This page is a draft - email Erin Nettifee with questions.
Who does this procedure apply to
This procedure applies to alumni/ae.
They should be able to show you an active Duke Alumni card (virtual: https://alumni.duke.edu/benefits/alumni-card , or print, if they have been active with the alumni association since before the pandemic.)
Before starting: Check for an existing Alma account
Using the user’s card, search for them in the Alma user search.
If the user has an existing Alma account - follow the directions here.
If the user does not have an existing Alma account, follow the directions here.
Patron does not have an existing library account
The goal is to find their unique ID. Each alumni has the same unique ID they had when they were a student. The OneLink account is tied to that unique ID.
Their unique ID must be listed as an identifier on their Alma account in order for them to be able to access My Account services online.
Check for an existing OneLink account
If they have a virtual alumni card, they have a OneLink account.
If they have a physical alumni card, ask if they know if they have a OneLink account. If they are unsure, it can help to show them the Duke Alumni website and ask if they have ever logged into it - https://alumni.duke.edu/blue-devil-network. If they have, then they have a OneLink account.
Ask if they know what their Unique ID is. Explain that it’s a 7 digit number and is the same one they had as a student. If they don’t know it from memory, they can go to https://accounts.oit.duke.edu/onelink/sign_in and sign in with their OneLink account to look up the number.
If they do not have a OneLink account
If they do not have a OneLink account, offer to help them set one up.
If you sense that they would prefer to set it up later, offer to set up their library access without it. Inform them that they will not be able to log in to “My Accounts” until they set up their OneLink account and communicate their unique ID to the library so that it can be added to their account.
Most OneLink accounts are created through an automated identity management process managed by OIT, that checks for existing affiliation with the university and for pre-existing accounts. Generally, this automated process takes no longer than a few minutes.
For a small percentage of accounts, the automated process fails because the OIT system cannot determine if the person has been at Duke before and may already have a unique ID. In those cases, the OneLink ID must be manually created by staff, and can take one-two business days.
Create an Alma account with their unique ID
Start from Fulfillment > Manage Patron Services > Register New User
For the Primary identifier, use the auto-generated identifier that Alma provides.
For the Patron group, set it to “Alumni”.
Add their email address.
Do not set an Alma password. It will not work for their account, and is not needed.
Set an appropriate expiration date. If you leave it blank, it will be set to 365 days in the future.
Save the account, then go into edit the account.
Add a Statistical Categories of Patron type set to “Other - Alumni.”
Add an identifier of type Duke ID with the value of their unique ID.
Create an Alma account without their unique ID
Start from Fulfillment > Manage Patron Services > Register New User
For the Primary identifier, use the auto-generated identifier that Alma provides.
For the Patron group, set it to “Alumni”.
For the Statistical Categories, set the Patron type to “Other - Alumni.”
Do not set an Alma password. It will not work for their account, and is not needed.
Set an appropriate expiration date. If you leave it blank, it will be set to 365 days in the future.
Inform the patron that you can check out their books now, but that they must set up their OneLink account and send the library their unique ID in order for us to link the library account so they can renew and request items online. Make sure the patron has contact information for who to email when they have their OneLink account set up.
Directions for creating accounts for recent Duke alums
If they are a recent alum and graduated less than a year ago, they cannot do anything with OneLink yet. This is an OIT policy that you cannot have both an active netid/password and an active OneLink account.
It is an OIT policy that a user cannot use OneLink if they have an active netid/password, because some users were using OneLink to get around requirements for multifactor authentication.
Recent grad netids will deactivate one year after their graduation date. The Libraries cannot make it happen any earlier.
Once the netid is deactivated, they can set up a OneLink account. As long as their unique ID is still on their Alma record, that is the only thing needed to continue using My Accounts. They just start logging with the OneLink account after their netid expires.
In the meantime, you can switch their existing account over to Alumni.
Note that you must have a User Manager or User Administrator role to do this procedure.
Look up the patron’s Alma account.
Toggle the patron account type from External to Internal.
If the patron’s account is expired, extend the account expiration date to one year from their graduation date.
Change the patron group to “Alumni”.
Update the patron type statistical category for the patron to “Other - Alumni”
Remove the statistical category Eligible For and value “Interlibrary Loan” and “Item paging”, if present.
Update the patron’s contact information.
Inform the patron:
They can start borrowing as an alum;
They should register with the Alumni Association and get their OneLink account;
Once their netid expires (generally a year after graduation), they can start using their OneLink account and it should let them log into their library account.