Central Management in Collaborative Networks

Central Package

The Central Package, which is managed from the NZ, provides a standard look and feel that member institutions in collaborative networks can use either as is without further customizations or as a template to make modifications specific to their institution. In addition, the NZ can configure display fields, local fields, resource types, and code and mapping tables to share with member institutions.

Creating the Central Package

To aid in the customization of the Central Package, Primo Studio can be used to interactively customize it. All Primo Studio changes must then be uploaded to the view in Alma. For more information, see Primo Studio for Primo VE.

To create the Central Package:

From the NZ, open the Manage Central Customization Package page (Configuration Menu > Discovery > Display Configuration > Manage Customization Package) and define the CENTRAL_PACKAGE view.

Define the CENTRAL_PACKAGE View
Create your customization package using either of the following methods:
- Primo Studio:
  
  In the Create Customization Package section, select Go to Primo Studio to create the customization package using Primo Studio. For more information, see Primo Studio for Primo VE.
  
  Ensure that the name of the package's root directory has the following format: <institution_code>-CENTRAL_PACKAGE. For example, PRMO_NZ_INST-CENTRAL_PACKAGE.
- Manual:
  1. In the Download Package section, download the Template View.
  2. Extract the package.
  3. Rename the VIEW_CODE directory using the following format: <institution_code>-CENTRAL_PACKAGE. For example, PRMO_NZ_INST-CENTRAL_PACKAGE.
  4. Make your customizations to the package. For more information, see Branding Your View.
  5. Compress the package, ensuring that the root directory of the package is the directory that you previously renamed.
In the Upload Package section, upload the compressed customization package that you either created manually or created with Primo Studio.
Select Save.

Using the Central Package Directly

Primo VE enables you to use the Central Package directly if you do not want to make any customizations for your institution. With this option, your view receives updates automatically from the Central Package.

To use the Central Package directly:

For each member institution, open the Views List page (Configuration Menu > Discovery > Display Configuration > Configure Views) and edit your institution's view.
Select the Manage Customization Package tab.

Manage Customization Package Tab
In the Inheritance section, select the Inherit from Central Package checkbox to use the look and feel of the Central Package for your view.

Regardless of this setting, any package uploaded to the UI will override the Central Package's customizations.
Select Save.

Using the Central Package as a Template

Primo VE enables you to use the Central Package as a template so that you can make specific customizations for your institutions.

With this option, you can also inherit changes to the Central Package, but changes in your local customization package will override changes to the same elements.

To use the Central Package as a template:

For each member institution, open the Views List page (Configuration Menu > Discovery > Display Configuration > Configure Views) and edit your institution's view.
Select the Manage Customization Package tab.

Manage Customization Package Tab
Create your customization package using either of the following methods:
- Primo Studio:
  1. In the Create Customization Package section, select Go to Primo Studio to open Primo Studio.
    
    Primo Studio - Using Standard Template
  2. Select Back to Configuration to open the Primo Studio Login page.
    
    Primo Studio Login Page
  3. Select the Primo VE and Use Central Package options, and then select Start your studio with the above details to open Primo Studio and to create the customization package. For more information, see Primo Studio for Primo VE.
    
    Ensure that the package's root directory is the view's code, which uses the following format: <institution_code>-<view_code>. For example, PRMO_MY_INST-OpenU.
- Manual:
  1. In the Download Package section, download the Central Customization Package.
  2. Decompress the file so that you can edit the Central Package.
  3. Rename the root directory of the package to the view's code, which uses the following format: <institution_code>-<view_code>. For example, PRMO_MY_INST-OpenU.
  4. Make your customizations to the package. For more information, see Branding Your View.
  5. Compress the package.
In the Upload Package section, upload the compressed customization package that you either created manually or created with Primo Studio.
In the Inheritance section, select the Inherit from Central Package checkbox if you want to continue to receive updates made to the Central Package.

Changes to elements in your package override updates to these elements in the Central Package.
Select Save.

Defining Display Fields and Local Fields Centrally

Display fields and local fields can be managed by the NZ for distribution to member institutions from the Consortia Central Configuration Dashboard (Configuration Menu > Network Zone).

The NZ fields are managed from the Discovery drawer, under Manage display and local fields (Configuration Menu > Network Zone > Discovery > Display Configuration > Manage display and local fields). They are configured just like they would be configured in an IZ (see Managing Display and Local Fields for Primo VE).

Consortia Discovery configuration in the Consortia Central Configuration Dashboard; centralized field management is under Manage display and local fields.

Consortia Discovery Configuration in the Consortia Central Configuration Dashboard with the Discovery Drawer Expanded and Highlighted

Overriding of Locally Customized Fields

General settings for the distribution of NZ settings to member institutions control what happens when the NZ manager distributes a field to an IZ that has already customized the settings of that field locally. These settings are configured in the dashboard under Distributed Settings. Depending on the Mode setting selected there, the manager may or may not be able to choose the outcome when an NZ field is distributed under these circumstances. The possible Mode settings are:

Proposed (default) – The NZ settings do not override customized IZ settings.
Imposed – The NZ settings override the customized IZ settings.
Hybrid – When the NZ manager distributes a field, they can choose whether the NZ settings override customized IZ settings.

For additional information about the Mode setting, see Dashboard Setup; Consortia Central Configuration Dashboard.

Centrally Managed Local Fields

Local fields local_field_51 – local_field_100 are earmarked for use as centrally managed fields. (The NZ and member institutions should use local_field_1 – local_field_50 for local purposes.) Only these local fields can be distributed from the NZ to member institutions.

When local fields are used for facets and search, member institutions can have a maximum of ten locally defined fields and ten centrally defined fields.

Additional Primo VE Training > Local Fields for Consortia (4 min)

Distributing Centrally Managed Fields to Member Institutions

The manager of the NZ can distribute centrally managed display fields and local fields (51-100 only) to the member institutions (IZs) from the Consortia Central Configuration Dashboard. After a field has been added to the list of fields in the Manage Display and Local Fields page of the NZ, it can be distributed from there to other members of the consortium or groups of members.

To distribute a display field or local field from the NZ to individual members or groups of members of the consortium:

In the Consortia Central Configuration Dashboard, in the Manage Display and Local Fields page (Configuration Menu > Network Zone > Display Configuration > Manage Display and Local Fields), in the More Actions menu, select Distribute. The Confirm Distribution dialog box opens.

Distribute Local Field to Member Institutions

Confirm Distribution Dialog Box
If the Distribution mode field is active, select the desired distribution mode (If it is not active, the option displayed will be implemented; see Defining Display and Local Fields Centrally, above.), as follows:
- Do not override member institution customization – When selected, the local field is distributed only to member institutions that are not using the selected local field or that have already inherited it from the NZ and have not customized it.
- Override member institution customization – When selected, the local field is distributed to all member institutions and overrides any customizations made to that local field in the IZ.
Select the members to which the field should be distributed, as follows:
- Distribute to all – Select this option to distribute the field to all of the members of the consortium. The Members and Groups options are hidden when you select this option.
- Members – Select one or more individual members of the consortium to which to distribute the field.
- Groups – Select one or more groups of members of the consortium to which to distribute the field.
Select Confirm. The Distribute network display field / local field <field> to members job is submitted to distribute the field to the specified members.

Monitoring the Job

You can monitor the progress of the job while it is running, and view a report about what it did when it finishes running, in the Monitor Jobs page (Admin > Manage Jobs and Sets > Monitor Jobs).

Monitor Jobs Page when a Distribution Job Is Running

When the job finishes, its report contains overall status information (such as status and start and end timestamp) and result statuses per member institution. The following statuses may appear:

Field was distributed – Indicates that this local field did not exist previously for this member and has been distributed.
Field already exists and was not distributed – Indicates that this local field already exists in the member institution, and it could not be distributed because the Override member institution customization option was not selected for the local field.
Field already exists and was overridden with network data – Indicates that this local field already exists in the member institution, and either the Override member institution customization option was selected or the field was last modified by the network distribution job.
Failed to distribute field data – Indicates that an internal error occurred during the distribution process. If this result appears, the job status will be set to Completed with warnings.

Report for Local Field's Distribution Job

Identifying Distributed Fields in the IZ

If the distribution of a field from the NZ was successful, the field appears in the Manage Display and Local Fields page (Discovery > Manage Display and Local Fields) of each IZ to which it was distributed. The fields are identified by the value Network in the Updated by field.

Local Field Inherited from NZ

Defining Resource Types Centrally

The Network Zone (NZ) institution can create local resource types to share with member institutions so that configuration is not needed at the Institution Zone (IZ) level. If member institutions decide to configure the same resource type, their customizations will override the settings of the NZ. If a code is not found in either the NZ or the member's institution, the system will display the code for the local resource type as it did in previous releases.

Defining Code and Mapping Tables Centrally

The Network Zone (NZ) institution can define code and mapping tables to share with member institutions so that configuration is not needed at the Institution Zone (IZ) level. If member institutions decide to configure the same tables, their customizations will override the settings of the NZ.

Managing Complete Keys for Dedup and FRBR Centrally

After you have made changes to the Dedup/FRBR complete keys in the NZ, you can distribute the changes to the member institutions. The Distribute action creates and executes the Distribute Network Zone configuration table changes to member institutions job, which can be monitored in the Running or History tabs on the Alma Monitor Jobs page (Admin > Manage Jobs and Sets > Monitor Jobs). For information on how to customize the complete keys, see Configuring the Dedup and FRBR Complete Keys in Primo VE.

To distribute complete key changes in the NZ to the members:

Open the Dedup/FRBR Complete Key Combination page (Configuration Menu > Discovery > Other > Dedup/FRBR Complete Key Combination).
Select the tab of the process (Dedup or FRBR) from which you want to distribute complete keys to the member institutions.

Distribute Action
Select Distribute.
Select one of the following distribution options:
- Do not override member institution customization – When selected, the complete keys are distributed only to member institutions who have not made local changes to their complete keys.
- Override member institution customization – When selected, the complete keys are distributed to all member institutions and will override any customizations to complete keys in the IZ.