2016-08-03 Meeting notes

• Users API: San Marcos updated ILLiad auth script to REST API; API doesn't provide a last modified date; Ian following up with ExL
• Work at San Marcos continues on CashNet integration with PeopleSoft. Fines /fees will be sent to Peoplesoft each morning w/update from PeopleSoft every 15 minutes and released holds.
• ILLiad: no report; now that Alma instances / data is available, regular meetings will resume
• Self-Check: figuring out how to test with existing self-check stations; discussed ways to remote login to machine without having to be physically at it; compiled info from Renaldo about their testing; for bug tracking, using Google Form embedded w/Confluence. Also looking at data from campus survey about various campus needs.
• RFID: met last week; discovered new resources related to RFID. Documentation is linked on the RFID wiki page. Planning a working meeting testing at Fresno to enable testing with TechLogic institutions. Also following up with Ex Libris re: requesting support for RFID issues. Brandon can follow up with Dolph for plans for Ex Libris support.
• PeopleSoft update: will be reaching out to PMs / Vanguards for testing in the coming weeks
• LMS: Met and brainstormed about functionality and prioritizing the top features for an integration. Discussed primarily as a reading list app but could also be adapted for use by reserves. Will be drawing up requirements doc for that.

• Course reserves migration: using the SRU to look up items and add bibs to the course via API. Can be used for a course reserves CSV export.
• Erroneously created holdings records: Will be creating a script to move the LIB HAS / Summary 866 to cleanup "empty" holdings records that have no items but contain the summary holdings info
• III OLDLOC (Old Location) for items in reserve: OLDLOC data will go to permanent location and Reserve loc will go to temp location
• iType → Mat Type migration
• Call number cuttering from item records vs. bib records: solutions on wiki + potential script on GitHub
• Repos available on GitHub: https://github.com/allsway

• Creating a wrapper class or set of classes using Composer, to make a single call to an AlmaAPI library. When using an IDE, get helpful parameter suggestions, etc.
• Will be taking XSD files from developer network - using XSLT, can auto-generate PHP from the XSD info on the Developer Network and build up a code library very quickly.
• In early stages, but will make writing apps much faster

• Check Alma > General configuration > Letter emails. This is where you'll find the field names for letters.
• Alma has a lot of letters. Will generate a lot of email traffic. Consider whether the letter is important to you / important to the patron, and decide which ones are essential. Important: turn off letters you don't want to use - otherwise Alma will send them!
• Pay attention to the code name, which serve as variables to pull data from the system.
• Alma > General Configuration > Customize Letters.
• Important to keep a list of all the letters you've used and customized. Not easy to filter through and find the letters. Naming of letters is not intuitive; hard to keep track of which letter name is used for which letter.
• Call code names with this syntax: @@reminder_message@@
• You can only have one letter per one library. Letters get sent out through one email account; we have multiple circulation desks. Only one email is going out to patrons. Modified the footers to include an inclusive / generic messages about which service point to contact. If you have multiple libraries, will have separate sets of letters for each library.
• Some of the default should be removed, e.g., "Dear sir / madam," Sincerely: Circulation department".
• Sac State also uses borrowing activity letter rather than overdue letter; as overdue letter goes out the morning something is due.
• Styling: data elements from the system don't necessarily look attractive; can try to do some styling; but that takes a lot of time and testing
• All fields for forms are active "Enabled" is kind of irrelevent
• Can modify the XSLT in an external editor, but in Alma, send the default letter to your own email. Good idea to start with the activity letter, because you can send it as a one-off job from within the patron record.
• See Configuring Alma Letters in the Knowledge Center for more info
• Sign up for the Alma Letters / XSLT Task Force Here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd4mztoeWGiQgBnx4ThYl7aggxvnqchVq6SgMjpVAUveaR-PA/viewform

Interested in working toward a shared set of normalization rules and import profiles for Alma? Want to learn more about using the drools language in Alma? Sign up for the Normalization Rules / Import Profiles Task Force here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc0MTdcGPSTvgqjVk_QiwiUS9YS3Bxdb3aTL57UXklGnXk6yA/viewform

Please share local coding/systems/development projects your campus is working on with the ULMS Systems Listserv!