[Wactclc-alma] Item policy details

Tue Oct 4 10:36:17 PDT 2022

You can’t figure out what Fulfillment Rule/Terms of Use will apply just by looking at the item record.  You have to use the Fulfillment Configuration Utility. 😊

If you want to see which Fulfillment Rules use a specific Item Policy as one of the rule parameters, the only way you can do this is to go into all the Fulfillment Units and open each Fulfillment Rule one-by-one to look at them.

It’s probably easier to use the Fulfillment Configuration Utility and test one specific item that has the Item Policy code you’re interested in against one patron record from each user group. Did that make sense?

It will be ok!

Kirsti S. Thomas
Library Technical Services Manager
Seattle Colleges
kirsti.thomas at seattlecolleges.edu<mailto:kirsti.thomas at seattlecolleges.edu>

From: Wactclc-alma <wactclc-alma-bounces at lists.ctc.edu> On Behalf Of Adrienne Roush
Sent: Tuesday, October 4, 2022 10:00
To: WACTCLC Alma Discussion <wactclc-alma at lists.ctc.edu>
Subject: Re: [Wactclc-alma] Item policy details

Hello!
Thank you Kirsti-and also Amy- for the information you’ve given me.
I think, reading everything below, that is probably what I’m trying to get at- I have an item and I want to know what Fulfillment Rule and Terms of Use govern it. Is the only way for me to know that is to go through the Fulfillment Configuration Utility and do a practice check-out or can I figure that out just looking at the item information in Alma?

Adrienne

From: Wactclc-alma <wactclc-alma-bounces at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:wactclc-alma-bounces at lists.ctc.edu>> On Behalf Of Thomas, Kirsti
Sent: Monday, October 3, 2022 5:55 PM
To: WACTCLC Alma Discussion <wactclc-alma at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:wactclc-alma at lists.ctc.edu>>
Subject: Re: [Wactclc-alma] Item policy details

Adrienne,

The “Item policy” is just a code that can be assigned to an item record.

It has no effect on loan policies unless you go into Alma config > Fulfillment > Physical Fulfillment > Fulfillment Units and create a Fulfillment Rule that lists the item policy code as a “parameter” of the rule. The Fulfillment Rule also has to point to another type of rule called a Term of Use for everything to work.

The idea behind the item policy code is that you may have items in the same physical location that you want to have check out for slightly different loan periods than other items at the same location.

For example, you may have a “Reserves” location with some things that check out for 1 hour, 4 hours, 3 days, or 7 days.

You could give all the item records the same location code, but use one item policy code for things with a 1 hour loan period, another item policy code for things with a 4 hour loan period, etc.

Then you’d have one Fulfillment rule that told Alma which Terms of Use to use for items with the location “Reserves” and the item policy code for things with a 1 hour loan period. You’d have another Fulfillment Rule that told Alma which Terms of Use to use for items with the location “Reserves” and the item policy code for things with a 4 hour loan period, etc.

Back when most of us were on Voyager, Voyager loan rules didn’t use item locations to set loan periods, instead, Voyager used a special code in the item record called an Item Type Code.

When most Voyager libraries migrated to Alma, they converted their Item Type codes from Voyager into Item Policy codes in Alma and created Fulfillment Rules in Alma config that told Alma to look at the Item policy codes to figure out what things could check out to which patrons for how long.

At Seattle Colleges, we (and by “we” I mean “I”) decided not to use item policy codes in Alma and all our Fulfillment Rules are based on location codes instead of item policy codes.

That said, if you want to understand what’s going to happen when you check something out, use the Fulfillment Configuration Utility under Fulfillment > Advanced Tools – Loans > Fulfillment Configuration Utility

This will let you enter an item barcode and a patron ID number and see what Fulfillment Rule *would* apply if you checked something out, without having to actually check anything out.

You’ll want to take a look at 2 parts of the Fulfillment Configuration Utility screen—

[cid:image001.jpg at 01D8D7DC.7CC4F850]

  1.  Terms of Use Policies – this will tell you the loan period, whether something is renewable, if you charge any overdue fines and/or default replacement costs when items are overdue/lost, what happens if the due date would fall on a day/time the Alma calendar says the library is closed, and whether there’s a grace period for overdue fines
  2.  Fulfillment attributes – this will tell you where to go in Alma config > Fulfillment > Physical Fulfillment > Fulfillment Units if the due dates and other loan policies aren’t working the way you think they should

You want to take a look at the Due Date if the item would be loaned now and Terms of Use policies first. Are they generally what you expect?

If not, the problem is probably that the wrong Fulfillment Rule is being applied.

That could be because the Fulfillment Rule is too far down the list within the Fulfillment Unit and needs to be moved up the list. It could be that the Fulfillment Rule accidentally got assigned the wrong Terms of Use. It could also be that you never created a Fulfillment Rule and Terms of Use for this specific situation and you need to do that.

Maybe we should troubleshoot this on the Tuesday call?

It will be ok!

Kirsti S. Thomas
Library Technical Services Manager
Seattle Colleges
kirsti.thomas at seattlecolleges.edu<mailto:kirsti.thomas at seattlecolleges.edu>

From: Wactclc-alma <wactclc-alma-bounces at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:wactclc-alma-bounces at lists.ctc.edu>> On Behalf Of Adrienne Roush
Sent: Monday, October 3, 2022 16:14
To: WACTCLC Alma Discussion <wactclc-alma at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:wactclc-alma at lists.ctc.edu>>
Subject: Re: [Wactclc-alma] [EXTERNAL] - Item policy details

Thanks, Amy.
Yes, that does sounds like the kind of information I’m trying to find but I don’t know how to connect those two ideas- item policy and loan policy.
I can’t seem to find any information about the expensive equipment type. Is it here somewhere that I’m not seeing?
[cid:image002.jpg at 01D8D7DC.7CC4F850]

I recognize all the words and ideas but can’t seem to put them together to get what I want to know!

Adrienne

From: Wactclc-alma <wactclc-alma-bounces at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:wactclc-alma-bounces at lists.ctc.edu>> On Behalf Of Herman, Amy
Sent: Monday, October 3, 2022 3:57 PM
To: wactclc-alma at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:wactclc-alma at lists.ctc.edu>
Subject: Re: [Wactclc-alma] [EXTERNAL] - Item policy details

Hi Adrienne,

What exactly are you trying to find out about the equipment?  The item info is tied to the loan policy.  If you go to Config --> Fulfillment --> Terms of Use and Policies... then you can "edit" the applicable loan type that your expensive equipment uses, and see/edit quite a bit of info like length of loan, whether it can be renewed, associated fines/fees, etc. Is that the kind of info you are looking for?

Amy Herman, Library Faculty

Olympic College

Bremerton, WA

aherman at olympic.edu<mailto:aherman at olympic.edu>

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________________________________
From: Wactclc-alma <wactclc-alma-bounces at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:wactclc-alma-bounces at lists.ctc.edu>> on behalf of Adrienne Roush <adrienne.roush at ghc.edu<mailto:adrienne.roush at ghc.edu>>
Sent: Monday, October 3, 2022 4:16 PM
To: wactclc-alma at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:wactclc-alma at lists.ctc.edu> <wactclc-alma at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:wactclc-alma at lists.ctc.edu>>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] - [Wactclc-alma] Item policy details

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Hello, and thank you in advance!

I am unsuccessfully trying to find the details of an Item Policy in my library.

There are some items (like laptops) that we have with the Item Policy “expensive equipment.”

[cid:image003.jpg at 01D8D7DC.7CC4F850]

And I was wondering, what are the details/parameters of that policy? I cannot find it! I feel like it should be one of the (many) placed I’ve looked but no luck.

Perhaps I’m just having a Monday, but if someone could direct me to the place I would greatly appreciate it!

Adrienne

Adrienne Roush (she/her)

Librarian

John Spellman Library

Grays Harbor College<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ghc.edu%2F&data=05%7C01%7C%7Cda9340255689493d836a08daa629e73b%7C02d8ff38d7114e31a9156cb5cff788df%7C0%7C0%7C638004996157547493%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=MANO2Ns6jtjHUlS0KfEPxzLT3KjVCS7elF1nORhbT28%3D&reserved=0>

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360-538-4053

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