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For some of the more advanced Circulation Functions, Users may need to have assigned User Roles that grant additional permissions. If you need these addtional permissions but do not have them, please speak with your supervisor.

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Advanced Hold Shelf Procedures

See Basics of Circulation > Requests and Recalls for details on how to view and fulfill hold requests, as well as how to place a request on a patron’s behalf.

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Expand
titleExpired Hold Requests

Expired Hold Requests

TheExpired Hold Shelf lists items on the hold shelf haven’t been picked up by the person who originally requested them. 

  • Alma sorts items on the Expired Hold Shelf into four tabs: 

    • Reshelve 

    • Send to Circulation Desk (at the same library) 

    • Send to Library (at a different library)

    • Activate Next (next hold request in queue) 

General Procedure 

  • Confirm which items on the Expired Hold Shelf are genuinely expired by checking the date on the hold request slip.

  • Go to Fulfillment > Expired Hold Shelf.

  • On each tab (listed below), check all items you wish to perform the action to, and then click the link to the specified action (e.g., Activate Next) on the right side.

  • Best Practice: For the sake of accuracy it is better only to mark books on this screen that are in hand.

  • Physically route all items based on their destination.

Reshelve 

Displays all expired requests for items belonging to the current circulation desk and for which there is no other request in the queue. 

  • To reshelve an item, click the Reshelve button to the right.

  • To reshelve multiple items, select the check boxes of the relevant items and click Reshelve above.

Send to Circulation Desk 

Lists all requests for items belonging to a different circulation desk in the same library, or that are requested for pickup at another desk within the same library.  

None of our libraries have more than one circulation desk, so this tab should not be used.

Send to Library 

Lists all requests for items belonging to a different library, or that are requested for pickup at another library.

  • To send an item to another library, click the Transit button to the right.

  • To send multiple items, select the check boxes of the relevant items and click Transit above.

  • The Fulfillment Transit Slip Letter (letter code: FulTransitSlipLetter) is printed and the item is put In Transit.

Activate Next 

Activates the next request in the queue, which cancels the first request and makes the item available to the next requester.

  • This contains items that are currently on the hold shelf but have expired.

  • Use Return Items to check in books. This will route them and remove them from the expired hold shelf.

    • Best Practice: for the sake of accuracy, only check in books on this screen that are in hand.

  • Physically route all items based on their destination.

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Expand
titleUndoing Claimed Return or Lost 

Undoing Claimed Return or Lost   

  • Go to Fulfillment > Manage Patron Services.

  • Search for the patron by typing their name, their NetID, or scanning their DukeCard.

  • On the Loans tab (the default), change the Loan Display drop-down to All Loans.

  • Find the item in the list.

  • Click the row action item list icon […] and select Found.

  • Click OK to complete.

Undoing claimed return.png

Marking a Claimed Returned item as Found checks the item back out to the patron and refunds any Lost item replacement fee but does not automatically refund the Lost Item process fee. The item still needs to be discharged from the patron’s account, if it was found in the stacks.

Managing items  

See Viewing an Item Record for how to search for and view items.

Note: Permissions to manage and make edits to items will be dependent on the User Role.

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titleMissing/Lost

Marking Items Missing/Lost   

DUL’s lost/missing process is documented here: Lost and Missing Items

Long overdue items will automatically go to Lost after 28 days (as was the case in Aleph).

When a patron reports an item currently on loan to their account as lost, stolen, or otherwise unreturnable, you can also manually mark the item as Lost.

  • Go to Fulfillment > Manage Patron Services.

  • Search for the patron by typing their name, their NetID, or scanning their DukeCard.

  • On the Loans tab (the default), change the Loan Display drop-down to All Loans.

  • Find the item in the list.

  • Click the row action item list icon […] and select Lost.

  • Click OK to complete.

Lost .png

Expand
titleUpdating barcodes

Update a Barcode

  • To update an item’s barcode, search for the item.  

  • From the correct item line, select Items.

  • To edit item details, click the row action item list icon […] and select Edit. If there are multiple holdings, be sure to verify the barcode/library/location.

  • Updating barcode 4.png
  • Enter the new barcode and Save.

Updating barcode 5.png
Expand
titleChanging item locations

Change an Item’s Permanent Location

  • To update an item’s location, search for the item.  

  • Select Items.

  • To edit item details, click the row action item list icon […] and select Edit. If there are multiple holdings, be sure to verify the barcode/library/location.

  • Scroll to the Location Information fields.

  • Edit any necessary information and Save.

Location information.JPG
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titleTemporary locations

Change an Item’s Temporary Location

  • Adding to Item Record  

    • To update an item’s temporary location, locate the item via a search.  

    • From the correct title line, click Expand All (double down arrow) to display all available holdings.

    • Select Items.

    • To edit item details, click the row action item list icon […] and select Edit. If there are multiple holdings, be sure to verify the barcode/library/location.

    • Scroll to the Temporary Location Information fields.

    • Enter any necessary information and Save.

Temporary Location Fields.JPG
  • Temporary move requests

    • Go to Fulfillment > Scan in items.

    • Choose tab for Change Item Information.

    • Temporary Change Request .png
    • Set the temporary location.

    • Scan the item barcode.

Fines and Fees

Fines in Alma behave similarly to Aleph. Fines/Fees and Credits will continue to be transferred to the Bursar’s Office for student patrons, and can be paid by check or online payment for non-student patrons. https://duke.atlassian.net/wiki/x/AgA7Bw

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A disputed fine or fee can be waived or restored. A waived fine or fee cannot be restored. Any fine or fee that has not been paid, waived, disputed, or exported to the Bursar has a status of Active.

Further information on advanced Fines and Fees functions can be found at https://duke.atlassian.net/wiki/x/JgEWCQ

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Expand
titleAccepting payment

Note: Patron must have an active balance greater than $0.00 for a library to accept payment for fines/fees.

  • Go to Fulfillment >> Manage Patron Services.

  • Search for the patron by typing their name, their NetID, or scanning their DukeCard.

  • Click Pay button next to patron’s Active Balance.

  • Identify the fines or fees to be paid: 

    • Choose All fines to pay the entire outstanding amount.

    • Choose Specific fines and check respective item boxes for paying selected outstanding fines/fees.

  • Choose Payment method (online, check).

  • Click Send. Patron will receive an email receipt.

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titleWaiving Fines

To waive a single Active Fine or Fee

  • In the Fines/Fees tab, select the fine/fee you want to waive and select Waive Selected in the table actions list. Alternately, select Waive in the row actions list […] for the fine/fee that you want to waive. The Waiving Fine/Fee page appears:

    User Details Page - Waive Fines Fees New UI.png
  • Enter the amount of the fee you want to waive in the Fee amount field. This allows for both full and partial waives.

  • In Waiving reason select a reason for waiving the fee.

  • Enter any additional information for waiving the fine or fee in the Comment field.

  • Select Waive and select Confirm in the confirmation dialog box. The amount that is waived is deducted from the amount of the fine/fee (in the Original Amount column), and the balance owed for the fine/fee in the Remaining Balance column is reduced. The balances shown in the Fines and Fees Summary area are updated.

  • To view the transactions for any fine or fee, select the amount link in the Remaining Balance column.

To Waive Multiple Active Fines or Fees for the Same Reason

Fines/fees on multiple items can be batch waived, if they are being waived for the same reason (such as loss due to a natural disaster). 

  • In the Fines/Fees tab, click the check box to the left of one or more fines or fees.

    • You can select all fines and fees by clicking the check box in the blue bar at the top of the column. You can then de-select any unrelated fees (such as a late recall fine if you're waiving lost materials fines) by clicking the box next to that one item.

  • Click on Waive selected at the top right of the list. 

  • Choose the Waiving Reason and add a Comment with the reason for waiving the fines. The reason and the comment will be the same for all fines waived together in this batch. 

  • Click Waive, then click Confirm to complete.

Patron Blocks

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titleCreating patron blocks
  • Navigate to a patron’s User Details page (see Viewing a Patron Record).

  • Click on the Blocks tab.

  • Click Add Block on the right side of the screen.

  • Select Block Type from the drop-down.

  • Enter an Expiry Date, if applicable.

  • Add a Comment in the Note field with explanation for the block.

  • Click Add and Close to complete, or Add to if additional blocks need to be applied to the same user record.

Manually created blocks will persist until edited or deleted, unless given an Expiry Date. Automatic blocks will clear when the reason for the block is resolved (ie, a lost item is returned).

Expand
titleRemoving patron blocks
  • Navigate to a patron’s User Details page (see Viewing a Patron Record).

  • Click on the Blocks tab.

  • Locate the Block to cancel and click the ellipses on the right side of the screen. 

  • Select Delete from the dropdown menu. 

User Management 

Most users will be External, meaning that they and their relevant information are automatically loaded through Duke’s Identity Management service. Internal users are manually created within the Alma environment. See https://duke.atlassian.net/wiki/x/noP1Bg

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