Overview

Below is a proposed workflow for configuring access to electronic resources for patrons not affiliated with the institution (non-affiliated patrons).  Please note that to fully test these configurations, it will be best to set up a proof-of-concept in an existing institution environment.  The methods/configuration that are chosen will depend on the number of electronic resources; the number of non-affiliated institutions/patrons; and the desired type of access (e.g. off-campus, on non-affiliated campus, etc.)

Non-Affiliated Patron Accounts

Non-affiliated patrons will not be managed by the SIS. Therefore, these patrons will need to be added to Alma manually* and marked as Internal. 

*Note that this type of user can be loaded via bulk using the following CloudApp. See: https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/appcenter/csv-user-loader/

Non-affiliated patron records should include:

1. Designated User Group:  The user group may be a general catch-all for all patrons that fit into this category (e.g., private partnership patrons), or if non-affiliated patrons have access to different electronic resources depending on their institution, you could differentiate between institutions with the user groups (e.g. Institution X Private Partnership patrons).  Just note that having patrons from different institutions with different access will make your set-up and maintenance more complex.

2. Designated Campus:  The same conditions (simple v. complex) as outlined above apply.  Please see the section on Inventory Management Groups.

Authentication

Non-affiliated patrons will be able to authenticate with Primo VE using the ExL Identity Service which stores the user password in a separate location and allows the user to re-set their password if forgotten.

Please note that if users are also asked to authenticate through a proxy server to access electronic resources, that configuration will need to be handled by the institutions on the proxy end since it is outside of Alma.

Alma Configuration – Campuses + Inventory Network Groups: Restricting Access

Restricted access to electronic resources in Alma can be achieved by creating campuses and Inventory Network Groups at the Institution Level.  Inventory Network Groups allow you to restrict access to the resource to users based on Campus.

Campus is determined by:

• IP range: You can designate an IP range for a Campus.  If a guest user attempts to access an electronic resource restricted to that Campus, their IP range will be checked to see if they are within the IP range designated in Alma.  If they are within the range, they will be given access.  If they are outside the range, they will not be given access. 

• User Campus: You can designate a User Campus in the user’s record.  If the user is signed in to Primo VE, Alma will check their user group when they attempt to access an electronic resource that is restricted to an Available for group.  If their user campus is designated as having access, they will be able to access the resource, regardless of their IP.

• A combination of the above.

Configuration Steps
Below are the general configuration steps.  For explicit instructions, see Configuring Distributed Access to Electronic Resources. “Private Partnership” is just being used as an example here.

1. Create a Library called “Private Partnership” 

2. Create a Campus called “Private Partnership”. Add IP addresses for that Campus and affiliate the Private Partnership library with that campus.

3. Create an Inventory Available for Group that contains the Campus “Private Partnership”.

4. For any electronic resources that are restricted to this campus, edit the Electronic Collection record Group Settings to restrict access to the Private Partnership inventory group.

Primo VE Configuration

Using a combination of Views in Primo VE and CDI (Central Discovery Index) Publishing set up, access to electronic resources (discovery and delivery) can be customized via Campus. For an overview of this topic, please see: Distributed Access to Electronic Resources in Primo VE.

Configuration Steps

1. Create a separate CDI Publishing Profile for this Campus

2. Create a separate Discovery View in Primo VE that is affiliated with the Campus

Note from Jessica Alverson: Based on my reading of this documentation and my understanding of the functionality, I think this should allow institutions to create a separate view (URL) that non-affiliated patrons can access which will only allow them to discover (search) and have delivered (access the full text) e-content to which they have access.