Identifying Named Users in Alma

Revised: November 20, 2023

Overview

"Named Users" are active users records in Alma that have been assigned any role that can log into Alma, except for Patron, Instructor, Trial Participant, and roles that are only for Leganto (Instructor, Leganto Course Operator, and Leganto Interface Administrator) or Rialto (Selector, Selector Limited, Super Selector, Rialto Manager, and Rialto Administrator).

I-Share institutions should use the Staff Login Report in Alma and the Analytics reports described below to review their Named Users. Once you have identified Named User records that are longer needed in your institution’s Alma, Deactivate the user record or remove the staff roles from the user record.

CARLI recommends that each I-Share institution should conduct this review and cleanup at least once per year according to the Best Practice Recommendations for Named Users in I-Share.

See also CARLI's Named User FAQ.

Staff Login Report

This report can help you to identify Named User accounts in Alma that may not be needed and are candidates for Deactivation and Purge.

A user with the General System Administrator role can access the Staff Login Report in Alma Configuration.

  1. Click the Configuration icon from the main Alma menu.
  2. Click the General menu > General Configuration > Staff Login Report.
  3. To export the report, click the Export List icon, then select Excel (current view). The report will automatically download to your browser.

This report displays all Named Users in your IZ by their user account’s Primary Identifier with their date of last login if it was within the last 90 days.  Users that appear with a dash in the Last Login column have not logged in within the last 3 months.

A screenshot of Alma's Staff Login Report found in the Configuration area. The image highlights account primary identifiers, the export button, and how users who haven't logged in are displayed.

Analytics Reports

Since the Staff Login Report only includes the Primary ID for users, libraries may need additional data to correlate user logins with actual names and their roles. CARLI has created some Analytics reports that you might also find helpful when reviewing and evaluating your institution’s Named Users.

A user with the Design Analytics role can find these shared reports written by CARLI in Alma Analytics.

  1. Go to the Analytics menu > Access Analytics.
  2. Click Catalog.
  3. Browse the shared folders to Shared Folders > Carli NETWORK 01CARLI_NETWORK > User Management Reports.

Named Users List to Match Staff Login Report – Lists each Named User by Primary Identifier, Name, Job Category, Job Description, Expiry Date, Purge Date, Has Roles other than Patron and Instructor, User Group Code, User Group, and User Type. The report is sorted the same as the Staff Login report to make it easier to correlate users in both reports.

Named Users List with Roles - Lists each Named User by Primary Identifier, Name, Job Category, Job Description, Expiry Date, Purge Date, and if the user Has Roles other than Patron and Instructor with each of the roles that are assigned to that user. Use this report to review the roles that are assigned to each user, then determine if users should still have those roles.

User Accounts to Watch Carefully

You will notice several accounts in your institution zone that have been added by CARLI or Ex Libris. Some of these accounts should be retained for your support in the future. Others may only be necessary during the implementation of new services. If you are not sure if an account should be kept or removed, please ask .

DO NOT DEACTIVATE, EDIT, DELETE, or PURGE the following Named Users accounts:

  • The admin user named Alma Administrator. 
  • Any users whose Primary Identifier begins carli_ . These are CARLI staff accounts used to help support, troubleshoot, and configure I-Share institutions. CARLI staff are responsible for activating, deactivating, and modifying these user records.
  • Any users whose Primary Identifier begins exl_ or rialto_ .  These are Ex Libris staff accounts that should not be touched.
  • The leganto_guest user as that user allows guest access to Leganto and cannot be deleted; it does not count as a Named User.

DO DEACTIVATE, EDIT, and PURGE any user accounts created by Ex Libris or ProQuest for the process of implementing additional products, such as Leganto and Rialto. Once these products are in production in an institution, the setup and training accounts should be deactivated and removed. 

  • User accounts created for setting up Leganto, Rialto, et al., may often include Alma-oriented roles during the implementation process. For example, a Leganto test user may have the "Course Reserves Manager" role. When Alma-oriented roles are associated with these accounts, the accounts will contribute towards the named user threshold.
  • After the products are fully implemented, remove any Alma-oriented roles from the generic accounts created for implementation.
  • After products are fully implemented, roles related to Leganto, Rialto, and other products should be assigned to the actual users of those products.

DO DEACTIVATE, EDIT, and PURGE any test accounts created once testing has been completed.

CARLI I-Share Named User Documentation

CARLI’s Named User documentation is linked on the User Management page:

Named User Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Best Practice Recommendations for Named Users in I-Share
How to Deactivate Named Users
Best Practice Recommendations for Creating Generic Shared User Accounts in Alma for I-Share
Best Practice Recommendations for Back-Up Admin Accounts in Alma for I-Share Institutions using Single Sign-on
CARLI Named User Management, Office Hours recorded July 13, 2023 (28:13)