Alma Roadmap – Completed – 2024 H1
Metadata Management
Authority Control – Support Respecting MARC Subfields When Linking Bibliographic Headings - Early Access
What's New | Highlights | Impact |
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Libraries are able to select whether to force subfields to be taken into account when linking to bibliographic headings. | Bibliographic record fields will only link to authority headings if the matching content is in the same subfields. | The linking accurately reflects not only matching content, but also matching cataloged subfields. |
Support Indication Rules Form for Holdings Records
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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It is possible to easily create indication rules for holdings records in the Metadata Editor and use them for filtering holdings sets. |
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Staff is able to easily filter holdings sets according to the holdings record metadata. |
Electronic Resource Management
Usage Indication for Electronic Resources - Overlap Analysis
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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The reports generated by the Overlap Analysis tool include link resolver usage information for electronic resources that are part of the institution's inventory. | A new column was added to the Overlap Analysis report, indicating usage for the specific title/resource. | Presenting usage information enables institutions to make smart decisions regarding removing or adding electronic inventory to the library collection. |
Automatic Upload of Electronic Holdings - Taylor & Francis Journals
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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The Upload Electronic Holdings from Taylor & Francis books was enhanced to support Taylor & Francis Journals (in addition to Books). This replaces the current manual, multi-step workflow for managing Taylor & Francis Journals holdings. |
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Reduces manual work involved in activating and maintaining the library holdings of Taylor&Francis Journals electronic resources. |
"Public Access Model" in Collection Level
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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A new "Public Access Model" field was added to electronic collections. When defined, it is the default public access model for all the portfolios of the electronic collection, unless defined at the portfolio level. |
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Many ebook collections have the same access model for all the related portfolios (for example: unlimited (UA)). Being able to set this at the collection level saves time and effort. |
Physical Resource Management
Holdings – Enhanced Batch Jobs
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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Bulk operations and batch jobs for holdings records support running on holdings sets (and not just physical items and physical titles). |
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The inventory manager is able to better automate holdings management with a higher level of accuracy. |
Physical Item Templates
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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It is possible to save an item as a template, to then be used to pre-populate common item information when creating new items. |
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Physical inventory operators can more easily and efficiently create physical items, as they no longer need to manually input common item information. |
Acquisitions
PO Line Workflows - Enhanced UX – General Availability
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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The Purchase Order Line search pages and task lists were updated and redesigned for better usability, performance, productivity, and overall user experience. This is the final phase where the new pages are available to all customers and the old pages are no longer available. For additional information, see Workflow Simplification. |
Adjustments to the layout of the PO line task list streamlines the processing of PO lines. Users are able to:
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Users can manage their PO lines in a more convenient, straightforward manner using multiple enhancements added to the PO line management and editing page. Utilizing Alma's new user experience capabilities allows users a "single page application" experience, saving them the need to navigate to and from multiple pages to complete their tasks . To learn more, see New Unified PO Line Task List. |
Order It! - Quick Ordering from Amazon
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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Users are able to utilize new streamlined options for creating PO lines from Amazon.
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When the user orders a resource from the Amazon platform, a browser add-on allows for the harvesting of metadata and creating the order automatically. The user no longer needs to access Alma to create the order. |
Improved user efficiency in the creation of orders in Alma. The Order It! functionality is designed to eliminate the need for duplication when creating an order outside of Alma, as it is no longer necessary to have to manually record these orders in Alma. |
Bulk Delete of COUNTER Reports
Impact | ||
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The list of harvested SUSHI reports was enhanced to allow users to delete selected reports in bulk. |
When reviewing the list of harvested reports, users can multi-select a number of reports and delete the selected reports. |
Simplifying the management of deleting SUSHI reports saves users from the repetitive work of selecting reports one at a time and then deleting them.
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EDI – Support for “Quantity for Pricing” and “Access Model”
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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When sending orders via EDI for electronic resources, additional information about the order is passed to the vendor within the EDI file. |
Institutions are able to send the vendor, via EDI, information regarding the access requirements for the electronic resource being ordered (the "access model") and information regarding the quantity for pricing. |
More accurate information regarding the order is sent to the vendor. |
Remove License from License List
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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The licenses list was enhanced to allow the complete removal of a license. |
The "Delete" action was enhanced to allow the complete removal of a license from the list. An additional "Deactivate" action was added to allow marking a license as "Inactive". |
Removing licenses that are not in use improves the efficiency and saves the users time when working with licenses . |
Digital Resource Management
MODS Enhancements
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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Major enhancements to Alma MODS metadata support. |
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Enable richer use of MODS as a local ALMA metadata standard. |
Delivery: Multilingual Closed Captions and ePub Viewer
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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Improve end user accessibility. |
Toggle Logical and Itemized Collections
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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Easily toggle between logical and itemized collections and back. |
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Enhances flexibility and efficiency by allowing seamless toggling between itemized and logical collections, retaining associated titles for better collection management. |
Fulfillment and Resource Sharing
Enhanced RapidILL Integration
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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New integration points with RapidILL. |
It is possible to configure lending off-times in Alma and have them automatically registered as off-times in RapidILL, eliminating the need for configuring both separately. |
Fully seamless workflow and configuration with RapidILL. |
Support Version 3 of D2IR APIs for Integration with InnReach
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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Alma supports version 3 of the INNReach D2IR APIs. |
The new version of the API supports seamless integration in an InnReach network, including the ability to support visiting patrons. |
Improved integration and more efficient workflows for Alma libraries that participate in an InnReach network. Support visiting patrons when the Alma library is part of an InnReach network. |
RequestIt! - Submitting Resource Sharing Requests to External Sources
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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Ability to submit resource-sharing requests from Amazon. |
Patrons can use pre-populated forms, based on search results from Amazon, for submitting resource-sharing requests. |
Patrons can create resource-sharing requests from Amazon. |
Currently available for Rapido libraries only.
Linked Open Data
Creating and Managing BIBFRAME Instances and Works with APIs – Early Access
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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Libraries can manage Linked Open Data records alongside existing bibliographic records.
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Using Linked Open Data Instance records in all parts of Alma in end-to-end workflows is possible. |
Linked Open Data - Support Core Functionality – Early Access
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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Libraries can manage their Linked Open Data records in Alma.
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Using Linked Open Data Instance records in all parts of Alma in end-to-end workflows will be |
Linked Open Data – Cataloging via Sinopia – Early Access
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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The cataloger can create BIBFRAME records in Sinopia and add them to the Alma catalog.
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The cataloger can perform catalog maintenance tasks more accurately with less effort. |
Linked Open Data - Linking BIBFRAME to Authorities – Early Access
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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Libraries can link BIBFRAME records to authorities in Alma.
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Using Linked Open Data Instance records side by side along with other records.
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Adding VIAF and Linking it to Authorities
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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Libraries can add VIAF URIs to linked authorities in the Alma linked data enrichment process.
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Using VIAF URIs in linked data enrichment and linking different name authorities to expand the connectivity of the records. |
Creating and Managing BIBFRAME Instances and Works with APIs – General Availability
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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Libraries can manage Linked Open Data records alongside existing bibliographic records.
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Using Linked Open Data Instance records in all parts of Alma in end-to-end workflows is possible. |
Linked Open Data - Support Core Functionality – General Availability
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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Libraries can manage their Linked Open Data records in Alma.
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Using Linked Open Data Instance records in all parts of Alma in end-to-end workflows is possible. |
Linked Open Data - Linking BIBFRAME to Authorities – General Availability
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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Libraries can link BIBFRAME records to authorities in Alma.
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Using Linked Open Data Instance records side by side along with other records. |
User Experience, Accessibility, and Infrastructure
Support Multiple Tabs in Browser
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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The librarian is able to sign in as the same user using multiple tabs in the same browser. The librarian is able to view and update across several records and pages and perform different workflow tasks in separate tabs within the same browser. |
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The Librarian is more productive and efficient, for example, by being able to open multiple records in parallel and copy information from one record to another. |
Manual Job Scheduling
NERS Request
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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Permitted user is able to schedule manual jobs. |
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User is able to schedule in advance the running of manual jobs for a time that is most suitable. |
Real Time Notification for Jobs
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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A new notification is provided to the user when a manual job is completed. |
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The user can continue to work without the need to check the job history or receive an external email and will receive a notification when the job finishes. |
Color Theme Selection by User
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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Allowing color theme configuration at the user level. |
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The user can select the appropriate color theme. |
Quick Focus on Sections, Fields, and Actions
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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Ability to easily trigger, find, and focus on various sections, fields, or actions in the new layout. |
Allow the user to easily write the name of the section, action, or field they want to trigger, find, and focus on. |
Increase productivity and usability by allowing an easier and quicker way for users to find what they are looking for on a page. |
Alma Analytics
Analytics Dictionary – Funds Expenditure Subject Area
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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Analytics Online Help documentation is in an ongoing process of enrichment with the goal of clarifying the relation between data in Alma and Analytics and providing more information on the analytics data fields. |
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Clarity in understanding the data represented in Analytics eases the use and creation of Analytics reports, dashboards, and visualizations. |
National Reporting – ACRL/IPEDS Out-of-the-Box Report: Integration with LibInsight
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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Support National Reporting by offering a powerful out-of-the-box ACRL/IPEDS report which will include the relevant data from LibInsight*. *This feature is relevant to LibInsight users only. |
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Saving time by offering a ready-made out-of-the-box ACRL/IPEDS report template. One place for the majority of operational library analytics. |
Collection Development: Books – Retention Insight Dashboard (Institutional Level)
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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An out-of-the-box insight* dashboard focusing on identifying last copies based on various criteria and support rentention decisions was added. This dashboard is one of several dashboards designed to support Collection Development. *Insight Dashboards are built with Oracle Data Visualization. |
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Enables institutions to identify items for retention taking into account various factors and enabling data driven decisions regarding the complex area of collection development. |
Collection Development: Books – Deselection Insight Dashboard (Institutional Level)
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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An out-of-the-box insight* dashboard focusing on identifying last copies based on various criteria and support deselection ("weeding") was added. This dashboard is one of several dashboards designed to support Collection Development. *Insight Dashboards are built with Oracle Data Visualization. |
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Enables institutions to identify items for deselection taking into account various factors and enabling data driven decisions regarding the complex area of collection development. |
More Granular Design Analytics Roles
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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In addition to the standard Analytics Designer role, additional designer roles were added with limited scopes based on the main areas of Alma functionality. |
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Enabling restricted Analytics design roles for enhancing privacy and data control. |
Bibliographic Records – Additional 20 Fields as Local Parameters
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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An addition of 20 additional bibliographic fields can now be reported in Alma Analytics for a total of 30 fields . |
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More customization and specific needs impact the data represented in Analytics for in-depth reporting. |
Consortia
Control Network Zone Imports
What’s New | Highlights | Impact |
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Importing records from a member to the NZ was allowed for all consortia members. The consortia central office Admin can now control which consortia members can import records to the Network Zone. |
The central office can configure which Institution Zone can import bibliographic/authority records to the Network Zone.
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Enhanced control is granted to the central office, enabling them to maintain higher quality standards for the central catalog. This increased control facilitate improved oversight and management, ensuring the catalog met the desired quality criteria set by the central office. |