OPAL Alma/ExLibris Migration

This is not a comprehensive list, but outlines some of the key letters to consider, primarily for fulfillment and resource sharing functionality. Local policy and configurations will impact letters to include/exclude, including functions related to acquisitions, user management, and integrations. The full table of Alma letters with descriptions can be found in the EXL documentation.

 

General

• Analytics Letter – enable if you schedule any reports and send to yourself or other users.

• ILL Email to User (patron facing) -  so staff may send email directly to patron from user record. The name is misleading because this has nothing to do with ILL. The purpose of this "letter" is to open the channel to directly email a patron from the user record. So instead of going to the user record, copying their email, opening your email, and composing in someplace like Outlook, you can just do it all from within Alma. The drawback is that because the letter is not like other letters, it does not call on components or logos and just sends a generic looking email.

• System Job Letter - required so that Alma can generate all enabled internal letters for staff.
   

Fulfillment (Circulation) Related Letters

Hold Shelf Maintenance:

• Ful Resource Request Slip letter (staff facing) – A slip that is printed out by library staff from the Pick From Shelf page (Pick Up Requested Resources) when they need to retrieve an item from the shelf. Primarily for local holds and digitization requests. This letter is also printed when an item that had a hold request is returned.

• Hold Shelf Update Expiry (patron facing) - Sent to the patron when the expiry date of an item on hold shelf is changed. This enables patrons to be aware of changes in the hold shelf period that are done by the library staff. 

• On Hold Shelf Letter (patron facing) : Activated by checking in an item to be sent to library hold shelf. Sent to patron to indicate item is on hold shelf to be picked up.

• On Hold Shelf Reminder (patron facing) - Sent after a set number of days. The letter is sent by the Send Hold Shelf Reminders job. It is possible to configure how many days after being placed on the hold shelf the reminder will be sent, and whether the reminder will continue to be sent at the configured interval until the Hold Shelf expiry.

 

Activated through Checkout/Checkin and  Manage Patron Services Actions:

• Ful Cancel Request Letter (paron facing) – sent to patrons and indicates that a request has been cancelled and the reason for the cancellation. This letter will not be sent if the date by which the request is needed has passed.

Specific Triggers:

• • Fulfillment > Resource Requests > Pick From Shelf > Choose a request > Cancel Request

  • Fulfillment > Resource Requests > Active Hold Shelf Items > Choose a request > Cancel Request

  • Fulfillment > Resource Requests > Active Hold Shelf Items > Choose a request > Cancel Request

  • Jobs: Requests – Handle Expiration Step or Requests – Recalculate after Inventory Update.

• Ful Lost Refund Fee Loan Letter (patron facing) – [activated by returning a lost item] Sent to patrons when a loan that was declared lost is found. Includes refund if applicable.

• Loan Receipt Letter (patron facing) - goes out when any change done to a user's loan generates a Loan Receipt (in addition to any other "designated" letter that is sent). For example, changing the due date of a loan triggers the Loan Status Notice. Selecting "Done" then initiates a Loan Receipt for the updated loan.

• Return Receipt Letter (patron facing) - Sent to patrons after items are returned to the circulation desk.

 

Activated by Overdue and Lost Loan Jobs:

• Ful Overdue and Lost Loan Notification Letter ["Overdue Item Notice"] (patron facing) - A warning sent to patrons listing all overdue loans before the items are declared lost, according to the criteria described in “Adding an Overdue and Lost Loan Notification”. Sent by the Loans - Overdue and Lost Item job when the switch_to_overdue_and_lost_loan_new_job parameter is set to true

• Ful Overdue and Lost Loan Letter ["Lost Item Notice"] (patron facing) - A message sent to the borrowing patron listing all overdue loans that have been declared lost, according to the criteria described in “Adding an Overdue and Lost Loan Notification”. It is sent to patrons by the Loans - Overdue and Lost Item job when the switch_to_overdue_and_lost_loan_new_job parameter is set to true.

 

 

Activated by Scheduled Jobs – Fulfillment (Circulation)

• Automatic Loans Renew Notice (patron facing) - Notifies the patron when an automatic loan renewal has been performed. Notifications are only sent if the Notify Automatic Renewals checkbox is marked in the 'Send Courtesy Notices and Handle Renewals' job configuration. Configuration > Fulfillment > Fulfillment Jobs Configuration). 

• Courtesy Letter (patron facing) - Sent to patrons in a nightly job; contains a list of the patron’s loans that are due soon. Generated when the Notifications - Send Courtesy Notices and Handle Loan Renewals job runs

• Ful Fines\Fees Notification Letter (patron facing) - only sent if Fines/Fees Notification Profiles are configured.

• Short Loan Letter (patron facing) - Sent to a patron when loaning an item for a short period (a number of minutes/ hours), informing the patron of the due date and the fine policy. Used when “short_loan_courtesy_reminder” parameter is set and triggered based on the due date time, minus the set value of the parameter. For example, 15 minutes before due date.

 

Resource Sharing and Pick Up Anywhere

The OhioLINK managed letters (in yellow) will need to be updated by the library whenever a new version is released.

• Ful Incoming Slip Letter (OhioLINK managed) - OL using as paging and shipping slip. Libraries have been encouraged to turn off the Resource Sharing Shipping Slip Letter. Doing so will block your ability to print a separate shipping slip in the Resource Sharing workbench or print the shipping slip during Pick from shelf processing.

• Resource Sharing Receive Slip Letter (OhioLINK managed) - A slip that prints automatically when the Automatic Print Slip option is selected on Receiving Items. “OhioLINK Requested Item” – prints when an item is received at the patron’s library.
• Resource Sharing Return Slip Letter (OhioLINK managed) - Printable when returning a borrowed item to the lender. “OhioLINK Return Slip” – prints when the patron’s library needs to send an item back to the owning library. Printing the letter will take place if:
  • Scanning in an item triggers a return (including Managing Patron Services and Return Items menu option)
  • Using the Return option in the task list (see Workflow Actions).

 

Note: Rapido tries to keep patron information (including the name) off of slips that print outside the patron's home library. That’s why you don’t see the patron name on the paging slip, but you will see it in the receiving slip.

 

Resource Sharing Staff and Partner Letters:

• Borrower Overdue Email Letter - Sent by the lending institution to the borrowing partner when a resource is overdue.
• Borrower Receive Email Letter - sent to the lending institution when the loaned item has been received at the borrowing institution.
• Borrower Return Email Letter - Sent to the lending institution when the borrowing institution has returned the loaned item.
• Ful Lost Email Letter: Sent to the lending partner to notify them that a resource sharing item has been lost. See Managing Resource Sharing Borrowing Requests.
• Ful Pickup Print Slip Report Letter (optional) - is only used for staff for the Print Slip Report (under the Pick From Shelf function) so no need to worry about customizing. There's not much of a message to customize) 
• Ful Transit Slip Letter -Activated when item is checked in at a different library than the owning library.

• Lender Reject Email Letter - Sent to the borrowing partner when the lending partner has rejected a lending request.
• Lender Ship Email Letter - Sent to the borrowing partner to indicate that the requested item has been shipped.
  • Fulfillment > Resource Sharing > Shipping > Scan item barcode
  • Fulfillment > Resource Sharing > Lending Requests > Choose an item > Ship Item
  • If rs_allow_actions_on_scan_in is set to 'true', RS borrowing items are shipped upon scan and the shipment letter is sent.
• Lending Recall Email Letter - Sent to the borrowing partner when an item is recalled and must be returned.
• Resource Sharing Conversation Letter – email a Rapido partner directly from the lending task list request (for renewal requests, for example).
   

Rapid ILL

• Document Delivery Notification - triggers email to patron when you use the "Send File to Patron" command. Configured under Configuration > General > Letters > Letters Configuration.

• Ful Digitization Notification Item Letter - Sent to a patron who asked for material to be digitized with a send method of Attach Documents - attachment. The letter informs the patron that the digitization request has been completed and informs the patron where the digital material can be viewed.
   

Primo

• Email Records Letter (patron facing) – enable to allow patrons to email themselves records from Primo.

• Report a Problem Letter (optional) – feedback email from Primo users that includes URL of the page from which the message was sent, and type of device used to send the feedback.

 

Optional

• Borrowing Activity Letter (patron facing) - sends patrons a periodic list of their loans, overdue items, and active fines. Can duplicate other notifications.

• Fine Fee Payment Receipt Letter (patron facing) – indicates to patrons that payment has been received.

• Ful Requests Report Letter (patron facing) - this is a report of all active, in process, and inactive requests. Can be run for a single patron or run on a schedule.

• Loan Status Notice (patron facing) - Sent to patrons; indicates changes in the status of a loan or the due date. Triggered by:

  • A recall is issued and the due date changed.

  • A recall is issued but the due date hasn't changed.

  • The due date changed, regardless of whether a recall has been issued.

  • A recall is cancelled and the original due date is restored.

  • A recall is cancelled and the loan is renewed.

  • A recall is cancelled and there is no change in the due date.

• Overdue Notice Letter (patron facing) - contains a list of all the patron’s loans due that day. Sent in a nightly job (Notifications – Send Due Date Reminders). Can be redundant with other notices going out to the user.

• Resource Sharing Request Confirmation Letter (patron facing) - When configured, Alma sends a confirmation email when a request is placed to confirm with the patron that their request has been placed. By default, this letter is disabled.

• Resource Sharing Shipping Slip Letter: Sent to a user when the user selects the “Ship Item” link for a lending request and then selects Automatically Print Slip = Yes on the Shipping Items page. OL doesn't use since paging slip(Ful Incoming Slip Letter) is generally sent with the item (and serves as a de facto shipping letter). Generated by "Pick from Shelf' actions. When turned off cannot print this as a backup in the Resource Sharing Task List.

• Shortened Due Date (patron facing) - Sent to patrons to notify them that the due date of their loan has been shortened. This happens at the time of loan or renewal. However, at renewal time, the letter is only triggered if the renewal is done by staff from the Manage Patron Services page. If the renewal is done by the patron in Primo, the shortened due date is displayed to the patron immediately.
   

If You Have an Email Partner Configured (usually for ILL)

These are  optional to consider:

• Ful Cancel Email Letter – indicates that a resource sharing request has been cancelled. Sent to partners automatically when a resource sharing borrowing request is sent to a partner whose Type = Email.

• Ful Outgoing Email Letter - The borrowing request sent to a partner with profile Type=Email.

• Ful Renew Email Letter – letter to partner library requesting to renew a resource sharing item. Sent automatically when partner Type=Email.