How do I create and edit a user?

Be sure to check with your institution to determine if there are additional details to consider.


Answer

Table of Contents:


Adding a User

Your student, faculty, and staff patrons will be automatically added to Alma via your Student Information System (SIS) Load file. However, there may be times when you need to manually add a patron. This may include community users, new students and often staff (if they are not auto-loaded). Be sure, whenever possible, to include any identifier that is used on your campus in order to allow your SIS load to match later. This may happen if the user is created in the SIS but not yet loaded into Alma.

  • First, make sure that you're logged into Alma with an account that has one of the following roles:
    • User Manager
    • User Administrator
    • Circulation Desk Manager
    • Circulation Desk Operator
  • Under Manage Patron Services, select Register New User

register new user

 

  • Fill out the user's information:
    • Required fields are determined by your configuration settings. Your systems librarian can activate or deactivate required fields.
    • Enter first and last name.
    • Primary Identifier is required. If the system automatically generates a number for you, make sure to delete it and fill in the box with the identifier that you use at your campus. The primary identifier will be the match point for your SIS load, so make sure that you know what your campus is using as your primary identifier.
    • User group is important for determining loan privileges.
    • Enter an expiration date.
    • User Management Information:
      • Select ‘Patron has institutional record=Yes’ if this user will have a record in the institution’s User Information system (SIS), and enter their institutional identifier in the User Identifier Value field. Doing so creates a temporary record for the user, enabling them to borrow items, and ensures that the temporary record will be merged with the master copy of the patron record in the external system. You don't need to set a password for these accounts.institutional record
  • ​If the user will not have a record in the SIS, for example a community borrower, select ‘Patron has institutional record=No’ and if you're allowing community borrowers to log into Primo, scroll up and enter a password for the user. This is the password they will use to log-in to Primo. You can select the ‘Force password change on next login’ check box to ensure the patron selects a new password the first time they log-in.
  • Add an email address, physical address, and optionally, a phone number.
  • Click "Update User."

Additional Identifiers:

In order for a library card barcode and/or authentication to work for the user, you'll need to add additional identifiers. Look up the user with the "User" search at the top of the screen:

user search

  • Once you've found your patron, open their record and click on the Identifiers tab
  • Click Add Identifier and chose the appropriate type.
  • Your system's identifiers may vary based on your Student Information System (or whatever external system from which you are pulling in student data).
  • Select type and add the value. Then click Add and Close.

When you are done editing the user information, click Save.


Authentication:

  • If the account will use authentication, your patron will be able to use either the primary identifier or any other identifier as their username when logging in. If the patron will be using a campus authentication system, make sure that their username is included as an identifier.

Editing Users:

To edit the full record including add roles, profiles, etc. search for patron in the search box at the top of the Alma screen and click ‘edit user.’  

Note: If the user’s record is external and loaded from your SIS any fields loaded from the SIS cannot be edited in Alma. You should be able to add information to blank fields, but won’t be able to change information in fields filled by the SIS. (e.g. address, personal identifiers).

edit user full record

 

To edit the brief record (phone number, address) Fulfillment → manage patron services or scan their card. 

edit brief record

 

For more information from Ex Libris Knowledgebase: Alma Managing Users

  • Last Updated Sep 07, 2023
  • Views 303
  • Answered By Timothy Jackson

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