FAQ

A: Yes, access has been provided in Basecamp. The instructions and links for the Sandboxes are located in Docs & Files, in the Sandbox Information file.

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A: There are two Institution Zone Alma Sandboxes. Ex Libris has found that to be sufficient in other projects. If issues arise, Ex Libris will determine if another Institution Zone Sandbox is needed. There is also one Network Zone Alma Sandbox.

A: Yes, they will be refreshed quarterly upon request.

A: No, OCLS can act as an Administrator on your behalf. The Implementation Steering Committee does recommend that each college has at least one person certified.

A: No, there is no cap to how many people can take the Alma Administration Certification.

A: Register and start going through the self-paced training after the delivery of the Test Load.
Complete certification prior to the start of Cutover.

A: Individuals at your institution who will be responsible for overall system configuration changes.

A: There are around 49 sessions in total, an average of 8 minutes each. The entire course is around 4 hours of online training, with a 40-question exam covering all the major Alma functional areas.

A: It ensures that colleges have a level of knowledge and expertise required to successfully manage their Alma configurations while in production.

A: Yes, Basecamp is Ex Libris’s collaboration tool. It will host detailed Ex Libris project information, including a message board, high-level activities and tasks, documents, etc. Confluence is used by the PMO and will have reminders, communications, project overview, committee information, etc.

For information on how to use these tools, use the following links:

• Basecamp Tour

• Confluence Tour

A: There is one Basecamp with a message board for questions, project activities (To Dos) managed by Ex Libris PM, documents and calendar. About 75% of content on Basecamp will probably be applicable to all colleges with some components that are unique to specific colleges. There are options to limit information you see and are notified about from Basecamp.

A: See the Managing Notifications & Tips for Basecamp blog post.

A: Yes you can. To keep track of all the dates in Basecamp, you can import the calendar into your Outlook calendar.

1. Go to the Schedule page in Basecamp.

2. Select the option Add this Schedule to your Google Calendar, Outlook, or iCal…

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A: If your college intends to clean up data in advance, completing the clean up before your first data extraction is ideal.

There is time between loads to update authority records. Also, tools are available to help with data clean up (e.g., deleting duplications, mass updates).

Note Data extracts for non-SIRSI colleges are due Oct. 1, SIRSI colleges are due Oct. 15.

A: The differences are outlined in the following table: 

A: It refers to circulation. In Alma, fulfillment is the process by which patrons borrow and return physical resources, or access electronic or digital resources, from the institution. 

A: Yes.

Alma is highly customizable, and the first Page 1+ data migration is a test implementation that gives all of us an opportunity to explore our options. You are welcome to activate ERMA resources in your own Institution Zone.

If you do not want OCLS to distribute e-resource access to your college from the Network Zone, please let us know in the comments below before Nov. 10.

Download your ERMA data, and cross-reference it with your own internal list of e-resources. Anything on your list that can’t be found in ERMA is an independent e-resource.

Method 1: All College Subscriptions

The All College Subscriptions index is a list of current subscriptions and perpetually-owned resources. Filter the index by your college, and download the results by clicking on the orange CSV button at the bottom of the page.

Method 2: My Subscriptions

If you would rather see a list of your 2021/22 subscriptions (for example, if you know you have many new subscriptions coming up that would be missed by the All College Subscriptions index), then visit your My Subscriptions area of ERMA instead.

1. Go to your My Subscriptions and click on the All Tab.

2. Filter by Start Dates Beginning and Start Dates Ending (for example, to filter for 2021/22, select 2021-04-01 and 2022-03-31).

3. Click Apply.

4. Scroll down to the bottom and click on the orange button labelled CSV.

Ex Libris suggests that you look for matches in the “Package Name” columns in the Activation Form and, when you encounter one you’re unsure of, search the sandbox for that e-resource and review the additional metadata available there.

Loyalist has offered to share their data to try and help colleges with the matching process for their independent resources. Please find the file attached below.

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OCLS is filling in an E-Resource Activation Form for the Network Zone.

Mapping local subscription data to the Alma Community Zone (CZ) is not a straightforward task, and some of it has already been done by current Alma and 360 subscribers. OCLS is aiming to leverage that work and we welcome any data that could help us identify quality records in the CZ!

We do anticipate that evaluation and clean-up will be required in the Network Zone post-activation. The first migration is a test that will allow all parties to review the data and the system, and make informed decisions about the live implementation.

OCLS will work with Ex Libris and the Page 1+ E-resources/Acquisitions Subcommittee to determine best practices for creating new resources in the Network Zone.

The Page 1+ E-resources/Acquisitions Subcommittee has started compiling a list of known resources that will require special handling because the Community Zone records are not good enough, and we anticipate discovering more when we review the Network Zone data post-activation.

OCLS will work with Ex Libris, the E-resources/Acquisitions Subcommittee, and the Metadata/ Cataloguing Subcommittee to identify low quality records and determine best practices for how to handle them.

A: Access is given in the Define Phase at the beginning of December and will continue in the Build Phase.

A: Yes, in principle, all colleges will cut over on the same date and have the same Go Live Date.

A: Usually one hour. Occasionally, meetings may be shorter or longer if needed.

A: One hour two times per week. Meetings may also include training questions, tips and tricks, etc.

A: Please see the Project Overview page.

A: Yes, there is a schedule of activities, meetings and milestones available on Basecamp. There is also an Onboarding Phase Meeting Schedule on Confluence.

A: Yes, it is recommended to invite the appropriate IT staff from your college.

A: Yes, they need to be part of the third party integration.

A: Yes, they should be included in the Third Party Integration Form.

A: Ex Libris recommends completing the Third Party Integration Form first. Then, based on that, they will provide documentation links for each piece of software, which should provide the specific information for IT. Ex Libris will provide troubleshooting sessions if needed.