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JCU Library Experience Procedures ALMA: Fulfilment

Offline Circulation

Purpose

  • Recording loans and returns while online connectivity is disrupted. Renewals can be processed as loans. When connectivity is restored, the Offline Circulation List page enables you to upload a data file to Alma that contains the offline loan and return transactions.

ALMA Role

  • Fulfilment Operator
  • Fulfilment Manager

Responsibility: 

  • Library staff to record loans 
  • Supervisor to upload files to Alma

Required Resources

Install Offline Circulation Utility to required PC’s

 https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/setup_offcirc.zip

Save above exe file to C: drive

This will set up a file Alma Offline Circulation

Pin shortcut to Start bar

To process loans and returns

  • Open Offline Circulation Utility tool – the following dialogue box appears

  • Scan the borrower’s library card to populate the Borrower filed
  • scan Item barcode
  • Under Choose transaction, select Loan or Return.
  • Select Loan or Return to complete the transaction
  • When all the transactions for that client 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 directory
  • Repeat for all loans or returns until connection to Alma is restored
  • You will need to add the date and campus to the file name at the end of the days trading
  • Go to C:\Alma Offline Circulation\OffCirc\files and rename eg offline circ 7 Jan 2021 CNS

 

Upload file to Alma

 Assign yourself to a circulation desk

  • Go to Fulfillment
  • Offline Circulation

  • Click on the folder icon and upload the .dat file from C: Alma Offline Circulation\OffCirc\files\OffCirc.dat
  • If uploading multiple days make sure you do it in date order
  • Select Upload and Validate File Content. The job appears in the table at the bottom of the page. Its status appears in the Status column
  • Important - Once you are happy that the update is successful delete the .dat file from the C drive

 

  • Wait a couple of minutes and then click Refresh to check that the file uploaded successfully
  • To view details of a job, select View for the relevant job from the The Job Report page appears, detailing the number of items processed successfully and unsuccessfully.

NB: When returning an item, the item is put into Processing status for the hold shelf, regardless of the specific desk configuration. An additional scan-in is required to place the item on the hold shelf and send the notification to the patron.

 

This software tracks four key pieces of information:

  • What date/time the transaction took place
  • Whether the transaction was a loan or a return
  • The patron’s ID (usually patron barcode or username)
  • The item’s ID (item barcode)

The offline circulation file a delimited text file, stored in the following format:

Col.1 = date (YYYYMMDDHHMM) [12 chars] +L (Loan) or R (Return) [1 char] + item-barcode [80 chars]

Col.2 = patron ID

For example:

201401011239L33031245 JohnSmith

Library Hours

Calendars can be configured at both the institution level and at the library level. Alma needs to know them primarily to determine when physical items can be checked out and how long their loans can be.

JCUA and JCUS Library opening hours are set at the Library level

There are three different types of calendar records you can create:

  1. - Standard opening hours
  2. - Events
  3. - Exceptions eg public holidays and closed days

Standard opening hours  - This is where you define the hours and days each library is usually open.

To manage calendars on the Library level, start from the Alma Configuration page on the Fulfillment tab.

Switch to the library you want to configure.  Here you can see the Standard opening hours that have already been created, but you’ll also see the Events that have been inherited from the institution level. The green check mark is the indication of inheritance.

Events and exceptions are calendar records that can override standard opening hours eg Public Holidays, Christmas closure

To add a new exception:

Alma Configuration > Fulfillment > Opening Hours

  • Select appropriate Library from Configuring dropdown

Select  Add record

Complete form that opens:

  • Record type = Exception
  • Status = Closed . Use closed for part day closures as we don't want books due on public holidays even if the Library is open
  • Description = Name of public holiday
  • Valid From and to dates
  • From and to Hour = full day is 00:00 - 23:59 - only required for part days eg 13:00 - 17:00

  • Add and Close
  • When you have updated all required dates - click Save
  • Important -  click Apply Changes or alterations will not take affect ie. system will not recognise closed days and will make books due on that day

 

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