Managing User Groups and Campuses

What are Campuses and User Groups?

Both campus and user group are required fields in the user details section of our implementation of Alma.
Each user will have one user group and one campus assigned.

Campus

In general, we use the campus field to associate a patron with their home library. The campus codes are based on (and are often, but not always, identical to) the library codes we use in Alma.

We are using campus to:

• classify some user-related statistics
• define display logic and customize general electronic services (such as ILL/request form links)

The campus code and campus name are not directly viewable by the patron.

Campus codes usually correspond to the city that the library is located in (e.g., "COLLEGEPRK"), while the campus name will correspond to the library name (e.g., "Betty Petersen Memorial Library").

User Group

We use the user group field to associate a patron with a group of users that has certain privileges. Most often, those user groups are also based on the patron's home library.

We are using user group to:

• classify most user-related statistics
• define general lending and fulfillment privileges (e.g., over what period a time a patron can keep a book checked out before they must renew, or which patrons may check out books from certain locations)
• automatically display things like lending periods to users when they are logged in, as appropriate

Patrons can view their user group in their My Library Card page by logging in, going to view My Library Card, and clicking on the Personal Details tab. The user group is listed as Patron Group, near the top of the tab.

The default user group is "EMPLOYEE", but typically a user group affiliated with a particular campus will be assigned where possible.

How User Group Relates to Campus

In general, each campus will have one or more corresponding user groups.

Most libraries have a corresponding "Public" and "Staff" user group (with user group codes ending in "PUB" or "STAFF", respectively). In this case, "Staff" means library personnel (both federal and affiliate staff), and "Public" typically means non-library NOAA personnel (both federal and affiliate staff).

Some campuses will only have one user group (e.g., SILVERSPRGX, which has only a public user group because the library staff are all part of SILVERSPRG).

There are also a number of generic user groups not routinely affiliated with a particular campus. Some of these are role-based user groups, like ILL, EMPLOYEE, or LIBSTAFF. Others are legacy status-based user groups that are a holdover from Sirsi (e.g,. BINDERY, DISPLAY, and INTRANSIT). Status-based groups are no longer necessary and should never be assigned to accounts held by individuals.

It is possible for a patron to have a campus that does not correspond directly to their user group (e.g., a campus of SEATTLEREG but a user group in "Seattle NWFSC Public"). Typically, however, we would handle this by making sure that both campuses had the same rules/permissions where possible, since keeping the user group and campus aligned helps ensure greater precision in statistics.

User Group and Campus outside of Alma/Primo

One of the reasons we define new user groups and/or campuses is to more accurately pinpoint and troubleshoot which users are entitled to access to which resources. Because of this, user groups may be useful in troubleshooting access to electronic resources.

User groups and campus information (or at least their precursor fields) are used in Open Athens to help identify the appropriate permission sets for each user.

We also assign user groups and campus through the patron load, so they are encoded into the patron load script.

When do we need to create a new campus or user group?

We should create a new campus when:

• we have a new library
• a group of existing library patrons needs to be split to delineate different access needs, especially if:
  • they need to be directed to different forms for access to services or resources
  • they have different entitlements and user group alone will not cover the statistical needs

Campuses are closely related to assignable patron groups in the patron load, so there may also be times when it makes sense to create a new campus if a new patron group will be assigned by the patron load script.

We should create a new user group when:

• we have a group of patrons that have permissions and/or entitlements distinct from other patron groups
• we have a group of patrons that should be completely separate from other patron groups for statistical purposes, which we cannot easily capture with other statistical fields

Where to Update when Making Changes to Campus and/or User Groups

How to Create a New Campus or User Group

To edit or add new campus and user group values, you must have the General System Administrator permission in Alma.

All of the following steps are done from the Configuration menus in Alma. Make sure that Configuring: NOAA Library and Info Services (the institutional-level location) is selected from the dropdown at the top of the Configuration screen for all following steps (otherwise some menu options may not be visible.)

Campus

Notes:

• If the new campus will be associated with a top-level (physical) library location, we should create the new library first
  • General > Libraries > Add a Library or Edit Library Information > Libraries tab
• We can optionally add Libraries Served to each campus, but because we do not manage IP addresses in Alma, we do not have any features that would require a campus to have any Libraries Served
• Each library can be associated with only one campus at a time, but each campus may have multiple Libraries Served

To add a new campus:

1. In Configuration, go to General > Libraries > Define Campuses
2. Click Add Campus at the top of the campus list
   1. Fill out the following information:
      • Code: a unique code for the campus; typically all caps, short, and memorable, with no spaces
      • Name: the display name for the campus. May be used in dropdowns and displays instead of the code
      • Description: the full name for the campus/library, as well as any brief explanatory notes necessary (e.g., alternate names)
   2. Leave proxy blank
   3. Click Add and Close
3. (Optional) If there is a library location that should be associated with this campus:
   1. Click on the campus code in the campus list
   2. Select the Served Libraries tab
   3. Click Attach Library and select a library from the dropdown
      (Note that each library may only be associated with one campus, but a campus can have multiple libraries)
   4. Click Save to finalize the changes

User Group

Step One: Creating the User Group

1. In Configuration, go to Fulfillment > Patron Configurations > User Groups
2. Click Add Row
   1. Enter the following data:
      • Code: a short, unique descriptive code for the user group. All caps, no spaces.
      • Description: the display name for the user group. This will be shown in most dropdowns and will display to the patron from the Personal Details screen of My Library Card.
      • Default Value: no
   2. Click Add Row
3. Click Save at the top of the page to finalize the changes

Step Two: Update related tables in Alma

User Record Type/User Group

The user record type/user group table controls which record types can be created with which user groups. New user groups must be added here so that they can be added to user records of the appropriate record types.

All user groups automatically assigned to patrons must have the Public type selected, because all records come in as the Public type through the patron load. We typically also add Staff to all patron user groups for the sake of compatibility. We do not usually add new user groups that are to be assigned to Contact or Organization records (these are used for Electronic Resources and are not for logging in or circulating materials).

1. From Configuration, go to User Management > User Record Type/User Group
2. Click Add Row
   1. Fill out the following information from the dropdown menus:
      • User Group: the display name of the new user group
      • User Record Type: Staff
      • User Record Type: Public
      • User Record Type: [blank]
   2. Click the Add Row button
3. Click Save to finalize the changes

Fulfillment Unit Rules

If the user group is allowed to check out materials, they must be added to the appropriate Fulfillment Unit Rules for each fulfillment unit. Otherwise, they will not be allowed to borrow any materials.

Typically, most patron-load-assigned user groups will be in the "Employee" (non-library NOAA personnel) fulfillment rules.

If a user group has its own new policies, those policies should be created before editing the fulfillment unit rules. In most cases, new user groups should use existing policies (where possible).

To edit the rules:

1. In Configuration, go to Fulfillment > Physical Fulfillment > Fulfillment Units
2. For each fulfillment unit:
   1. Click on the Unit Code name (hyperlinked) to edit the Fulfillment Unit
   2. Select the Fulfillment Unit Rules tab
   3. In the Rule Type dropdown, select Loan
      1. Identify the appropriate rule[s] in the list (e.g., "1 Month Employee"). You will not need to edit any rules that are not enabled.
      2. For each rule that should be edited, click on the corresponding [...] More Actions menu button (not the Rule Name), and select Edit:
         1. In the Input Parameters section, click the  [...] More Actions menu button for User Group and select Edit
         2. Click in the Value box and select the new user group
         3. Click Save to finalize the change to the values.
      3. Click Save to update the rule.
   4. In the Rule Type dropdown, select Request and identify any appropriate rules (there may be none).
      Note that although Request rules may have the same names as Loan rules, they are still edited separately.
      Repeat all steps from step c ("Loan").
   5. In the Rule Type dropdown, select Booking and identify any appropriate rules (there may be none).
      Note that although Booking rules may have the same names as Loan or Request rules, they are still edited separately.
      Repeat all steps from step c ("Loan").
   6. Click Save to finalize the changes to the fulfillment unit
3. Don't forget to review each rule type (Loan, Request, and Booking) in each Fulfillment Unit (General, Short Loan, Media, and Closed)