2024/01/25
We now have access to our Alma instance with our Duke Data loaded. The LSPSG has been working to validate that all the data we expected to load into Alma is in fact there. We’ve found some quirks and some clean-up projects, but all in all, our data is there and usable. We will continue to check the data until February 1. Until then, we’ve been asked to not change any of the data. We’re finding that Alma Analytics and the creation of sets of data using the Alma searching options are very helpful.
Coming up, we’ll be kicking off the agile development team on January 29 to work on the integrations for Alma that need developers to do. Those projects are being tracked in the DULDEV Atlassian instance, and in the Basecamp site Ex Libris uses for our implementation. The integration projects include (but are not limited to) publishing our data to TRLN Discovery, importing users from Identity Management, sending fines to the Bursar, creating Invoices and sending them to Accounts Payable, setting up SpineOMatic for label printing, sending bib and holdings data along with requests to CaiaSoft, and projects like that. We’ll also be configuring Z39.50 access, ReShare access, and the data exports we send to OCLC, ShareVDE, HathiTrust.
We’ve scheduled training with Ex Libris for our Duke Early Users and Trainers for the week of February 5-8. There will be morning and afternoon sessions of about 2.5 hours each. Each of the sessions has a detailed agenda of topics to cover, and is focused either toward Tech Services functionality or Circulation functionality. The Early Users will then work in our Alma instance to learn workflows, test permission sets, circulation rules as we add them. The Trainers will be working in their subject areas to review Ex Libris training resources as well as the training resources our peer institutions have shared to see what could be shared for our local training. If local documentation or training material needs to be created, the trainers will work on that as well.
2024/01/05
This week, the Alma Configuration Form, the logos for Duke’s instance, and the form to configure authentication were submitted!
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This week, we kicked off the Alma Café Series with your barista, Julie Brannon, and an overview of the Alma interface. Thank you to all who attended and made this series kickoff successful. If you missed it, you can view the recording on WarpWire (NetID login required) and the slides on Box. The next Alma Café will be on Wednesday November 15 at 9:00. The topic will be "Intro to Acquisitions". Your barista will again be Julie Brannon.
In other project work, we are finalizing migration mappings with our Ex Libris partners. We have exported Courses data from FOLIO and are working on exporting data from the Licenses app this week. Ex Libris ran a small extract of bibliographic data from Aleph so that we could see how LKR data for bound-withs would be imported to Alma so we could think about whether any data clean-up should happen in Aleph or if it would be easier to wait until after our final export is completed. Alma's "sets" feature is going to be really handy as we look at our data projects post go-live.
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Check out the First Wednesday presentation!
Alma Implementation - First Wednesday 20231004.pptx
2023/09/18
This week we started sharing information with Ex Libris about our local integrations that are required for go-live. Integrations are connections between software that allow information to be moved from one to the other. Things like loading patrons and staff users, sending requests to AEON for the Rubenstein Library material tracking, and self-check out are just a few integrations we'll be detailing. Some integrations involve adding connections to third-party software, such as meeScan, or ReShare for interlibrary requests to our IvyPlus or TRLN partners. Some include import of data like embedded order data we get from vendors like Yankee Books so that orders can be created at the same time a bibliographic record is loaded. We also export our data to sites like our very own discovery layer, HathiTrust, or IvyPlus's Platform for Open Data, and will need to consider those as integrations. Some integrations will require work from the library's developers in Discovery Strategies and Technologies where we take data and transform it programmatically before it's loaded such as our patron records.
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