May 2024 Feature Sneak Preview
In our recent Idea Exchange update, we ran a short quiz about the idea with the all time highest number of votes (962). We're happy to update you that this idea has been developed and will be part of the May 2024 Feature Release.
The Sneak Preview of the Alma May 2024 Feature Release focuses on the main developments of the release. The content detailed below might be subject to change in the deployed release.
Idea Exchange - Physical Item Templates
It will be possible to save an existing physical item as a template, and use that template when manually creating new physical items to pre-populate fields such as notes, item policy, material type, temporary location etc.
Saving an item as a template:
Creating an item from a template:
This will be useful for physical inventory operators who create many similar items, making item creation easier and more efficient.
Automatic Upload Electronic Holdings from JSTOR (Books), Sage and Preselect
3 additional providers are now supported by the Automatic Upload of Electronic Holdings feature:
- JSTOR (books)
- Sage
- Idea Exchange - Preselect
Libraries will be able to easily update their holdings for these providers through the Automatic Upload of Electronic Holdings feature. When activated, this process will automatically download a file with your holdings information from the provider platform in a standardized format (KBART), and then update your holdings in the corresponding collection.
These integrations eliminate the need for manual updates of the corresponding provider’s collections, which will save staff manual labor and time, and will improve accuracy and efficiency.
Idea Exchange - Create record versions for changes in a record's management tag
Currently, management tags (such as "Suppressed from discovery") are not recorded in the record versions, and it is not possible to see at what time or by whom the record was suppressed, unsuppressed, etc.
This information will now be recorded and made visible in the record versions: When a record's management tag is changed, a version will be created, showing the previous value for the tag.
This is especially useful for monitoring who made a specific change to a management tag, such as suppressing a record from discovery.
Linked Open Data Enrichment Configuration
Institutions will be able to configure the linked data enrichment of MARC records. They will be able to choose which authorities to enrich and to which subfield ($0 / $1), whether to add VIAF URIs, and add additional authorities to the enrichment, including local authorities that support URIs.
Institutions will have better control over their linked data enrichment of MARC records.
Order It! - Quick Ordering from Amazon
A browser add-on will allow for the harvesting of the metadata and will create the order automatically. The user will no longer need to access Alma in order to record the order information.
Users will be able to utilize new streamlined options for creating PO lines from Amazon.
"Assigned to Others" PO lines
"Assigned to Others" PO lines will be displayed in a 'view only mode' for the user role "Purchasing Operator".
This will help in capturing an accurate overview of the ongoing work and prevent the occurrence of duplicate orders.
Idea Exchange - Option to permanently delete license records
Users will now be able to permanently remove deleted licenses from the list of Licenses using the delete action.
In addition, it will be possible to mark licenses as inactive using a new “Deactivate” action.
License with the previous status "Deleted" will get the status "Inactive". These licenses will remain in the licenses list and will not be automatically removed. You will be able to manually remove them using the enhanced “Delete” action.
Users will be able to view a more relevant list of license records.
Idea Exchange - Closed captions and subtitles for video content
Institutions will be able to associate captions with video files stored in Alma, which will then be available for end users.
This will improve the accessibility and user experience for consuming video content.
Patron or staff deposit forms for MODS
It will be possible to configure deposit forms per collection for digital resources for MODS records, aligning with Dublin Core and MARC.
Staff and patrons wiill have better control over creation of, or receiving MODS content.
More granular Design Analytics roles
It will be possible to configure new and more granular analytics roles which are limited to specific Subject Areas. The existing general Design Analytics role will still be available and if active it will override the more granular roles.
This feature will support granular design roles which can be assigned according the responsibilities and information the analytics designer is allowed to see.
LibInsight “Gate Counts” and “Reference data” added to ACRL/IPEDS report
The out of the box ACRL/IPEDS analytics dashboard, which assists in the submission of the US government-required reports, will include two new tabs called ‘Library Services to Individuals’ and ‘Gate Counts’. These tabs will both be derived from Springshare’s LibInsight data, made possible by the new capability that will integrate Alma Analytics with the LibInsight API.
Customers reporting to ACRL/IPEDS will be able to find much of the necessary information in one place, rather that having to collect the data from different platforms.
Support Parallel Work in Multiple Tabs in Browser
A user, opening Alma in a browser will be able to open new tabs in the browser and work in parallel in multiple tabs.
The Librarian will be more productive and efficient, for example, by being able to open records in parallel browser tabs and copy information from one tab to another.
NERS Enhancement - Scheduling Support for Manual Jobs (Run a Job)
Alma will implement a new scheduler that users can use to proactively schedule jobs, whether they are periodic tasks or one-time operations. This feature will enable jobs to be executed automatically, accommodating scenarios where tasks need to be performed outside regular working hours or when a staff member is unavailable to execute them manually.
Staff will be able to schedule jobs at a time convenient for them.