Intermediate Fulfillment Tasks:
CREATING A NEW USER RECORD:
Records that are not loaded into Alma must be manually created. Always search for a user record before creating a new one. If a match is found, click on the record and select "Open for Update." If no record is found, select "Register New User."
USER INFORMATION:
- Name - fill in field for first name, middle name, and last name.
- Primary Identifier - The user's VUnetID. For non-affiliated patrons who do not have a VUnetID (patrons affiliated with other universities, schools, or division-specific users), follow these instructions to construct and alternate ID: First three letters of last name, first two letters of first name, two-digit birth month, two-digit birth date (LLLFFMMDD). For example, John Smith born March 12th would have an ALT_ID of SMIJO0312.
- NOTE THAT ALMA DOES NOT ALLOW YOU TO ENTER THE USER'S BARCODE DURING INITIAL RECORD CREATION. You have to save the record and then select "Edit User" to add the barcode - see EDITING AN EXISTING USER RECORD for instructions on how to do this.
- User Group - select the user's profile from the drop-down menu according to the types chart.
- Expiration Date - Select the expiration date appropriate to the user's ID type.
USER MANAGEMENT INFORMATION:
- Patron Has Institutional Record - this works as a toggle switch. Selecting yes indicates that the data will be overwritten by the owning system during the next scheduled feed, using the information entered in the primary identifier (VU-Net ID - is this Oracle or still called EDI?). Choose this when you are registering a VU-affiliated user.
- For non-VU affiliates, keep the toggle set as no. Enter a temporary password (how will this be constructed), and check the box next to "Force password change on next login."
E-MAIL, ADDRESS, AND PHONE:
When registering a Vanderbilt-affiliated user, be sure to select school (for students) or work (faculty/staff). (Michael, is this correct?) The address and phone number for faculty should be for their workplace.
Once you have added the required information, click on "Update User" in the top right of the screen. Even though this is a new user record, this is the correct action to complete the registration.
EDITING AN EXISTING USER RECORD:
To edit a user record, choose "Manage Patron Services" from the Fulfillment menu, look up the user, and then select "Edit User Record."
To edit a user record, choose "Manage Patron Services" from the Fulfillment menu, look up the user, and then select "Edit User Record."
You can edit the user's address, phone, e-mail, etc. directly from this screen, but if you need to add a barcode or an additional address, select "Full Information."
To add a user's barcode from their Vanderbilt ID, first click on the tab marked 'Identifiers." Next, select "Add Identifier." This opens a window that allows you to choose "Barcode" as the identifier type. Scan the user's card, and then click on "Add and Close" to complete the process.
To add an additional address, phone number, or e-mail address, click on the tab marked "Contact Information" and add the appropriate field. NOTE: If you do not want this information to be overwritten by the SkyVU feed, leave the "Add As An External" checkbox empty.
When you open a user record to check out or renew materials, Alma provides selected information about that user. You will see basic user information (including name, active balance of fines, ID, and user group), user notes (including overdue items on the account), and loans and requests (due to privacy concerns, the Returns tab will not be populated).
To see a full list of a user's charged materials, select "All Loans" from the Loan Display menu. Alma displays the following information for each item: Title, Due Date, Barcode, Fine, Loan Date, Loan Status, Item Policy, Library, and Loan Notes.
You can see more granular information about a specific item by clicking on "Loan Notes." This will tell you whether or not overdue notices have been sent, recalls, number of renewals by the user, and total number of renewals allowed.
Unlike in WorkFlows, Alma does not require the creation of a separate proxy user record. Instead, a user is designated as a proxy by modifying their existing record. To do this, locate the record for the user who will be a proxy, and select "Edit User." Once this screen opens, click on "Full Information" in the upper right.
Next, click on the tab marked "Proxy For."
Click on "Add Proxy For." Locate the faculty member that the student will be a proxy for, and then select "Add User."
When you need to charge items to a faculty member's designated proxy, click on the checkbox next to "Use Proxy" before scanning the proxy's I.D. This will bring up the faculty member's account and charge the materials directly to their account in Alma.
In Alma, holds and recalls are treated as requests. Users have the option to recall materials by logging into Primo, but library staff can also place requests manually. To begin this process, select the "Submit Request" option in the user record.
The default search is by title, but clicking on the bulleted icon allows you to search the full repository.
Once you have selected the appropriate item, click on "Patron Physical" to create the request.
To complete the process, be sure to select the correct pick-up location for the user, and then click "Submit."
- Intermediate FulfillmentLocal documentation and screenshots of the information covered in the Intermediate Fulfillment sessions. Topics: Creating a User Record, Updating a User Record, Information in the User Record, Proxy Users, and Placing Requests (Holds/Recalls).
- ExLibris Tutorial: Requests in AlmaCovers physical item requests, the hold shelf, physical move requests, and monitoring requests.
