A booking request reserves an item for a specific time period. This can be helpful for managing the usage of in-demand items. Booking requests can also be used to reserve study rooms, equipment, and other resources. For more information, see Booking Requests.  

The workflow outlines the configuration tasks necessary to implement booking requests, as well as the procedure for booking items in Alma.

For more information on configuring service labels for Booking, see Configuring Service Labels in the Discovery Interface.

The following is a detailed description of the steps within this workflow:

1. The booking request is processed and submitted – see step 3 through step 11 in Creating Booking Requests.
2. Alma verifies the availability of the item, as follows:
   1. If the item is on loan, it is unavailable until the item’s due date is reached.
   2. If the item is on the hold shelf, it is unavailable until the hold shelf period is over and the item’s due date is reached.
      If the item is being processed by a work order, it is unavailable before the work order’s end date.
      If the item is neither on loan nor on the hold shelf or processed by a work order, it is available and the booking request can be processed and completed.
3. The submitted booking request enters the standard request workflow for processing at the shelf. This includes steps for picking up booked items from the shelf and placing them on the hold shelf. If a preview period has been defined in the booking request's terms of use, the workflow process begins from the preview time and is available on the pick from shelf list at that time. Otherwise it begins with the booking time. The booking request is considered active at the point that its workflow process begins. At that point, if the resource is available, the request is immediately put into the relevant Pick From Shelf task list; if it is not available, it is put into the Pick From Shelf list when it is scanned in or returned. When the booking request end time arrives, the item becomes available for loaning to other patrons.

Booking requests participate in the standard request workflows and can be seen in the Pick from Shelf and Hold Shelf task lists. It is not possible to update the expiration of booking requests; the expiration is the booking end time. A booking request may be placed for pickup at another location if the booking terms of use allows that.

Items with running processes cannot be booked during the duration of the process’ running time. For example, an item that is on loan can be booked only after its due date, and an item that is on the hold shelf can be booked only after its hold shelf period is over and its loan due date has passed. Items with running processes that do not have an expected end time cannot be booked. Additionally, items that are reserved for booking cannot be placed on loan or on the hold shelf.

A booking request has higher priority than a hold request. If a hold request cannot be completed considering the hold shelf period and the loan period, it will not be activated until after the booking request is completed.