Managing Licenses and Amendments

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To view licenses and license amendments, you must have one of the following roles:

License Manager
License Viewer
Purchasing Operator
Purchasing Manager

To manage licenses, license amendments, and create license templates you must have the following role:

License Manager

Many electronic resources require licenses from the vendors that provide the resources. Alma enables you to enter license information for tracking and informational purposes.

You can enter license information and amendments. You associate a license with an activated electronic resource in your local inventory on the Repository Search page (see Searching in Alma) or on the PO Line Summary page of the purchasing workflow (see Manually Creating a PO line). You manage licenses on the Licenses and Amendments page (Acquisitions > Acquisitions Infrastructure > Licenses).

Alma's functionality does not change based on license information; the exception to this is ordering Network Zone managed electronic resources in a collaborative network; see Adding a Negotiation License or a Centrally Negotiated License. Alma does not restrict access to resources if a license is not present or if it expires.
Alma supports DLF-ERMI and ONIX-PL for managing licenses. For details about setting up ONIX-PL licenses, see Adding ONIX-PL-Formatted Licenses.

Adding a License

If you are using licenses in a collaborative network implementing a Network Zone, see Adding a Negotiation License or a Centrally Negotiated License.

To add a license:

On the Licenses and Amendments page (Acquisitions > Acquisitions Infrastructure > Licenses), select Add License.
Select Manually.
For information about adding a license from an ONIX-PL file, see Adding ONIX-PL-Formatted Licenses. For information about adding a license from a template, see Loading a License from a Template.
The Summary tab on the License Details page appears.

Summary Tab - License Details Page
Enter the name of the license and license code. Select the start date of the license. These fields are mandatory.

Configure the following optional fields:

License Details (Additional Fields)
Field	Description
License Type (New for November)	Select License for a regular license or Transformative Agreement if you are working with Open Access Agreements (see Transformative Agreement Licenses).
License Status	The status of the license. The values are: Active – The license is activated and in use Inactive – Mark the license as inactive. Inactive licenses can be re-activated by selecting Edit in the row actions list and changing the license status value. They can also be reactivated by selecting the Activate action. Draft – The license is created but not in use Expired – License "End date" is in the past (can be extended) Retired – The license is no longer relevant
Licensor	A vendor to associate with the license. A license may be linked to a single vendor.
Signed by	The user who approved of the license.
Signed on	The date on which the license was approved by the above user.
Second party’s signed by	The user who is a secondary approver of the license.
Second party’s signed on	The date on which the license was approved by the secondary approver.
Start date	The start date.
End date	The end date.
License location	The physical location of a printed license. The values are configured in the License Storage Location code table (see Configuring License Storage Locations).
License review status	The status of the license review. Possible values are: Accepted – The license has passed review and is available for use. In review – The license is being reviewed by the library/institution. Pending – A license for which review has not yet begun. Rejected – A license which has been determined to be unacceptable. The license is not available for use, but a record of it is kept in the system. You can also configure additional license review statuses, as necessary. For more information, see Configuring License Review Statuses. These values are for informational purposes, only.
License URI	The URI where an electronic license is available.
Licensing agent	An additional vendor, that is the organization (such as a subscription agent) or individual that facilitates a licensing transaction on behalf of one or more parties. Possible functions of the agent include acting as a negotiating intermediary (with or without a fee for services), a vendor accepting payment for the product, or the named licensee for a particular agreement.

In the License Terms tab, configure the terms of the license, such as its terms of use, restrictions, and perpetual rights. For information on these terms, see List of License Term Types.
The sections and fields in this tab represent a subset of the full set. An Acquisitions Administrator can configure which fields appear and in which order; for more information, see Configuring Sections Order and Managing License Terms.

It is possible to create copyright statements in different languages. A language should be preceded by the following syntax: --<language code>-- For example: --fr--

A globe icon () is displayed for all translatable text area for License Terms. When clicked, opens a screen similar to regular translatable fields. The UI will be populated based on the contents of the text area, and when closed, will add the correctly-formatted text to the text area.
The Inventory tab, when you first create a license, is populated only if you associate the license with an activated electronic resource in your local inventory (see Managing Electronic Collections). From within this tab, you can access the Electronic Collection Editor and Electronic Portfolio Editor by selecting the links to the electronic collection or portfolio. The editor opens as follows (for details, see Library set on electronic resource):
- If the electronic collection/portfolio is within the user's role's scope - the editor opens in Edit mode.
- If the electronic collection/portfolio is not within the user's role's scope - the editor opens in View mode.
Skip the PO Lines and Administrators tabs for now (see Editing Licenses or Amendments). Select Save to store the information you entered and return to the Licenses and Amendments page.

Adding an Amendment to a License

You can create amendments to existing licenses, which modify the properties of the base license. Amendments added to a license override the base license.

If you create an amendment, you must modify the license code, since it is unique to each license/amendment. You cannot add amendments to amendments.

To amend a license:

On the Licenses and Amendments page (Acquisitions > Acquisitions Infrastructure > Licenses), select Create Amendment in the row actions list for the license you want to amend. The Summary tab on the License Details page appears.
Enter a name and a unique license code for the amended license.
Edit the remaining fields in this tab as required. For more information on these fields, see Adding a License.
In the License Terms tab, modify the fields of the amended license, as required.

License Term Details Page – License Terms Tab
- Select Restore Selected to restore the selected values (that is, the values whose check boxes are selected) to their original value.
- The right side of the page contains one of the following values that you will see after you save and reopen the amendment.
  - (Base) – The value is taken from the parameter in the license.
  - (Amendment) – The value is unique to the amendment and is not taken from the parameter in the license.
In the Inventory tab, you can view the active packages associated with the license and the historical packages that are no longer associated with the license.
- A resource may be removed from the license history by selecting Remove from the row actions menu.
Licenses can be associated with packages either by searching in the repository (see Searching in Alma) or from the PO Line Summary page of the purchasing workflow (see Manually Creating a PO line).
In the PO Lines tab, you can view PO lines linked to the license. For information about the actions for each PO line, see Searching for PO Lines.
For more information about linking closed or canceled PO lines to a license, see the Link Closed/Canceled PO Lines to Licenses video (1:10 mins).
Select Save to store the amendment information you entered and return to the Licenses and Amendments page.

Editing Licenses or Amendments

You can edit license or an amendment information. If a license is centrally negotiated in a Network Zone, do not edit the license outside of the Network Zone; to make changes, add an amendment. See Distributing Centrally Negotiated Licenses.

To edit a license or an amendment:

On the Licenses and Amendments page (Acquisitions > Acquisitions Infrastructure > Licenses), select Edit in the row actions list for a license or amendment. The Summary tab on the License Details page appears. See Adding a License.
Update the fields as required. For more information on these fields, see Adding a License.
In the License Terms tab, update the fields used to define the terms of the license or amendment, as required. For more information on these fields, see Adding a License.
In the Inventory tab, you can view the active packages associated with the license/amendment and the historical packages that are no longer associated with the license/amendment.
In the PO Lines tab, view PO lines linked to the license. For information about the actions for each PO line, see Searching for PO Lines.
If you are editing a license, you can perform the following actions on amendments in the Amendments tab:
- Add an amendment – Select Add Amendment to open the License Details page and add a new amendment (see Adding an Amendment to a License)
- Edit the amendment – Select Edit in the row actions list.
- View the license information – Select Base in the row actions list (or just select the Summary tab of the license).
- Duplicate the amendment – Select Duplicate in the row actions list.
- Delete the amendment – Select Delete in the row actions list.
You can set the license that is available for a group. In the Group Settings tab, select Add Settings for Group to add a group. To remove a group, select Remove from the group's row action menu. This tab is only visible when the license type is License or Negotiation. This functionality is similar to the Inherited Group Settings for electronic resources.
In the Administrators tab, select Add administrator and select the administrator to add to the license or amendment. This is for informational purposes only.
In the History tab, view changes to licenses. For more information, see History Tab.
- Select License changes to display changes to the license.
- Select License terms changes to display changes to the terms of the license.
- In a collaborative network implementing a Network Zone, select Negotiation changes to display changes to the license negotiations.
When a license is first created, there is no history data.
In the Notes tab, add, update, or delete notes for the license or amendment. For details, see Notes Tab.
In the Attachments tab, add, update, or delete attachments for the license or amendment. For details, see Attachments Tab.
Select Save to store the changes you made to the license or amendment.

For more information about license related enhancements, see the New License History Tab and Other License-Related Enhancements video (3:41 mins).

Printing Licenses or Amendments

You can print a license or amendment. The letter used to print the license is the License Printout Letter; see Configuring Alma Letters. Printing an amendment only includes the Terms of Use of the Amendment, not its parent license. Printing a negotiation license includes the negotiation details.

To print a license or amendment:

On the Licenses and Amendments page (Acquisitions > Acquisitions Infrastructure > Licenses), select the Print license button at the top of the page or select Print license in the row actions list for a license or amendment. The Print License page appears.
Either enter an email address or select a printer to which to deliver the printout. At least one of these fields is mandatory.
Select Submit. The license is sent to the entered email or selected printer. The printout is also added as an attachment on the Attachments tab of the license.

Deleting Licenses or Amendments

This action permanently deletes the license. If you do not want to permanently delete the license, see Deactivating Licenses or Amendments.

Watch the Delete Licenses video (1:19 mins).

To delete a license or an amendment:

Navigate to the Licenses and Amendments page (Acquisitions > Acquisitions Infrastructure > Licenses).
Select Delete in the row actions list for a license or amendment.
Select Confirm in the confirmation message dialog box.
The license is permanently removed from the list.

Licenses linked to resources and/or PO lines cannot be deleted (but they can be deactivated).
Licenses with Amendments in any status cannot be deleted.

Deactivating and Reactivating Licenses or Amendments

This action keeps the license in the list and assigns it the "Inactive" status. An inactive license can be reactivated as described below.

To deactivate a license or an amendment:

Navigate to the Licenses and Amendments page (Acquisitions > Acquisitions Infrastructure > Licenses).
Select Deactivate in the row actions list for a license or amendment.
Select Confirm in the confirmation message dialog box. The license will now have the Inactive status.
You can also edit the license and set the status to Inactive.

Licenses with active amendments cannot be set to Inactive.

To reactivate a license or an amendment:

Navigate to the Licenses and Amendments page (Acquisitions > Acquisitions Infrastructure > Licenses).
Select Activate in the row actions list for an inactive license or amendment.
Select Confirm in the confirmation message dialog box.
You can also edit the license and set the status to Active.

Transformative Agreement Licenses for Open Access

(New For November)

After selecting the Transformative Agreement License Type (see Adding a License), the Agreement Definitions tab appears. (For general information on working with transformative agreements in Alma see Best Practices for Open Access in Alma).

Transformative Agreement License - Agreement Definitions Tab

The following table describes the Agreement Definition fields. See Workflow for Tokens for a description of how the tokens are calculated. See also Working with Open Access Agreements for an overview of Open Access agreements in Alma.

Agreement Definition Fields
Field	Description
Unlimited	Use this field to indicate whether the transformative agreement has a limited number of items available for publishing in the agreement period, or it is unlimited. Unlimited - The agreement has an unlimited number of items to publish per the agreement period. Limited - The agreement has a limited number of items to publish ('tokens') per the agreement period. When selected, it changes the display to show two additional fields - Tokens total and Remaining tokens total.
Tokens Total	Specify the number of available tokens for the agreement period.
Number of requests to publish	Number of 'used tokens' which is calculated as the number of PO lines of type "Article Processing Charges (APC)" that have price 0 and are linked with the license.
Remaining tokens total	Remaining tokens which are available to link to "Article Processing Charges (APC)" PO lines with price 0.

Workflow for Tokens

A token is considered as an item to publish, as part of the transformative agreement. When the agreement is limited, in some cases the institution and the publisher agree on the number of tokens available for use during the agreement period. Alma can help you keep track of the token usage during this period. When an "Article Processing Charges (APC)" PO line (one time or subscription) is linked with the license, it is considered as a used token only of it is free of charge (price 0 or "No charge" field checked). When these terms are met, one token is counted for this PO line.

In order to reflect article processing charges that are not part of the agreement, i.e., additional costs, you can create an "Article Processing Charges (APC)" PO line and set a price for it. This PO line can be linked with the transformative agreement license, however it is not counted as a token.

Adding ONIX-PL-Formatted Licenses

You can integrate ONline Information eXchange for Publication Licenses (ONIX-PL) with license standards that conform to Digital Library Federation (DLF) standards. Alma maps fields from the ONIX-PL XML file to fields in the DLF-based license template, as described in the following tables.

ONIX Fields Mapping to Alma

If any of the following terms exists in the ONIX file, Alma maps the field with the value Yes.

Alma Fields Mapped to Yes
ONIX Field	Alma Field
General Terms Section:
AllRightsReserved	All rights reserved
DatabaseProtectionOverride	Database protection override clause
StatutoryRightsAffirmation	Fair use clause
ClickThroughOverride	Clickwrap modification clause indicator
ConfidentialityOfUserData	Confidentiality of user information indicator
LicenseeIndemnity	Indemnification by licensee clause
LicensorIntellectualPropertyWarranty	Intellectual property warranty indicator
UCITAOverride	UCITA Override Clause Indicator
Supply Terms Section:
ComplianceWithAccessibilityStandards	Accessibility compliance indicator
CompletenessOfContent	Completeness of Content clause indicator
ConcurrencyWithPrintVersion	Concurrency with print version clause indicator

If any of the following terms exists in the ONIX file, Alma maps the text from the href id field of the ONIX file to the Alma field.

ONIX href id Fields to Alma
ONIX Field	Alma Field
General Terms Section:
ApplicableCopyrightLaw	Applicable Copyright Law
GoverningLaw	Governing law
ActionOnTermination	Termination Requirements
Supply Terms Section:
ContentWarranty	Content Warranty
ServicePerformanceGuarantee	Performance Warranty Uptime Guarantee

If either of the following terms exists in the ONIX file, Alma maps the field with the relevant ENUM (Permitted/ Prohibited/Silent/ Un-interpreted/ Not Applicable).

ONIX to Alma - ENUM
ONIX Field	Alma Field
Usage Terms Section:
SupplyCopy	Scholarly sharing
PrintCopy	Print copy

Fields that are mapped from ONIX-PLreceive the attributes and characteristics (such as Order and whether or not a field appears in the license itself) of the DLF fields, as configured by the Alma Acquisitions Administrator. A field that was mapped from ONIX-PL to Alma may not appear in the license, even though it is in use, depending on the settings of the DLF field to which the ONIX-PL field is mapped.

Fields that exist in the ONIX-PL XML file but not in Alma are stored in the original uploaded XML file from the library.

For more information on loading ONIX-PL Formatted Licenses, see the Load ONIX-PL Formatted Licenses video (7:33 mins).

Creating and Configuring a License from ONIX-PL

You can upload the ONIX-PL XML file and create a license based on its specifications.

To create an Alma license from an ONIX-PL-formatted license:

On the Licenses and Amendments page (Acquisitions > Acquisitions Infrastructure > Licenses), select Add License.
Select From ONIX-PL file.
The Create license from file page appears.

Required Fields for new License
Enter a name and code for the license.
Select the folder in the Upload File field, browse to the ONIX-PL upload file, select it, and select Upload.
Alma uploads the file and displays the Summary tab of the License Details.
Fill in any remaining information (see Adding a License) and select Save.

Managing License Templates

A license can be saved as a license template or a license negotiation template.

Creating License Templates

A license template is created from an existing license. Saving a license as a template saves the license summary, license terms, group settings, and administrators information for use when creating a new license or a new negotiation license. To create a template, edit the license to be used as a template and select the Save as template button at the top of a license.

Loading a License from a Template

A new option on the Add License menu, Load from template, allows creating new licenses based on previously defined templates.

Editing License Templates

License templates may be edited and deleted from the License Template menu option on the Acquisitions menu.