Configuring and testing Tipasa for Alma

Question

What are the steps needed to configure and test Tipasa integration with Alma?

Answer

Here is a high-level outline of the steps: 

1. In Alma, add a “Partner”, in: Alma > Fulfillment menu
2. Configure "General Electronic Services", from: Configuration > Fulfillment > Discovery Interface Display Logic
3. In Tipasa, enter the Alma URL and Institution information, as well as any other configuration which may be asked for.

These steps are reviewed in great clarity in this blog: https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/blog/alma-and-tipasa-integration/

Good advice regarding workflow was shared by one of the libraries: 

Tipasa requires the operator to enter the book’s barcode.  When I checked out a book to another library through Tipasa, with the systems linked, for the first item, a message popped up when I was saving the checkout, and it said that I will need to enter the item’s barcode to link the checkout in Tipasa to my circulation system. 

Tipasa requires the item’s barcode to link the two systems. Tipasa has a blank field to enter the barcode.  That is an extra step, but it is easy to do when using the barcode scanner.  Once that is done and we save the record, it is checked out in Alma, too, saving us that extra step. 

Note: In the Discovery solution (e.g. Primo), the item will show up with status “On ILL process until. This can be configured in:Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels. Find the table “ViewIt Labels” > Customize the Code which currently has Description of “On ILL process until”. The code is: c.uresolver.getit2.item_list.status.ILL.with_expected_date. Change it as preferred, just keep the place holder, {0}. For example, change to: "On Interlibrary Loan until".

Additional Information

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• Article last edited: 20-AUG-2021