How do I process digital lending requests?
Answer
Training Video
Please see the link below for a video recording of a live demonstration of the workflows outlined in this FAQ.
https://public.3.basecamp.com/p/Dc3PFqJym6CzscJaf2uM5svk
Digital Lending Workflows
Alma resource sharing groups article and book chapter lending requests together as digital lending requests. The digital lending workflow is comprised of two parts:
Your Alma account will need the following user roles to process digital lending requests.
- Circulation Desk Operator - scoped to library & circulation desk
- Fulfillment Services Operator - scoped to library
- Requests Operator - scoped to library & circulation desk
Digital lending requests will end up in either the Borrowing Request Created or Locate Failed status. If a digital lending request ends up in the Locate Failed status, you can resolve the locate failure using the same workflow you'd use for a physical lending request in the Locate Failed status.
Once you begin processing a digital lending request, that request will be automatically assigned to you unless you have turned the ending auto-assign feature turned off. To turn the lending auto-assign feature off, go to Configuration | Fulfillment | General | Other Settings and change the rs_disable_lending_auto_assign setting to "true".
Processing Digital Lending Requests
1. To view your digital lending requests, go to Fulfillment | Lending Requests and then apply the "Created Lending Request" Status facet.
2. Click the ellipsis next to the request. The rest of the workflow will depend on whether the request is for an electronic resource of a print resource. If the request is for an electronic resource, you will see the Download Electronic Resource link in the droprown. If the request is for a print resource, you will see the Create Digitization Request link. See below for instructions on processing digital requests for e-resources and processing digital requests for print resources.
Processing Digital Lending Requests for E-Resources
1. Click the Download Electronic Resource link. A window will then appear on the right listing all of the electronic resources that contain the requested item. Click on the name of an electronic resource. If you are seeing links for electronic collections, click the link for the collection you prefer to use. Once you click on an electronic resource link, you should be taken directly to the requested article or to the journal containing the requested article (this will depend on whether the vendor allows directly linking to articles from within Alma).
If clicking an electronic collection link does not bring you to the requested article or journal, please try the other electronic resource links (if there are any). If none of the electronic resource links bring you to the requested article or journal, please try searching for the requested article in Primo. If that doesn't work, please reject the request using the same workflow for rejecting physical lending requests.
2. Once you have found the requested article, download the file and save it to your desktop or some other easily accessible directory. We recommend using the request's external identifier as the file name. Once the file has been saved, please close the electronic resources window and move on to the delivery portion of the digital lending workflow.
Processing Digital Lending Requests for Print Resources
1. Click the Create Digitization Request link. The create Digitization Request window will open.
2. Check the box next to the book or journal volume containing the requested item, select a digitization department from the Managing Department dropdown, and then click the Create Request button. A ship digitally request will be placed on the item you selected, and that item will be added to your Pick From Shelf list. Please move on to the printing pull slips and scanning requested items section of the workflow.
Printing Pull Slips and Scanning Requested Chapters/Articles
1. Once you have placed a ship digitally request on an item, that item will appear on your Pick From Shelf list with a request type of "Ship Digitally". You can print your pull slips using the same workflow you'd use to print pull slips for physical lending requests. The chapter/article info should appear on the pull slip.
2. Once you've pulled the requested item, scan it in. If item will be removed from your Pick From Shelf list, and it will be placed in transit to your digitization department. Scan the requested pages and save the file to your desktop or some other easily accessible directory. We recommend using the request's external identifier as the file name.
3. Move on to the delivery portion of the workflow.
4. Once the scanned file has been delivered to the borrowing library, scan the requested item in again (at this point it is still in transit to your digitization department). The item will either be reshelved or put in transit to its permanent location.
Note: If you are unable to find the requested item or if you can't fill the request for any other reason, please reject the lending request using the same workflow you'd use to reject a physical lending request.
Delivering Scanned/Downloaded Items
1. Once the requested item has been scanned or downloaded, click the ellipsis next to the request and then click the Ship Item Digitally link. The Document Delivery window will open on the right.
2. Upload the scanned file the Alma by either clicking the Browse link or dragging the scanned file into the Drop Files Here box. Once the file is finished uploading, click the Ship button.
