FAQs

Alma's Anonymization Job can be used to remove personally identifying information from completed loans and requests and paid fines and fees.  Loans, requests, and fines can be anonymized based on the following factors:

• Loans - days since loan ended, days since user expiry, library, location, number of loans to retain, user group
• Fines and Fees - days since fine/fee closed, days since user expiry, library, user group
• Requests (holds, booking, digitization, etc.) - days since request ended, days since user expiry, library, location, user group
• Borrowing Requests (resource sharing) - days since borrowing request ended, days since user expiry, library, user group

To anonymize your loans, requests, and/or fees, you will need to turn on and configure the Anonymization Job, and you will also need to configure the Anonymization Rules that determine the specifics of how your loans, requests, and/or fees are anonymized.

• Turning on and configuring the Anonymization Job
• Configuring Anonymization Rules

You will need the Fulfillment Administrator role to do this configuration work. 

Turning On and Configuring the Anonymization Job

1. Go to Configuration | Fulfillment | General | Fulfillment Jobs Configuration and scroll down to the Anonymization Job.

2. Change the Status setting to Active, check the boxes for the things you would like to anonymize, select when you would like the job to run from the Schedule dropdown, and then click Save. 

Configuring Anonymization Rules

1. Go to Configuration | Fulfillment | General | Fulfillment Jobs Configuration and scroll down to the Anonymization Job.

2. If you have either the Anonymize Item Loans or Anonymize Item Loans Notes boxes checked, click the Loan Anonymization Rules link. 

3. If you wish to anonymize all loans and/or loan notes as soon as the job runs, you do not need to create any new anonymization rules.  You can simply check the default anonymization rule to make sure its output parameter is set to True.  To do that, click the ellipsis next to the default rule, make sure the output parameter is set to True, and click the Save button.  If you wish to either limit which loans and/or loan notes are anonymized or delay the anonymization of your loans and/or loan notes, change the output parameter of the default rule to False and move on to step 4. 

4. To create a new Anonymization rule, click the Add Rule link.  The Anonymization Rule Editor page will open.  Enter a rule name and rule description into the Name and Description fields.  To create input parameters for the rule, click the Add Parameter link, select/enter values for the Name, Operator, and Value fields as appropriate, and then click the Add Parameter button.  You can configure as many input parameters for a rule as necessary (note: if an anonymization rule has multiple input parameters, the condition of all input parameters must be met in order for the rule to be applied).  Once you have finished configuring your input parameters, select the appropriate output parameter (True = do anonymize, False = don't anonymize) and then click the Save button.

Example: This rule anonymizes loans to the Faculty user group 14 days after the loan was completed.

5.  Once you have configured all of your Anonymization rules, use the up and down arrows adjust the order in which those rules are listed in the Institution Rules list section as necessary.  Please note that Alma will read the rule list top to bottom, and it will apply only the first rule whose input parameters are met. 

Example: These rules will first block the anonymization or resource sharing loans, then anonymize faculty loans that have been completed for 14 days, and then anonymize all student loans.  If you were to move the resource sharing loan rule below the faculty rule, resource sharing loans to faculty would be anonymized, but resource sharing loans to students wouldn't be anonymized. 

6. Repeat steps 2-5 for fines and fees, requests, and resource sharing requests as necessary.