Overview of Discovery when Using a Network Zone
In a collaborative network, a Primo view can be configured to search all institutions, receive availability of print resources that are held by all institutions, and request applicable print services for resources that are held by all institutions.
Availability and delivery for physical resources harvested from Alma (Alma-P) are relative to the institution of the view. Records that do not belong to the institution of the view default to the Check Holdings status. For more information, see Availability Statuses.
If Alma provides priority information for locations in the AVA $$P field, Primo displays the matching location with the highest priority instead of the first location that matches the availability status. For more information, see Configuring Best Location.
The Get It tab enables users to display the availability and holdings for other institutions in the collaborative network and to request resources from them. For more information, see The More Link and Institutions Lightbox.
Availability for electronic resources (Alma-E) that appear in the View It tab is always based on the Alma institution to which the user belongs.
Availability Statuses
The Calculated Availability Text code table provides availability statuses for a record's brief results:
| Code | Status/Description |
|---|---|
| default.delivery.code.check_holdings_in_maininstitution | Check holdings – The institution of the view has the item, but because Primo does not have enough information, the user must check the detailed holdings in the ILS. |
| default.delivery.code.does_not_exist_in_maininstitution | Check holdings – The institution of the view does not have the item, but because Primo does not have enough information, the user must check the detailed holdings in the ILS. |
| default.delivery.code.unavailable_in_maininstitution_more | Check holdings – The item is not available in the institution of the view, but it belongs to additional institutions. |
| default.delivery.code.available_in_maininstitution | Available at {1} – There is an available item in the institution of the view. |
| default.delivery.code.unavailable_in_maininstitution_nomore | Checked out – The item is not available in the institution of the view and does not belong to additional institutions. |
For more information on real-time availability, see Configuring Real-Time Availability.
The More Link and Institutions Lightbox
The Get It tab displays the current institution (which defaults to the institution of the view), its holdings, and any additional services offered from the resource sharing and fulfillment networks. Patrons can display holdings from other institutions (if any exist) by selecting the More link next to the current institution name. The number of additional institutions is shown in parentheses.
Selecting the More link displays a list of the additional institutions and their calculated availability statuses. To update labels in the Institution lightbox, use the Institution Lightbox Labels code table in the Primo Back Office.
Patron can select an institution to display the Get It tab with holdings and services for the selected institution.
Although real-time availability is only invoked for the institution of the view in the brief results, it is invoked for all institutions when the Institutions lightbox is opened.
If the More link is not necessary for your network, you can hide the link from end users by creating or modifying a custom CSS file on the Primo server and adding the following line to it:
.EXLTabHeader div.EXLTabHeaderContent em.EXLTabHeaderContentAdditionalDataLine a {display:none;}
Requests from Any Member Institution
Patrons of institutions in a fulfillment network can request items from any institution in the network.
The patron must be locally registered at that institution. Alma provides automatic registration of the patron at the non-home institution.
When discovering a Primo record that has inventory at more than one institution, the patron can view the inventory of another institution by selecting the More link in the Primo Get It tab. If the user selects a non-home institution in the network, the system automatically registers the patron at that institution, allowing the user to view the available request options and place requests based on the new locally-registered linked patron record. For more information on selecting institutions, see The More Link and Institutions Lightbox.
This feature is dependent upon the configuration of a fulfillment network. To configure a fulfillment network, contact your Ex Libris representative.
In addition, users may be permitted to place resource sharing requests using their own institutions, which interact with other institutions to obtain the requested resources for the users.
Sharing Digital Inventory with Member Institutions
Ex Libris can enable or disable whether a member institution shares its digital inventory. When enabled for a member institution, that member institution's digital inventory is available to all other member institutions. When digital inventory is viewed by a patron in a specific member institution's discovery system, there is no indication as to the source of the inventory.
To enable or disable this feature for the Network Zone or a member institution, contact Ex Libris Support.