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    Creating a Lending Request

    Translatable

    Resource Sharing (RS) lending requests are requests to borrow books or other materials from your institution by other libraries via inter-library loan (ILL). These requests are usually transmitted digitally to the lending library, and appear in Alma's Lending Requests page (Fulfillment > Resource Sharing > Lending Requests). 

    For information about handling existing lending requests, see Managing Lending Requests.

    If you need to create lending requests in Alma directly – for example, if you receive a request over the phone or by email – you can do so from the Lending Requests page, either manually or from a search, as explained below. Once you have created the new request, you can fill in the relevant fields as required. If the request was created from the results of a search, some of the fields are filled in by the system.

    Adding a Lending Request Manually

    You can manually create a resource-sharing lending request by entering information about the resource into a blank lending-request form .
    To add a lending request manually:
    1. On the Lending Requests page (Fulfillment > Resource Sharing > Lending Requests), select Create Request > Manually and then select the type of resource – Book or Article. A blank Resource Sharing Lending Request form opens in a sliding panel.

      Request - Manual - initial.png

      Resource Sharing Lending Request Page (Book)

    2. In the Resource Information area, enter the information in the relevant fields. For more information on these fields, see Adding a New Book or Journal Article.
    3. In the Request Attributes area, enter the required information in the relevant fields, as described in Lending Request Attribute Fields, below.
    4. Select Save. The lending request is created and the page closes.

    Adding a Lending Request From a Search

    You can create a resource-sharing lending request by searching your institution's repository and copying the bibliographic record of the required resource from it.
    To add a resource sharing task from a search:
    1. On the Lending Requests page (Fulfillment > Resource Sharing > Lending Requests), select Create Request > From Search. The Repository Search page opens in a sliding panel.
      Lending Request Repository Search Add from Search New UI.png
      Repository Search Page: Add from Search
    2. Search for the item (see Searching in Alma).
      You can select only All titles in the Find box.
    3. Select the checkbox of the required item, and then select Select. The Request Attributes section of the Resource Sharing Lending Request page opens.
      Request from Search - initial.png
      Resource Sharing Lending Request Page – Request Attribute Section
    4. Enter or modify the request information, as described in the following table:
      Lending Request Attribute Fields
      Field Description
      Supplied to (Required) Select the specific integration profile, configured on the Resource Sharing Partner List page in Fulfillment Configuration (see Resource Sharing Partners).

      Owner
      (Required)

      Select the resource sharing library that the operator is scoped to. If the request is created automatically, as with an NCIP message, the owner is set by the NCIP partner's parameters. For an ISO message, the value is set to the ISO symbol configured in the resource sharing library.
      Labels Add one or more labels – single-word identifiers – to the request.

      Select the Labels field to see a list of existing labels. Select one of the labels to attach it to the request, or begin typing to create a new label.

      See also Managing Labels for general information on managing labels in Alma.

      Request status Select the status of the request. Choose from the following:
      • Being processed
      • Cancel reply
      • Created lending request
      • Damaged
      • Expired
      • Lender check in
      • Locate failed
      • Lost
      • Overdue request – The request’s due date arrived.
      • Received by partner
      • Rejected the borrower request
      • Request completed – The request was delivered or it was canceled before it reached the hold shelf.
      • Returned by partner
      • Shipped digitally
      • Shipped physically
      • Will supply
      The value of this field is displayed as the Status on the Lending Requests page.
      External identifier (Required) Enter the identifying string supplied by the external system.
      Format In the Format drop-down list, select the format of the request:
      • Digital
      • Physical
      • Physical non-returnable
      Requested media The type of media in which you want the request to be supplied. The values that display in the drop-down field are those configured with a value of True on the Requested Media Definition Mapping Table page (see Configuring Requested Media Definitions).
      When a request is submitted with a requested media type that was added to the out-of-the-box options (see Configuring Additional Requested Media) and the request is sent to an ISO partner, the partner receives the requested media information in the Request Note field.
      Allow Other Format If the requested format is unavailable, this indicates whether the patron is willing to receive the item in another format.
      Language This is the language that is requested by the patron in the borrowing request.
      Copyright Status Reflects the borrower side copyright status (if the borrower support copyright statuses). The borrower value will be automatically populated for ISO requests.
      Shipping cost Enter a shipping cost for the request. The displayed currency is the default currency of the institution.
      If a shipping cost lender rule is configured, it is applied to the shipping cost of the request (see Configuring Shipping Cost Lender Rules).
      Date needed by Select the date on which the item is needed from the Calendar dialog box.
      Request note Enter any notes for the request. 
      Requester email Enter an email address if the requested resource is digital. The resource will be delivered to this email.
      Level of Service The requested shipping speed. To configure the available options, see Configuring Levels of Service.
    5. Select Save. The new lending request is created and the page closes.
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