Skip to Content

01 - Configure Resource Sharing Library

Last modified by Alex Fletcher on 2024-11-04, 11:04
Warning

CLICK SAVE in the upper right each time you are finished on a tab before moving to the next tab. Then go back into editing your resource sharing library to continue on (we discovered that Alma didn’t save the information when you switched tabs here…)

We need to configure the ‘resource sharing library’ to allow Alma to temporarily manage inventory that is sent to or received from resource sharing partners.

  1. Login to Alma IZ
  2. Click the gear in the lower left
  3. Click GENERAL
  4. Under LIBRARIES, click ADD A LIBRARY OR EDIT LIBRARY INFORMATION
  5. Find RESOURCE SHARING LIBRARY in the ORGANIZATIONAL UNIT NAME and click the three dots to the far right of it, and choose EDIT
    1. In the ORGANIZATIONAL UNIT NAME, add the name of your library to the front of RESOURCE SHARING LIBRARY (eg: Trent Resource Sharing Library)
    2. Leave ISIL CODE blank
    3. Leave BASE URL blank
    4. Leave the DESCRIPTION as is (default: Temporarily manages inventory that is sent to or received from resource sharing partners)
    5. Leave default location for acquisitions, campus, proxy, time to reshelve, delay for hold notification (minutes) all blank
    6. Leave ALLOW OTHER LIBRARIES TO HANDLE PERSONAL DELIVERY unchecked
    7. Check the ‘SERVES OTHER INSTITUTIONS’ box
    8. Leave IS RESOURCE SHARING LIBRARY checked
    9. Leave ITEMLESS unchecked
    10. In the symbol text field, enter EXL:YOUR_ALMA_INSTITUTIONCODE. For example, Guelph is “EXL:01OCUL_GUE”, Waterloo is “EXL:01OCUL_WTL”. To determine your Alma institution code, see the DATABASE field in the Z39.50 Info column in the Omni Partners table in SpotDocs
    11. Under Borrowing Setup
      1. CANCEL REQUEST ON LOCATE FAILURE – Unchecked
      2. AUTOMATICALLY ACTIVATE LOCATE PROFILE – Checked
      3. TEMPORARILY INACTIVE FOR BORROWING – Unchecked
      4. In the DEFAULT LOCATION drop down, choose CLOSED LOCATION TYPE: BORROWING RESOURCE SHARING REQUESTS
      5. In the DEFAULT PICKUP LOCATION, leave it blank
      6. Extend due date when renew requested – Unchecked
        1. this is for ISO partner resource sharing requests, and does not apply to AFN requests
    12. Under Lending Setup
      1. Making these changes updates the LOCATE PROFILE you’ll eventually be adding to the ALMA RESOURCE SHARING DIRECTORY. This is the LOCATE PROFILE that other institutions receive when they add you as a RESOURCE SHARING PARTNER via the ALMA RESOURCE SHARING DIRECTORY.
      2. Automatically Locate Resource – Checked
      3. Reject Request when Locate Fails – Unchecked
        1. We suggest not checking this if you want to be able to receive requests for items regardless of their status, so you could choose to do a recall locally, for example items where you only have summary holdings
      4. Reject Request when no available items – Unchecked
        1. You’ll receive requests for items even if they’re not available on the shelf so that you can decide what to do with this request (initiate a recall, for example)
        2. We suggest not checking this because electronic items are NOT AVAILABLE, so checking this would essentially reject any request for electronic items
      5. Reject request when no requestable items – Checked
        1. If the item is not requestable, Alma will automatically reject the request
        2. We set up the related TOU for this elsewhere.
        3. When this box is checked, it will check the IS REQUESTABLE FOR PHYSICAL RESOURCE SHARING fulfillment unit rule for an FU rule with NO USER GROUPS SPECIFIED.
        4. When the box is UNCHECKED, Alma essentially acts like RACER/VDX did in so far as you’ll receive a request for ANY item in your catalogue regardless of the configuration(s) on your FUs for ‘is requestable for physical resource sharing’ policy. See below for how to configure this option for your FUs.
        5. We suggest selecting this because it will auto-reject requests based on the REQUEST TOUs you have set in your FUs...
      6. Reject request when only electronic available – Unchecked
        1. We suggest leaving this not checked because we'll soon be doing digital requests as well. you may choose to select this option if you don't want to permit any incoming requests for items that are only in electronic format (you may still receive requests for PHYSICAL items which the requester wants fulfilled DIGITALLY).
      7. Ignore electronic resources – Unchecked
        1. We suggest leaving this Unchecked. This means 'we won't fulfill from our electronic resources at all'... controls other people's locating; reject request when only electronic available controls HOW WE HANDLE the incoming requests. Select Ignore electronic resources for the locate process to only consider physical items.
        2. Ignore electronic resources for physical-only requests:
          1. If you are doing digital fulfillment, make sure that this is Unchecked. If not, make sure that this is Checked
          2. If checked, then the lender locate ignores electronic matches when the lending request is for a physical resource.
            1. Our testing found that even if a lender has this this enabled they can still receive physical requests for their electronic inventory, but these always go into the (lending) locate failed status. This is because the borrower’s auto-locates are controlled by the “rs_ignore_electronic…” parameter in other settings.
      8. Prefer Uresolver locate results – Checked
      9. Automatic Creation – Checked
      10. Temporarily inactive for lending – Unchecked
      11. Default Location – Closed Location Type: Lending Resource Sharing Request
      12. Locate by Fields – Checked
        1. Locate only if all fields match – No
        2. Title – Checked
        3. Author – Checked
        4. ISBN/ISSN – Checked
        5. System Control Number – Checked
        6. Other Standard ID – Checked
        7. All others: Unchecked
      13. Default Printer – Blank
      14. CLICK SAVE in the upper right. Then go back into editing your resource sharing library to continue on
    13. Click the CONTACT INFORMATION tab in the top row
      1. In the ADDRESSES section, click ADD ADDRESS in the upper right
        1. Ensure you have a SHIPPING and BILLING address defined, and that at least one address is listed as the PRIMARY address (They may be the same address… enter the address once and then click the BILLING, SHIPPING, and PRIMARY checkboxes)
        2. Ensure you select the PREFERRED ADDRESS button
      2. In the PHONE NUMBERS section, click ADD PHONE NUMBER in the upper right
        1. Ensure you have a SHIPPING and BILLING Phone Number defined, and that at least one phone number is listed as the PRIMARY phone number (They may all be the same phone number… enter the phone number once and then click the BILLING, SHIPPING, and PRIMARY checkboxes)
        2. Ensure you select the PREFERRED PHONE NUMBER button
      3. In the EMAIL ADDRESSES section, click ADD EMAIL ADDRESS
        1. Ensure you have a SHIPPING and BILLING email address defined, and that at least one email address is listed as the PRIMARY email address (They may all be the same email address… enter the email address once and then click the BILLING, SHIPPING, and PRIMARY checkboxes)
        2. Ensure you select the PREFERRED EMAIL ADDRESS button
        3. NOTE: this is the email address that SEND QUERY TO PATRON notices are sent from
          1. More info from Ex Libris
      4. CLICK SAVE in the upper right. Then go back into editing your resource sharing library to continue on,
    14. The IP DEFINITIONS tab will be empty
    15. We will handle the Calendar Management tab later.
    16. Click SAVE in the upper right.
    17. FYI: Once you click save, Alma will change the CONFIGURING: dropdown to be your RESOURCE SHARING LIBRARY.
    18. Be sure to switch this back to your institution in the CONFIGURING dropdown in the upper left of the screen