Alma Offline Circulation

Owned by Steven Beardsley
Last updated: Jan 26, 2024 by Jackson Childs

Alma Completely Offline

Alma offline circulation cannot check for errors or hold requests as it is not connected to the Alma system when in use.


Offline Circulation Overview

If a workstation does not already have Alma Offline Circulation installed on it, it will need to be installed before that workstation can be used. You may need computer admin privileges to download applications, and C://Drive access. Contact LTS for assistance, or HUIT.

 Download offline circulation utility: https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/blog/alma-offline-circulation/

Ex Libris Documentation on Offline Circulation: https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/010Alma_Online_Help_(English)/030Fulfillment/070Advanced_Tools/060Offline_Circulation


Loaning Materials

Regular Items

  1. Choose Loan transaction type
  2. Scan patron barcode
    1. Note: Patrons must have Harvard ID to be able to check out. There is no patron lookup in offline circulation.
  3. Scan item barcode(s) and press Loan button or hit Enter key on keyboard. The barcode for each item captured will appear in the list.
  4. Click Clear to move to next patron
  5. Click Save to file button periodically to save transactions. One file is created per workstation.
  6. Close button – this closes the offline utility.

Reserves

  • Do not use offline circulation
  • For short term loans (reserves, equipment/chargers) use a paper circulation form to check out reserve items to patrons. Include:
    • Patron name
    • Item type
    • Barcode
    • Check out time
    • Time due

Non-circulating items

On the fly items / items without a barcode

  • Do not use offline circulation
  • Use paper form to track these materials
  • Make them in-library use only during the time we are using offline circulation


Returning Materials

  • Do not use offline circulation. Wait until Alma is live to return items. 
  • Follow local practice for storing materials that need to be returned

Uploading Offline Circulation Files

  1. When all the transactions are completed, select Save to File to create a data file of all the transactions. The data file is saved to the C:\Alma Offline Circulation\OffCirc\files directory.
  2. The file should be sent to LTS for loading into Alma
  3. It is important to delete data files after they have been sent to to LTS. If you do not, the data files remain on the Offline Circulation List page and are processed into Alma again during the next upload.  

Tips on recreating files/Manually creating a fileÂ