This page is in draft - please ask Sarah Griffin if you have questions about what is listed here.
--- DRAFT ---
Proposed page structure:
Welcome to Alma Fulfillment
Fulfillment Terminology
The Alma Home Page
User Roles
Circulation Basics
Viewing a Patron
Loans, Returns, and Renewals
Managing holds (pick lists)
Viewing, Modifying Requests
Creating Hold Requests and Recalls
Notices and Printing
Advanced Circulation
Cancelling Hold Requests
Missing/Lost/Claimed Returned
Fines and Patron Blocks
User Management
Managing Items
Specialized Circulation Processes
Courses and Leganto (simple link to Course Reserves page)
InterLibrary Loan (Resource Sharing)
Analytics
Sets and Jobs
TO-DO Leave this as landing page info here, not separate child page - add TOC
Welcome to Alma
Alma Essentials: https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Training/AlmaEssentials/Alma_Essentials_-_English
Alma Glossary: https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/010Alma_Online_Help_(English)/010Getting_Started/085_Alma_Glossary
Alma login: https://duke.alma.exlibrisgroup.com/SAML
Fulfillment Terminology
What is Fulfillment? The process by which patrons borrow and return physical resources, or access electronic or digital resources. Fulfillment includes all areas where requests for items are created and filled. Tasks include viewing the status of an item, checking out and checking in materials, placing holds, adjusting loan periods, adding new patrons or editing existing patrons, renewing materials, managing fines, and sending notices to patrons.
Circulation desks: Work locations in the library that handle patron fulfillment. Users will set their location in the persistent menu (upper right corner) so that materials are checked out and returned properly.
[location screenshot]
Fulfillment units: Shelving locations with similar lending or return policies and blocks
Institutions: An institution is the highest part of the hierarchy. At Duke, we have one institution.
Libraries: The individual libraries on a campus. Each library is uniquely identified in Alma so the specific needs of that library can be addressed. For example, Ford and Perkins are each Alma libraries.
Work orders versus IPS (Alma different) - still TBD?
The Alma Home Page
The Alma home page is the initial page that appears when you log in to Alma. You return to the Alma home page when you select the Duke logo in the persistent menu or when you cancel certain actions in Alma.
[home page screenshot]
The specific elements that display on the Alma home page and menu options depend on your user roles. However, the home page always presents:
Persistent Menu: every page contains this header that includes the Duke logo, a search box, and main menu icons.
[persistent menu screenshot]
Navigation Bar: the main menu to navigate in Alma. This is where you’ll find the Fulfillment unit.
Recent Pages Widget: Displays the pages you have most recently visited. Select to go directly to one of the pages.
Widgets and Manage Widgets Button: Widgets are small panes of information or actions that are relevant to your user role. You can choose to display or remove widgets (except for the Recent Pages widget) from the Manage Widgets button.
User Roles
User Roles define what functions a user can perform in Alma. Each role confers a set of permissions, and staff members will have multiple roles assigned to them, depending on their job responsibilities.
Roles are specific to a library location (i.e., a Lilly staff member might have a “Circulation Desk Manager” role at Lilly but only a “Circulation Desk Operator” role at Music). Staff should always make sure they are logged in to the correct circulation desk location.
Some circulation-related roles in Alma have three tiers: Manager (with the highest level of permissions), Operator, and Operator – Limited. All users, staff and patrons, will have the role of Patron in Alma, which allows borrowing of materials. Other roles are related to Circulation Desk functions, Requests, Users, Inventory, Course Reserves, and more.
For detailed information on Alma User Role Profiles, Job Categories, and how those affect permissions, see Permissions and Role Management.
Basics of Fulfillment
In depth information about fulfillment tasks can be found via ExLibris documentation on Managing Patron Services at a Circulation Desk
Viewing a Patron Record
Patron Services
From the Patron Services page, you can manage loans, renewals, and item requests.
Loaning
Returning
Note that the process for returning borrowed items and processing in items arriving when requested from other libaries is separate.
Renewing and Changing Due Dates
Renewal limits in Alma are calculated based on a length of time rather than the number of renewals. For example, if an item is loaned for seven days and two renewals are allowed, Alma enforces that renewal by allowing a 21-day overall use period for the item.
Requests and Recalls
Item requests in Alma are mostly handled at the title level instead of item level. This means that Alma will automatically put the hold on the nearest available copy. If there is information in the item description field, such as a volume number, then the request will be handled at item level instead. Staff can also submit requests at the item level (see “Requesting a Specific Item” below).
If all items are on loan, Alma will recall the item that has been loaned for the longest period of time.
Hold Requests
Placing patron physical item requests *screenshots to be added*
Note: patron requests are title-level if there is nothing in the item description field. If there is something in the item description field, i.e. volume or copy numbers, the request will move to item-level.
Fulfilling patron physical item requests
Alma uses
Locating and Viewing Requests *screenshots to be added*
Depending on the information you have or where you're starting from, there are four ways to look up and view a current request:
Search by Request ID
Use the search type Requests, the criteria Request ID, and the ID number that was displayed in the confirmation box when the request was placed.
Other criteria available for this search type:
Requester (name)
Identifier (requester NetID)
Title of the material
Barcode of the item
Search by Title
Search for the title in the persistent search bar (either All Titles or Physical Titles search types)
If a title has requests, they will appear as a number next to Requests in the results record
Click on the number to see the request queue
Search by Requester
Go to Fulfillment >> Manage Patron Services
Search for a patron by scanning or typing their ID number or search for them by name
Select “Requests” to see requests for a given patron
Use the Monitor Requests and Item Processes List
Go to Fulfillment >> Monitor Requests and Item Processes
There are options to sort and limit the list of all requests, such as by Process Type, Pickup location, material, workflow step etc..
Modifying Request *screenshots to be added*
Editing a Request
Alma allows staff to make changes to a request, for example, to the pick up location.
Locate the request as described above
Go to the row action item list icon and select Edit
Note: The edit page is also the Create Request page, but you're not creating a new request, just editing the existing one
Make changes to the request. Note that you cannot change the "Request type" or the "Requester"
Click Submit to save changes
Changing Only the Expiration Date of the Request
To change the date on which a request expires:
Locate the request
Click on the row action item list icon and select Update Expiry
Follow the prompts on the screen to change the date and Save
Deleting or Canceling a Request *screenshots to be added*
Locate the request
Choose Cancel from the row action item list
Choose a reason for the cancellation from the drop-down menu.
Add a Note if more explanation is needed
The Notify User option is checked by default. (The user should generally always be notified so leave this box checked.)
Click Confirm
Maybe add?:
Expired Hold Shelf *screenshots to be added*
The Expired 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
Activate Next (request at this Circulation Desk)
General Procedure
Use local procedures to determine which items on the Expired Hold Shelf are genuinely expired (e.g., checking the date on the hold request slip)
Go to Fulfillment >> Expired Hold Shelf
Go through 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 to only check 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.
To send an item to another circulation desk, click the Transit button to the right
To send multiple items, select the check boxes of the relevant items and click Transit above
The Ful Transit Slip letter (letter code: FulTransitSlipLetter) is printed and the item is put In Transit
Send to Library
Lists all requests for items belonging to a different library, or that are requested for pickup at another library.
Same instructions as Send to Circulation Desk above
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
Best Practice: for the sake of accuracy, only check in books on this screen that are in hand
Use Return Items to check in books. This will route them and remove them from the expired hold shelf
Physically route all items based on their destination
Fulfillment units (buckets of locations where the circ rules live)
Fulfillment configuration utility - https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/010Alma_Online_Help_(English)/030Fulfillment/070Advanced_Tools/010Loans/010Fulfillment_Configuration_Utility
Alma circulation behaves differently than Aleph circulation.
In Aleph, circulation is controlled by an item’s sub library, item status, process status and availability, along with the patron group.
In Alma, circulation is controlled primarily by the item’s location, which is grouped into “fulfillment units” that have the same set of rules. E.g., we have a fullfilment unit called “Standard Loan” that includes stacks locations and other general collections where we generally allow faculty to borrow for an academic year, undergrads to borrow for 28 days, and so on.
Definitions:
Fulfillment unit: “A fulfillment unit is one or more physical locations within an institution that follow the same policies.” (Ex Libris definition from here: https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/010Alma_Online_Help_(English)/030Fulfillment/080Configuring_Fulfillment/020Fulfillment_Infrastructure/Configuring_Physical_Fulfillment )
Terms of use: “Terms of Use (TOU) are groups of policies that define loan and requesting behavior for patrons.” (Ex Libris definition from document above)
Showed up in another school’s training, and early users talked about this
Fulfillment configuration tool shows the terms of use – maybe that’s a place to introduce naming?
(ie, circulation rules)
*add exlibris link*
Managing items
Permissions to manage and make edits to items will be dependent on the user role [insert link to Roles section]
General Orientation *screenshots to be included*
Use the persistent search bar to conduct either a Titles or Physical Items search
Choose search type Physical Items, search criteria of Title (or whatever information you have), and type in your search term and click the search icon
The results will show all item records matching your search
Viewing the Item Details
Clicking the title will generate the MARC record view
To view item information, click “expand all” to display all items available.
Select Items
When viewing items in this view, you can customize the order of the columns by selecting a column and dragging it to the preferred location
You can also customize the width of the columns
To access additional item details, click the row action item list icon (the ellipsis) and select View
Updating barcodes *screenshots to be added*
To update an item’s barcode, locate the item via a search.
Once located, click “expand all” to display all items available.
Select Items
To edit item details, click the row action item list icon (the ellipsis) and select Edit
Enter the new barcode and Save
Changing item locations *screenshots to be added*
To update an item’s barcode, locate the item via a search.
Once located, click “expand all” to display all items available
Select Items
To edit item details, click the row action item list icon (the ellipsis) and select Edit
Scroll to the Location Information fields
Edit any necessary information and Save
Temporary locations – adding to item record versus temporary move requests *screenshots to be added*
Adding to Item Record
To update an item’s barcode, locate the item via a search.
Once located, click “expand all” to display all items available.
Select Items
To edit item details, click the row action item list icon (the ellipsis) and select Edit
Scroll to the Temporary Location Information fields
Enter any necessary information and Save
Temporary move requests *screenshots to be added*
Go to Fulfillment > Scan in items
Choose tab for Change Item Information
Set the temporary location
Scan the item barcode
Fines
[placeholder:] Fines in Alma behave similarly to Aleph. Clarifying fine types – different language from Aleph Fines/Fees and Credits will continue to be transferred to the Bursar’s Office for student users.
From the Fines/Fees tab of the User Details page, you can view a patron’s fines/fees; add or waive a fine or fee; indicate that a fine or fee is under dispute; and link the fine or fee to an item.
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.
Patron Blocks
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.
Only some fields in External users' records will be editable; those that are not will be greyed out in the User Management view.
Other processes
Claimed Return *screenshots to be added*
Select/Verify current location
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 (the ellipsis) and select Claimed Return
Click OK to complete
Marking Items Missing/Lost *screenshots to be added*
TBD
Undoing Claimed Return or Lost *screenshots to be added*
Select/Verify current location
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 (the ellipsis) and select Found
Click OK to complete
Notices and Letters
Notices (letters) will be sent by email to patrons automatically, such as overdue and courtesy notices, but can also be sent manually by library staff.
Printing
Seeing what slips you printed, reprinting slips as needed
Admin > Printing > Printouts Queue
Printouts remain in Alma for 30 days (we can’t control this)
Print queues – how hold slips are printed, when they print
Some libraries will manually print their hold slips, some will use print daemon
If a slip or subset of slips needs to be reprinted, go to Admin > Printing > Printouts Queue and look for “pending” or “printed” jobs, depending on context. Use facets on the left to filter down to the printer.
Course Reserves
Viewing courses and course reserve lists
Fulfillment > Courses > Courses – use facets to narrow down to library, term, etc.
Reserves for a course are on the course “reading list”
Work Orders (do we need to cover here?)
To be determined – lost/missing may be covered here.
Interlibrary loan
New library for ReShare loans - “RES_SHARING”