[Wactclc-alma] Analogies to understand fulfillment units

[Guidry, Wade]

Charly,

Yes, fulfillment is a bit different conceptually in Alma than in some other ILSes.

The following are definitions, rather than analogies. but this is how I think about the main Alma fulfillment concepts.

Fulfillment Unit – A Fulfillment Unit is a set of physical shelf locations with similar circulation characteristics (length of time an item can be checked out, for example).

A given physical shelf location can only be in one Fulfillment Unit. And, a shelf location must be assigned to a Fulfillment Unit if you want to circulate items cataloged to that location.

Generally, libraries have 5 or 6 Fulfillment Units, each representing a broad category of materials, such as Main Stacks, Reserves, Reference, ILL, Equipment, Media.

Terms of Use (TOU) – A TOU defines the lending contract between the library and the patron for a particular transaction. The TOU consists of a bundle of fulfillment policies, defining such individual transaction characteristics as length of loan, fine structure (if applicable), whether replacement costs can be forgiven, whether the item accepts requests, and so on. Those individual characteristics of the transaction are the fulfillment policies.

Fulfillment Rules – Fulfillment Rules are defined within each Fulfillment Unit, to determine and apply the appropriate TOU to a given transaction. For example, a fulfillment rule might be set up to apply a particular TOU if a student is checking out a book. And a different fulfillment rule would be set up to apply a different TOU if an employee is checking out a book.

Fulfillment Rules are generally set up to trigger based on combinations of user groups and shelf locations (STUDENT + Main Stacks, or FACULTY + DVD, for example).



Wade Guidry
Library Consortium Services Manager, WACTCLC
wadeg at bigbend.edu<mailto:wadeg at bigbend.edu>
(509) 760-4474


From: Wactclc-alma [mailto:wactclc-alma-bounces at lists.ctc.edu] On Behalf Of Charly Eaton
Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2018 10:59 AM
To: wactclc-alma at lists.ctc.edu
Subject: [Wactclc-alma] Analogies to understand fulfillment units

Hi everyone,

I'm currently taking the Alma certification and am trying to wrap my head around fulfillment units, fulfillment unit rules, and TOUs. Does anyone have a helpful analogy or simplified way of explaining the relationship among these elements?

-Charly

--
Charly Eaton
Circulation Services Manager
Learning Resources/Library
425.640.1447
Work Schedule: Monday-Thursday 7:30-6
[https://drive.google.com/a/email.edcc.edu/uc?id=1lLjU1aMXjcbVQPiBENnsQRRGox02xMi5&export=download]
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