort options would be available for Orders, Resource Sharing, Invoices, Citations, etc. So the same options are available and applied in a consistent manner. |
| Quick Links Box(6124) |
| The Quick Links menu is not large enough to hold all the menu items some have bookmarked, so we would like that to be bigger. Also it would be nice to be able to change the order of the links. |
| Reset persistent search box by clicking logo in persistent menu(5629) |
| We would like to have the possibility to reset the persistent search box to a default search type by clicking the logo in the persistent menu (top left), similar to Primo. The default search type should preferably be configurable per institution, or if possible, per user. |
| Resource Management: Improve Bound-with architecture(4683) |
| The current architecture used in Alma to link inventory with multiple bibliographic records ("bound-withs") results in many gaps in desired behavior. Request bound-with architecture be re-designed so that the following behaviors, currently problematic, would be successful and reliable: 1) The links between inventory and linked bib records are not broken when Alma processes 'touch' any of the host bibliographic or linked inventory records (and that they don't break for no apparent reason at all); 2) All bib records with bound-with relationships are appropriately included in the "Publish bib records to OCLC) files; 3) All holding records attached to bib records with bound-with relationships are appropriately included in the "Publish holding records to OCLC) files; 4) Bound-with relationships are properly reflected in the data published to Primo such that to Primo it appears that each bound-with bib record is linked to the appropriate inventory and "GetIt" sees and displays the appropriate inventory for each bib record in a bound-with relationship; 5) When searching in Alma, bib records are retrieved for Institution Zone and Network Zone searches as if every bib in a bound-with relationship was attached to the linked inventory. |
| Search and edit capability for itemized lists(6349) |
| Add the ability to search for a known item within an itemized managed set |
| The Ability to Export PID Numbers From All Set Types(5676) |
| After creating a set with cataloging information such as MMS IDs, it is then impossible to export that set and create a different type of set because most set creation is based on PID numbers, and that information is not available when exporting an excel spreadsheet of the previous set’s information back out of Alma. The PID internal numbers need to be added to all set export files, when possible. |
| upload additional files to add records to existing itemized managed sets(5705) |
| We would like to be able to upload files of identifiers, barcodes for example, to an existing itemized managed set in order to easily add additional records to the managed set as a batch operation |