Licenses

Owned by Lauren Syer
Last updated: Oct 27, 2023 by Emily Kelly
2 min read

Locating License Records

Searching

In the persistent search bar, choose the Licenses search type.

You can leave the search term field blank and click Search to see a list of all licenses, or search for a specific license by three parameters:

  • Name: Enter keywords from the name of the license.    
  • Licensor: Enter the name of the Licensor, commonly the vendor name if known.
  • License Code: Enter the alpha-numeric string of the License Code, if known.

Navigation

From an Electronic Collection record:

  1. Select the General Information tab
  2. In the Acquisition and License Information section, the License will be linked if available.
  3. Click on the link to the license to read it

From the Acquisitions menu:

  1. Under Acquisitions Infrastructure, select Licenses
  2. This will open the same list of all Licenses and Amendments as the search with a blank term field mentioned above

Deciphering License Records

View a complete list of License field descriptions as used by ExLibris in the Ex Libris Knowledge Base. Fields are based on data elements defined by the Digital Library Federation.

These generally align with our intended uses of license terms; however, each term is interpreted in the context of a specific agreement and resource. If you have questions, ask the ITS eResources Unit. 

Summary Tab

Metadata on the license is found here: name, code, licensor, vendor, start and end dates, status and location.

License Terms Tab

Terms of use, perpetual rights, and licensee and licensor obligations are found here. These include permissions for course packs, reserves, interlibrary loan, printing, copying, scholarly sharing; any concurrent user limits; archival rights and parameters; clauses about the agreement; termination requirements; and authorized users.

Inventory Tab

Records for resources covered by the license will appear here. when a link has been established from the inventory to the license.

Amendments Tab

Records for any amendments to which the current license is a parent are listed and linked here.

Notes Tab

Miscellaneous data not filled in other tabs is listed here.

Working with License Records

Permissions Note: To manage licenses and amendments, you must have the License Manager role.

Entering License Data Into Alma

  1. Go to Acquisitions >> Acquisitions Infrastructure >> Licenses
  2. Select Add License
  3. Choose Manually to enter or copy and paste and the license details and terms in each tab and to upload a PDF license itself

Associating a License with a Collection or Database

Link to the license from the individual collection/database. 

Associating a License with a Portfolio

Link to the license from the portfolio. When one is not specified at the portfolio level, Alma associates the electronic collection license (when one has been identified for the electronic collection) with the portfolio.

Associating a License with an Order 

You may also link to a license from the POL.

Configuring License Terms and Display

Permissions Note: To configure license terms, you must have the following role: Acquisitions Administrator or General System Administrator 

  1. Select the gear icon in the upper right corner of any screen for Alma Configuration
  2. On the Alma Configuration page, go to Acquisitions / Licenses:
    • Manage License Terms allows sorting and ordering license terms, assignment of each term to section, and editing the public display setting for each term.  
    • Sections Order allows setting the order of license sections.
    • License Storage Location allows creation, editing, and control of locations. 
    • License Review Status allows creation, editing, and control of statuses.

License Terms Display Config Settings (current as of 10/27/2023)

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