A brief summary of what needs to be considered for the patron file. Why choose one ID over another? Consider the following:
How will your users will authenticate?
How will you update your patron data?
How, and from where, do you want your users to access the library?
How you wish to communicate with your users.
Mandatory fields:
First name; Last name
Email address
Primary user ID: unique within the institution
o According to Users in Alma, “All users in Alma have a primary identifier, which is part of the core user information. They may also have additional identifiers (for example, a student ID, barcode, and so forth).”
Mandatory fields can be configured. For more context go to Ex Libris Knowledge Center, Managing Users.
Note: It was confirmed by Andrea Bainbridge (EXL) by email that a library Barcode, can be specified as primary ID. As long as the college system recognizes the barcode value as the primary ID, there should be no issues with the SIS integration. (And, there is no need to submit two fields with a duplicate value, or map the barcode field to more than one other Alma field.)
Patron File - Mandatory and Non-Mandatory Fields - Use Cases:
Element | Uses | Mandatory? |
|---|---|---|
Primary ID | Mandatory for physical circulation: loans, bookings, holds, reserves, fines, fees, blocks | Mandatory |
Email address | Notify patrons when requested items become available or if fines owed | Mandatory |
First Name | Mandatory | |
Last Name | Mandatory | |
Statistical categories (e.g., department, school, program) | Analytics: such as programs/departments can be mapped in Alma; Managing User Statistics allows reports to be filtered by users, by user group, category, and so forth. | |
Expiry date | Useful for cleaning out patron file. | |
Purge date | The date on which the user will be purged. See Purging Users. | |
Provide access to electronic resources via Primo VE from both on and off campus; use of Primo VE to create bookings/holds/ requests, etc., patrons store search results, history & favourites. | Must exist for all relevant users. | |
SIS match identifier | Considered external and will be overridden by the next synchronization with the SIS, keeping your patron file up-to-date Export fines/fees/blocks to Bursar system; | This 3rd party integration allows Alma to retrieve relevant user information from the SIS, such as user names, passwords, and user identifiers. |
Provide alternate login for users |
Non mandatory fields:
Additional Identifiers: code to indicate the ID from the student information system, and any social media IDs supported for your institution.
Phone Numbers (consider your institution’s privacy rules), addresses, notes, blocks, statistics
Expiry date: The estimated date when the user is expected to leave the institution. See Expiration Date for more information.
Purge date: The date on which the user will be purged. See Purging Users.
Fulfillment network (consortia)