[wactclc-alma] [EXTERNAL] - user roles expiring

Mon Sep 25 18:32:46 PDT 2023

Abby,

We had this problem with patron roles being assigned expiry dates crop up out of nowhere back in 2019. (Pierce discovered and reported it to the list first.)

One day user records were being created with no expiry date on the Patron role. The next day, user records had expiry dates on the patron roles and we’d done nothing to make that happen.

Alma, man.

Luckily, I rarely delete emails. ;)

From what I can piece together, you need to go into multiple places in the Alma config menus to fix this.

1) Alma config > User Management > Roles and registration > Role assignment rules

Edit the Default rule. Here’s what ours is like:

Rule Name: Default Automatic Roles Assignment
Description: Default templates for imported user - assigns Patron Role to all users

Output parameters:
Profile 1: Patron
[all other Profiles are blank]

[cid:image001.png at 01D9EFD6.A6FEDA60]

I *think* this forces all user records created via import to get a Patron role with no role expiry date.

2) Alma config > Fullfillment > Physical Fulfillment > Advanced Policy Configuration

Filter Policy Type = Patron Role Renewal Period

Here’s what we have:

[cid:image004.png at 01D9EFD8.E34514B0]

Do you have any Patron Role Renewal Period policies where the Value = None?  If not, you need to create one.

Here are the details for our policy:

Policy Name: No Role Renewal Period
Value Type = None
Default Policy = True
[cid:image005.png at 01D9EFD9.8A89AB00]

3) Alma config > Fullfillment > Physical Fulfillment > Terms of Use and Policies

Filter Terms of Use Type = User Registration

Go into each and every User Registration Terms of Use policy that shows up.

Here’s what this looks like in our Alma:

[cid:image006.png at 01D9EFDB.D3FCB2D0]

I think the “Default terms of use” (Type = User Registration) was set up by Ex Libris during migration. You may have the same thing with the same name. You may not have any other User Registration Terms of Use.

Look for the “Patron Role Renewal Period” in any/all of the “User Registration” Terms of Use.

The “Patron Role Renewal Period” setting will put an expiration date on the patron *role* for any user records you create manually.

In the drop down list for the “Patron Role Renewal Period” select the Patron Role Renewal Period policy you created in Step 2.

4) Alma config > User Management > Roles and registration > User Registration Rules

Any/all rules in this table have a “Terms of Use” drop down field in the Output Parameter section.

Only “User Registration”-type Terms of Use from the Terms of Use and Policies table (in step 3) will show up in the drop-down menu.

You want to make sure the default rule is using a User Registration-type Terms of Use where the Patron Role Renewal Period is set to have no role renewal period. (I hope that makes sense!)

Here’s what this looks like in our Alma:
[cid:image007.png at 01D9EFDD.BA31D860]

In addition to the Alma config updates, you’ll want to create an Analytics report of user records that have an Expiry Date in the Patron Role.  I put a copy of the report I created here:

/shared/Community/Reports/Consortia/WACTCLC/Seattle/Patron Role has Expiry Date

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like you can run a job to change Role expiry dates. ☹

You can run a job to delete the Patron role completely from a set of user records and then run a job to add the Patron role back.

I have no idea if this would do BAD THINGS(TM) to patrons with current loans though. It might be better to deal with those patron records manually.

Hope this helps!

It will be ok!

Kirsti S. Thomas (Hear my first name<http://namedrop.io/kirstithomas>)
Library Technical Services Manager & Systems Librarian
Seattle Colleges
kirsti.thomas at seattlecolleges.edu

From: wactclc-alma <wactclc-alma-bounces at lists.ctc.edu> On Behalf Of Abby Koehler
Sent: Monday, September 25, 2023 12:36
To: WACTCLC Alma Discussion <wactclc-alma at lists.ctc.edu>
Subject: Re: [wactclc-alma] [EXTERNAL] - user roles expiring

Our Users Roles Details also has the Expiry Date blank, so I don't understand how these imported patrons are getting expirations set at all. The helps say "If no expiration date is added to the Patron Role in the "Profiles" table, a new user that receives a Patron role will have an open date as Expiry Date."

I asked our SQL guy and he told me our data import does not currently send any notes, roles, or profiles. But I can see in the shot below that occasionally user information is being written incorrectly at the time of the load. Specifically the Roles field, like on 7/2 it set the role expiration to 6/28, which is way crazy.

Yeah, our user loads often fail. I thought that maybe when they do then the bugs crawl in, but both the loads (7/2 and 7/8) finished successfully and the event log says that this user was unchanged.

[cid:image002.png at 01D9EFD5.84B18800]

I think I've got an Analytics report going now, Carleigh, but thanks -- and thanks to everyone!

abby koehler

she/her/hers

Systems Librarian

Whatcom Community College

360.383.3287

________________________________
From: wactclc-alma <wactclc-alma-bounces at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:wactclc-alma-bounces at lists.ctc.edu>> on behalf of Herman, Amy <aherman at olympic.edu<mailto:aherman at olympic.edu>>
Sent: Monday, September 25, 2023 12:06 PM
To: WACTCLC Alma Discussion <wactclc-alma at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:wactclc-alma at lists.ctc.edu>>
Subject: Re: [wactclc-alma] [EXTERNAL] - user roles expiring

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We don’t have expiration dates on our students’ patron roles.  We leave that empty in the Patron “User Roles Details” (see screenshot below).

Their actual accounts expire a week after the quarter ends (and then resets to the next quarter if they are registered for the next quarter), but that is all handled as part of the nightly ctclink import.

[cid:image003.png at 01D9EFD5.84B18800]

Amy Herman

Library Faculty | Olympic College

1600 Chester Avenue | Bremerton, WA 98337

aherman at olympic.edu<mailto:aherman at olympic.edu> | 360-475-7256

Visit the OC Libraries website<https://libguides.olympic.edu/index> to connect to services and resources!

From: wactclc-alma <wactclc-alma-bounces at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:wactclc-alma-bounces at lists.ctc.edu>> On Behalf Of Abby Koehler
Sent: Monday, September 25, 2023 10:59 AM
To: WACTCLC Alma Discussion <wactclc-alma at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:wactclc-alma at lists.ctc.edu>>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] - [wactclc-alma] user roles expiring

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Hi all,

We have had many of our students' roles expire recently, requiring that we renew them individually when they go to check out something. I was having a hard time querying alma or finding these people to fix them preemptively until just recently when I realized it was the Patron role itself expiring, not the User Account.

Why there is a separate expiration for the role of Patron is beyond me. It's dumb. That said, I had submitted a ticket and got back some unhelpful language (below). I looked in the config for external users and no expiration is defined.

Has anyone experienced this? It's not a deal-breaker when it comes to circulation but it is annoying the heck out of me.

Thanks for any thoughts!

abby

Case Title: users patron roles are expired but their account is not expired
Last Comment:
Hi Abby,

The user record expiry date is separate from the role expiry dates, and each role can have its own expiry.

How is the Patrons' expiry Role determined?

External Users have their Patron Role defined per the following tables: Configuration > User Management > Profiles, Role Assignment Rules, and User Registration Rules. If no expiration date is added to the Patron Role in the "Profiles" table, a new user that receives a Patron role will have an open date as Expiry Date.

Internal registration: The setting is defined in: Configuration > Fulfillment > Terms of Use and Policies > Filter by Type: User Registration. The "Patron Role Renewal Period" defines the amount of time by which the role of Patron for this user is renewed.(or initially defined).

For all users, the “Patron Role Renewal Period” will be used when the patron role is renewed, for example when loaning an item and receiving the message “User does not have a patron role or the role has expired”:.

Please see this article (also attached to the case) for more information:

https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Knowledge_Articles/Patron_Role_has_expiry_date_in_the_past._Why_and_how_to_fix_this%3F<https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fknowledge.exlibrisgroup.com%2fAlma%2fKnowledge_Articles%2fPatron_Role_has_expiry_date_in_the_past._Why_and_how_to_fix_this%253F&c=E,1,QBa94BqDJG28nnywxpc7PxUcj6jXdY88NjVG_pUpNcZ12lIENq3pF3dY_Jco1QPB2QGde7m2zFmOqPPJ3jvTMXS32Wn_XmB4AesYwSVwfT7eCSHTSA,,&typo=1>

abby koehler

she/her/hers

Systems Librarian

Whatcom Community College

360.383.3287
CAUTION: This email originated outside of the Seattle Colleges’ email system. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Questions? Contact IT Services at x6333 (Central), x3630 (North), x5844 (South) or email ITHelp at seattlecolleges.edu<mailto:ITHelp at seattlecolleges.edu>.

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