Kate Cabe Western Washington University Jesse Thomas University of Idaho TROUBLESHOOTING SUMMIT REQUESTS IN ALMA

 Most of the problems we see can be attributed to one of the following:  System errors  Local configuration errors  User/workflow errors  The focus of this presentation will be to:  Explain how local Alma configuration decisions impact your daily workflows.  Identify some common problems and offer suggestions about how to resolve them. TAKEAWAYS

ALMA CONFIGURATION

 Resource Sharing configuration pieces set at the NZ level include:  Rota Templates  Workflow Profiles  Rota Assignment Rules  Locate Profiles  Sending Borrowing Request Rules **Fulfillment Configuration Menu > Resource Sharing NZ (ALLIANCE) CONFIGURATION

NZ CONFIGURATION ROTA TEMPLATES **Fulfillment > Resource Sharing > Rota Templates

NZ CONFIGURATION WORKFLOW PROFILES  Workflow profiles determine which actions are allowed as part of the resource sharing process.  We use the same configuration across the Alliance because our standard workflow is, by necessity, shared by everyone.  Ex Libris helped us modify these profiles in the past to remove the ‘Reject’ option on the borrowing side. We are also pursuing a similar fix for the ‘Recall’ option. **Fulfillment Configuration Menu > Resource Sharing > Workflow Profiles

NZ CONFIGURATION ROTA ASSIGNMENT RULES  Rota assignment rules are applied at both the Network and Institution levels.  If you have configured Alma to work in conjunction with ILLiad, you need to have an Institution rule configured, otherwise you can just rely on the Network rule. **Fulfillment Configuration Menu > Resource Sharing > Rota Assignment Rules

NZ CONFIGURATION LOCATE PROFILES  This is where your Borrowing locate profiles are configured.  Your Lending locate profiles are configured as part of your RS library setup. **Fulfillment Configuration Menu > Resource Sharing > Locate Profiles

NZ CONFIGURATION SENDING BORROWING REQUEST RULES  Sending Borrowing Request Rules are what automatically send your borrowing requests to the lender.  If there is a problem with your sending rules, the request will get stuck in Ready to Be Sent. **Fulfillment Configuration Menu > Resource Sharing > Sending Borrowing Request Rules

NZ CONFIGURATION SENDING BORROWING REQUEST RULES  Input Parameters

 Configuration pieces set at the Institution level include:  RS Library  Partners  Temporary Item Creation Rules  Fulfillment Rules/TOUs (Borrowing)  Locations (Lending) LOCAL CONFIGURATION

 Library Configuration Borrowing Cancel Request on Locate Failure Default Location/Pickup Info Lending Locate Resources Default Location (Long) Reject when no items available Locate by Fields (used for non-NZ searches) Title ISBN OCLC **Administration > General Configuration Menu > Add Library or Edit Library Information > Libraries tab > [Choose your RS Library] > Summary tab LOCAL CONFIGURATION RESOURCE SHARING LIBRARY

 Partners are locally controlled (according to Alliance standards)  General Information  Parameters Expiration settings Shared Barcodes **Fulfillment > Resource Sharing > Partners LOCAL CONFIGURATION PARTNERS

 You should have two rules, one for short loans and one for long loans.  The input parameters for these rules are set according to the due date the lender assigns.  Less than 30 days = short loan  Greater than 30 days = long loan **Fulfillment Configuration Menu [Scoped to RS Library] > Library > Temporary Item Creation Rules LOCAL CONFIGURATION TEMPORARY ITEM CREATION RULES

**Fulfillment Configuration Menu [Scoped to RS Library] > Fulfillment Units > SUMMIT3 LOCAL CONFIGURATION FULFILLMENT RULES

LOCAL CONFIGURATION LOCATIONS – REQUEST RULES **Fulfillment Configuration Menu > Physical Fulfillment > Fulfillment Units > [Choose Fulfillment Unit] > Fulfillment Unit Rules tab > [Rule Type = Request]

LOCAL CONFIGURATION LOCATIONS – REQUEST RULES

 If you are creating a new location, some things to consider:  Add a Circ desk  Be sure the Circ desk has “Picks from Shelf” enabled.  If you have Request rules that are location-based, add the location to the appropriate rule. **Fulfillment Configuration Menu > [Choose Library] > Circulation Desks > [Choose Circulation Desk] LOCAL CONFIGURATION NEW LOCATION CONFIGURATION

IDENTIFYING & INVESTIGATING ERRORS So many …which one options… to choose?

 When troubleshooting a bad request, the first thing you need to do is FIND the request in question.  Default Search Box  Title/Journal Title  External Identifier  Requester  Facets  Active/Completed/All  Assigned to Me/Others (Lending only)  Deleted requests cannot be retrieved in Alma. You will need to look these up in analytics instead.  Once you find the request in question, the next step is to review the audit trail. IDENTIFYING & INVESTIGATING ERRORS

 This is what the audit trail looks like for a typical borrowing request. A TYPICAL BORROWING REQUEST

 And this is what the audit trail looks like for a typical lending lending request: A TYPICAL LENDING REQUEST

#1 - Item not received properly by borrowing library  This item was checked out directly to patron.  No receive message was sent to lender, so they still see a status of Shipped Physically. COMMON ERRORS

#2A - Request completed but item never received by borrowing library COMMON ERRORS

#2B - Request completed but item still on loan to patron COMMON ERRORS

#2C - Request completed but item still in transit at borrowing library (Returned by Patron) COMMON ERRORS

 Here is a shared analytics report that can help you identify which requests were completed out of sequence. /shared/Community/Reports/Orbis Cascade Alliance/Circulation & Resource Sharing/COE Testing/Borrowing - request completed but item records not deleted IDENTIFYING REQUESTS COMPLETED OUT OF SEQUENCE IN ANALYTICS

#3 - Item shipped with incorrect short/long location COMMON ERRORS

#4 – Duplicate Lending Requests COMMON ERRORS

#5 - Barcode problem, conflict from previous request COMMON ERRORS

 #6 – Item not shipped  Make sure you are receiving an item from the active partner.  DO NOT RECEIVE AN ITEM FROM A NON-ACTIVE PARTNER! It will make a mess of all the subsequent messaging and item information.  The lender’s copy is still available at this point, so you’ll want to contact them and have them manually ship it. Then you should be able to receive it like normal. OTHER COMMON ERRORS

 #7 – Wrong barcode attached  Again, make sure the item is coming from the active partner.  There is a good chance they either shipped the wrong item or sent you the wrong book. Contact the lender to figure out what went wrong.  You can manually change the barcode during the receiving step to salvage the borrowing request and circulate the item to your patron.  The lender will need to decide how best to reflect the availability status of the item in their local system. COMMON ERRORS

 Contact the partner library directly:  General Messages  Notes   Are your library’s Summit contacts up to date?  Summit Circulation Contacts Summit Circulation Contacts  Circulation Desk Contacts Circulation Desk Contacts  Away from the Library (Visiting Patrons) Away from the Library  Post questions to Alliance listservs:   COMMUNICATING PROBLEMS

IF ALL ELSE FAILS… Summon a Calming Manatee! / / (thanks to Heidi for sharing this!)

THANK YOU If you have any questions, please contact Kate Cabe Jesse Thomas