November 2024 Feature Release Highlights
Introducing the new Titles Search experience!
Alma's repository search is being upgraded with new UI concepts, resulting in faster, simpler searches and streamlined workflows, saving time and boosting productivity - starting with the title searches. The new search offers more actions that can be performed directly from the search as well as enhanced navigation options, bringing your workflows into the search page and allowing you to perform them while in the original search context. A new approach to loading the search results has also been introduced. the new search not only offers improved search performance, but will also load gradually, showing information as soon as it is available, adding more details as they become available, thus allowing users to start processing the results more quickly.
Learn more about the new Titles Search here.
Manage Patron Services New UI
The Manage Patron Services UI is being completely redesigned in order to leverage new layout capabilities to support a more streamlined workflow at the circulation desk.
The new Manage Patron Services design improves the efficiency of the circulation desk staff's work. The new design and the technology it utilizes will make the work at the desk quicker and more efficient, reducing the work load of the library staff as well as reducing the time it takes for the patron to receive the required service at the desk.
Learn more about the new Manage Patron Services here
General view -
The new UI for both the New Titles Search and the new Manage Patron Services will be a gradual rollout. In the November release it will be turned off by default, but users will be able to turn it on if they wish to try it out.
AI Metadata Assistant in Metadata Editor update
Since announcing the AI Metadata Assistant, a tool embedded in the MD Editor to help catalogers by generating metadata suggestions, we've received many requests to participate in early testing. While we couldn't accommodate all requests, we're grateful for the community's enthusiasm and willingness to contribute to testing and improvement. We greatly value the diverse perspectives of our catalogers and the crucial feedback they provide.
In response, we're launching Phase I of the AI Metadata Assistant in Preview Mode for all Alma environments as part of the November release. Administrators can enable it at their discretion.
Phase I currently supports English-language MARC 21 records, using LC subjects. For more details on enabling this feature, how it works, and planned enhancements, visit the AI Metadata Assistant in the MD Editor page.
Your feedback is invaluable! You can submit it through the AI feedback button in the MD Editor when working on an AI-assisted or enriched draft.
The Preview Mode is not the final version of the AI Metadata Assistant! It is an initial mode designed to give libraries an opportunity to experience metadata enrichment and to contribute to the feedback process.
NERS Enhancement - Linking to Authorities from a dropdown menu in the MDE
A new actions, "Open Authority Headings", has been added to the "Editing Actions" menu in the Metadata Editor. The new action opens the same look up that can be accessed by the F3 key.
This is especially useful for catalogers that don't work with function keys.
Idea Exchange - MARC 21 preferred term correction will flip headings that change tag number
Previously, the Alma preferred term correction did not handle cases where the bib heading is linked to an authority record via a cross-reference, but the preferred and non-preferred terms are in different fields. For example, the preferred term is in authority field 130 and cross-reference in authority is in 410.
With the November Feature Release libraries are now able to configure Alma to handle this scenario. When a bib heading matches the authority cross-reference, Alma will correct it to the preferred term and update the tag in the bib record accordingly (e.g. from 610 to 630).
This enhances cataloging automation and efficiency, helping to keep the library's data up to date, matching authority records' preferred terms.
Open Access Workflows: new license type for transformative agreements
A growing number of publisher agreements present possibilities for open access publication. Furthermore, some institutions assign libraries the task of supervising allocated funds for covering article and book processing charges related to open access publication.
It is now possible to create a license, representing a "transformative agreement". This license contains all the license fields available for other license types, as well as the ability to indicate the number of tokens – if the license is limited, or “unlimited”.
This allows institutions to keep track of their open access workflows, and identify if they utilize all tokens. Future negotiations with providers will benefit from this information.
Idea Exchange - Update a PO line’s currency after it was sent
A new "change currency" action has been added to PO lines, allowing users to modify the currency of a PO line after it was sent.
This is useful when the user accidently adds the wrong currency when creating the PO line, or, for example, when the vendor updates their currency.
Idea Exchange - Network Zone Managed Electronic Resources - Library/Campus Level
Previously, central office operators could manage electronic resources in the Network Zone and make them available for the entire network OR member(s) Institution Zone(s).
The central office operator is now able to assign electronic resources to specific libraries or campuses within a member (IZ) institution.
When defining a group in the Network Zone institution, a new option allows for the inclusion of libraries and campuses from within a member institution.
Network Zone electronic resources can be marked as "Available For" this group, and the link resolver will automatically recognize this Network Zone "Available For" library/campus definition, streamlining resource access management.
The central office can operate more efficiently by centrally managing electronic resources for libraries and campuses within a member’s Institution Zones. This streamlined approach will greatly benefit libraries and campuses that are managed independently, offering them seamless resource management and improved coordination.
Idea Exchange - Consortia Authority Control Task List enhancement
Consortia catalogers can now gain a powerful tool for collective authority control, that streamlines workflows, significantly saving time.
The enhanced Consortia Authority Control Task List includes reporting of record changes processed in the Network Zone in the Institution Zone level Authority Control Task List, allowing for corrections or modifications of such records and pushing them to the entire Consortia members' Authority Control Task List.
This enhancement will improve the experience for consortium member catalogers working with authority records. As NZ linked records reporting will now be reflected in each Institution Zone Authority Control Task List, when one of the Consortia members corrects a Bibliographic record based on such reporting, this action will be reflected in all Consortia members’ Authority Control Task List.
Authority catalogers' workflow will be streamlined, as they will no longer need to repeat the same process for each institution.
Conditional automatic forward of document delivery
Borrowers are now able to set up rules that determine whether a digitally received resource should automatically be shared with the requesting patron or wait for library staff handling before being forwarded to the requesting patron. For example, the document may require to be processed to increase its accessibility for a requester that requires increased accessibility.
The library is now able to offer better services to patrons who require special handling of digital files, particularly for improved accessibility.
Idea Exchange - New notification letter when hold shelf expiry date is updated
It is now possible to configure notification to patrons when the expiry date of an item on the hold shelf has been changed.
Patrons will be informed of any changes to the hold shelf period made by library staff.
Idea Exchange - Automatic renewal notices
It is now possible to configure sending notices to patrons when loans are automatically renewed by the automatic renew process.
This notification will inform users of the item's new due date, in addition to the courtesy reminder sent before the due date.
More granularity for Design Analytics roles
To increase privacy and security, two additional Design Analytics roles related to patron information have been added. With these additions, the new Design Analytics roles recently introduced to support Acquisition, Fulfillment, and Resources will not include access to patron user data and system administration data unless these new roles are assigned to the user.
This feature ensures privacy and data security while supporting more granular design roles. These roles can be assigned according to the responsibilities and information the analytics designer is permitted to access.