Ex Libris Documentation

Harvard Alma working groups have summarized key updates below. See the Ex Libris monthly notes for complete details:

General Enhancements

Library scope for basic Physical Holdings search - You can set a library (or libraries) to always use for a holdings search. The setting is sticky but can be cleared at any time.

screenshot of physical holdings search in Alma showing library scope values

Alma is now certified for Safari on iPads in landscape orientation. (It was certified for Safari on Macs in December 2021.)

To make the System Events subject area more usable for customers, a large number of events were added to be available for reporting. This event list was created based on internal research into existing user reports and discussions with the Analytics Working Group. Currently over 200 events are available for reporting. For a list of the available events, see System Events. For the first two weeks, the available data will be partial, since historical events are being loaded going back to July 1, 2019.
The following fields were added to Lending Requests > Lending Request Details. They indicate the time from when the lending library sent the requested material until the patron received it. In addition, the Received Date field was added that indicates the date that the requested material was received.
- Days of Delivery Duration
- Hours of Delivery Duration
- Minutes of Delivery Duration
The Query Type Group field was added to Analytics Usage Tracking > Query Details. It indicates the source of the query, either Classic Reports and Dashboards or DV Projects. You can use this field to filter analytics usage tracking data and create reports with the ability to differentiate between Classic Reports and Dashboards and DV projects.

An error occurred when running a report with the LC Classification Top Line field. This was fixed.
When an electronic collection was deleted, an analytics report using the Modification Date and Modified By fields did not display the correct date and user name of the modification. This was fixed.
Digitization requests canceled by patrons appear in Analytics as canceled by the library. This was fixed.
The values of the Purchase Request ID field (Purchase Requests > Purchase Request Details) were incorrectly treated as a numeric value and were rounded off in some instances. This was fixed.
When an electronic collection was deleted, an analytics report using the Modification Date and Modified By fields did not display the the correct date and user name of the modification. This was fixed.

The Vendor Interface tabs were missing the blue dog-ear when they contained content. Ex Libris added a content indicator to the following tabs: Notes, Inventory, and Contact Information.

screen shot of vendor interface tabs in Alma showing blue dog-ear

Leganto now offers the option to present the reading list name in Primo search results. The reading list name is now added to the CNO $$w. Multiple lists are divided by a semicolon (;).
Users have the option to upload a file when reporting a broken link. The library can view the file by downloading it from the Leganto Broken Links Report in Alma. NERS 7208

Completed citations were included in the Ready for Processing facet. This was fixed.
Librarians are now able to remove locked lists from My Lists.

Improved Overlap Analysis Tool - Features a new interface and the ability to choose the entire Institution Zone as a target for comparison. For additional details, watch the video (~5 minutes) from Ex Libris.
Upload Electronic Holdings from Wiley - You can now update Wiley journal and book holdings in a single automated process. When enabled, the process automatically downloads a KBART formatted holdings file from Wiley and updates entitlements in the Wiley autoholdings collections.
The Synchronize Changes from CZ job was removed from Monitor Jobs page. The date of the last Community Zone update is still available from the Help menu:

screen shot of help menu in Alma showing CZ update date

DARA now identifies local standalone portfolios with the same base URL and recommends grouping them into a collection.

Fixed issue where Analytics did not display the correct Modification Date and Modified By values when an Electronic Collection was deleted.

It is now possible to configure fulfillment messages to pop up without the Confirm or OK button being automatically in focus. This requires operators to explicitly navigate to the Confirm or OK button (using the mouse or keyboard) when confirming the message.This new option prevents unintended confirmation of fulfillment messages resulting from hitting Enter or simply scanning in the next item. Activating this option is achieved by accessing the Fulfillment > Other Settings menu and setting the disable_enter_closing_fulfillment_popups parameter to 'true'.
Alma now enables configuring the system to enable privileged staff members to extend a loan due date at check-out time beyond the expiry date of a patron. By setting the new extend_due_date_beyond_user_expiry parameter (using the Fulfillment > Other Settings menu) with the value of MANAGER, OPERATOR or ALL you can determine which circulation desk operator role is required to extend a due date past the patron account's expiry date. If you do not want to enable this parameter, keep the value as NONE.