Requests

Owned by Johnny Weyand
Last updated: Dec 07, 2023 by Robert SteereVersion comment
6 min read

Requests Overview

A resource request (or just Request) is for the acquisition, manipulation, movement, or processing of inventory. Inventory refers to the physical or electronic materials owned by the library and managed in Alma. For more on inventory, review the Items & Holdings section of the documentation.

Requests are entered into Alma before they are fulfilled: an active request is one that was entered into Alma and is in some stage of processing.

Types of Requests

Patron Requests

  • Usually noted in Alma as Patron physical item request
  • Most patron requests for physical materials come to a library via Primo/HOLLIS and will have been placed by patrons. Some may be placed directly in Alma by staff for patrons.

Library Requests

In addition to patron requests, there are many types of library processing requests:

  • Acquisitions/Technical Services requests
  • Lending requests (Borrow Direct and ILL)
  • Move requests
  • Work orders - read more about Work Orders for details

See the Ex Libris documentation for a full list of request types and how they function in Alma.


Request a Title for a Patron

Note: All patron requests placed in Alma (or by patrons in Primo/HOLLIS) are placed at the Title record level by default. This is to ensure that items from all Harvard libraries are able to fill that request.

Staff and patrons are able to select an individual item to request when relevant (e.g., issues of a journal, volumes of a multi-part work, or non-identical copies of the same title), and if that designation is made by staff when accessioning the items. If it's possible, the Description field will be required to choose the specific item that's being requested.

Required fields have a red asterisk next to them.

To request a title for a patron:

  1. Search for the title using All Titles or Physical Titles search types, the Title search criteria, and the title. You can also use other criteria and terms as appropriate.
  2. Find the title you're looking for and click on the Physical tab to display information about the libraries holding this title
  3. Click on the row action item list icon (the ellipsis (...)) and choose Request 
    • If you frequently make requests, you can customize your results list to always display the Request button
      1. Click the gear icon at the top right of the results list
      2. Click Show all to expand the view for customizing
      3. Under the Action Order, look for Request and click-and-drag it up to the top of the list under Button 1 or Button 2. If the check box next to that option isn't checked, click in the box to display the Request option.
      4. Click Save
  4. In the Request type field, select Patron physical item request
  5. Scan or manually type patron ID number into the Requester field
    1. There must be at least one circulating item with a barcode, otherwise, an error alert appears in red above.
  6. Add any special instructions or comments about the request in the Notes field
  7. Select the pick-up location
    1. No locations will appear if there are errors in entered fields above
    2. Campus is a setting not currently used by Harvard, so click on No Campus to get a list of potential library pick-up locations or click on a library already listed.
  8. Complete the additional request attributes as needed. (These are optional.)
  9. Click Submit to place the request.
  10. A message box at the top of the page confirms the request and displays a request ID.
    • Request IDs are generated and displayed only when a request is first made. This number must be copied and saved by the patron or the staff member in order to be used later.


Request a Specific Item for a Patron

Best practice is to make title-level requests, to offer the best chance of the request being filled quickly, but it is possible to place item-level requests for specific issues or volumes, or a unique copy of a more common work (one with marginalia, for instance).

Patrons aren't able to place item-level requests in the public catalog unless it's for a specific volume or journal issue.

To request a specific item:

  1. Search for the item using the Physical Items search type, the Title search criteria, and the title. You can also use other criteria and terms as appropriate.
    1. In this case, the request is to be placed on a specific item, so it must begin at the item record for that item.
  2. Locate the item you want in the results list
  3. Click on the row action item list icon (the ellipsis) and select Request
  4. In the Request type field, select Patron physical item request
  5. Scan or manually type patron ID number into the Requester field
    1. There must be at least one circulating item with a barcode, otherwise, an error alert appears in red above.
  6. Add any special instructions or comments about the request in the Notes field
  7. Select the pick-up location
    1. No locations will appear if there are errors in entered fields above
    2. Campus is a setting not currently used by Harvard, so click on No Campus to get a list of potential library pick-up locations or click on a library already listed.
  8. Complete the additional request attributes as needed. (These are optional.)
  9. Click Submit to place the request.
  10. A message box at the top of the page confirms the request and displays a request ID.
    1. If you or the patron will need to refer to the request ID at a later date, we recommend copying it down. 
    2. Request IDs are generated and displayed only when a request is first made. This number must be copied and saved by the patron or the staff member in order to be used later.

Locate and View a Request

Depending on the information you have or where you're starting from, there are four ways to look up and view a current request:

Search by Request ID

Use the search type Requests, the criteria Request ID, and the ID number that was displayed in the confirmation box when the request was placed.

Other criteria available for this search type:

  • Requester (name)
  • Identifier (requester HUID #)
  • Title or MMSID of the material
  • Barcode of the item

Search by Title

  1. Search for the title in the persistent search bar (either All Titles or Physical Titles search types)
  2. If a title has requests, they will appear as a number next to Requests in the results record
  3. Click on the number to see the request queue

Search by Requester

  1. Go to Fulfillment >> Manage Patron Services
  2. Search for a patron by scanning or typing their ID number or search for them by name (depending on staff permissions/configuration)
  3. Select “Requests” to see requests for a given patron

Use the Monitor Requests and Item Processes List

  1. Go to Fulfillment >> Monitor Requests and Item Processes
  2. There are options to sort and limit the list of all requests, such as by Process Type, Pickup location, material, workflow step etc.


Modify a Request

Editing a Request

Alma allows staff to make changes to a request, for example, to the pick up location.

  1. Locate the request as described above
  2. Go to the row action item list icon and select Edit
    1. Note: The edit page is also the Create Request page, but you're not creating a new request, just editing the existing one
  3. Make changes to the request. Note that you cannot change the "Request type" or the "Requester"
  4. Click Submit to save changes

Changing Only the Expiration Date of the Request

To change the date on which a request expires:

  1. Locate the request
  2. Click on the row action item list icon and select Update Expiry
  3. Follow the prompts on the screen to change the date and Save

Change the Priority on a Request

Patron requests, move requests, and work orders are fulfilled in the order in which they were created. The request priority for each item in the queue determines which request in the queue is active and which are waiting to be fulfilled.

The priority is relevant for requests only before their workflow processing has started. Once an item has been pulled from the shelf and scanned in or placed In Transit, the priority cannot be changed.

You can force a change in the priority of requests when necessary - please check with your unit for local practice on this.

To change the priority of a request:

  1. Locate the request
  2. Click on the number next to Place in Queue (should be a blue link)
  3. The request queue is displayed
  4. Locate the request that you would like to prioritize and click row action item list icon
  5. Click Activate
  6. This request is now first in the queue and displays Forced in the priority column

Note that you can only change the priority in this version of the request queue (from the request itself), not from the queue that's accessed from a title record.

Also see Ex Libris – Request Priority for more information.


Delete or Cancel a Request

  1. Locate the request
  2. Choose Cancel from the row action item list
  3. Choose a reason for the cancellation from the drop-down menu.
  4. Add a Note if more explanation is needed
  5. The Notify User option is checked by default. (The user should generally always be notified so leave this box checked.)
  6. Click Confirm

Also see Ex Libris Cancel and Request