Library Tasks "Day One" and Beyond in Alma / Primo VE

Last Updated: September 17, 2020

Now that Alma / Primo VE are "Live" what tasks should immediately be addressed by library staff? What tasks can be addressed later? 
CARLI Staff have been putting together a list of activities you may want to consider.

Alma and Primo VE Known Issues has moved to its own ebpage as we prepare to retire *this* Day One and Beyond page in the near future.

Day One Tasks

• Test Logging in: to Alma; to Primo VE
• Test Circulating a book
• You may upload Alma Offline Circulation files, if you used the Alma Offline circulation tool to check items out between June 19-24.

For those libraries that have not yet completed this work:

• SIS integration
• Authentication (Open Athens, or other local system) integration

"As soon as possible" Tasks

• Update the URLs on your library webpages to point to Primo VE (that formerly pointed to VuFind 0.6, New VuFind, or Classic WebVoyage)
• Set up and Test your OCLC Gateway Export
• Test OCLC Backloading Scenarios - Shared during April 27 Office Hours; Sample Testing Chart; Review Data Sync Processing Reports Guide
• Review Users that are missing data in Mandatory Fields
• Acquisitions:
  • Prepare for Fiscal Period Close in Alma
  • If you completed Fiscal Period Close in Voyager and need to "extend" your 2020 Fiscal Period in Alma, set up a Grace Period.
• Acquisitions and Resource Management: Set up Import Profiles
  • EOD with YBP. CARLI has some instructions available for libraries who are interested.
  • If you opted to catalog in OCLC during the technical freeze, set up the OCLC import profile for importing those records. Covered in May 14 Open Office Hours. 
• Fulfillment:
  • In preparation for go-live, CARLI Office staff extended the due dates for items due between 1/1/2020 and 9/30/2020, to be due on 10/1/2020.
    • Like Voyager, Alma will not calculate a due date beyond a patron record's expiration date. Alma will also not calculate a due date that is "in the past" of the time the due date is assigned.
    • You can review the log files, and adjust the patron expiration dates (and then the due dates), if appropriate, for items where the due date was not extended.
    • The file is available under Admin> Monitor Jobs> History, then find the job named "Change Bulk Due Date" where the operator was a CARLI staff member (username carli_x) and the date the job was run was 6/22/20-6/24/20.
    • Alma did update items that were set as "Lost" to have a future due date, without removing the "Lost" status. CARLI will post directions soon for tidying this situation.
• For libraries who planned to do so, begin the Post-Migration Workflow to Restore Special Collection Bibliographic Records.
• Contact your e-resource vendors to switch to using the Alma Link Resolver
• Work on the "Go Live Readiness Checklist" : CARLI has shared a somewhat modified version of Ex Libris' "Go Live Readiness Checklist" which libraries should complete and return to CARLI by mid-July. The checklist is available in two formats: as Go Live Readiness Checklist (PDF) and Go Live Readiness Checklist Word document (DOCX)
• For institutions using single sign-on with Primo VE, configure a log in method for Internal Users.
• Update the catalog links in your institution's WorldCat Registry to point at Primo VE.

Summertime tasks

• Fulfillment:
  • Libraries should review reports, that CARLI will provide from Voyager, that include items that had the status of: On Hold, In Transit-On Hold, and In Transit-Discharged items.
    • Given the variations in how items in these statuses migrated to Alma, plus the paused state of resource sharing, libraries can review the items in the lists when they are back with their physical collections and can search for materials.
• Fulfillment/Physical Resource Management
  • Libraries should review items that were assigned the Alma process status of "Technical - Migration," and consider modifying items to have statuses that reflect the status that was found in Voyager before the migration.
    • Not all Voyager statuses have equivalent counterparts in Alma. However, some statuses may be adjusted in bulk. Procedures for these are documented in the Item Maintenance: Technical - Migration Process Status page.