Introduction to User Management

Managing user often involves creating, editing, and deleting users within Alma. Additional user management tasks involve running bulk operations on user records. Library staff's ability to carry out user management tasks depending on the roles they are assigned by Alma Administrators. 

User Management

View the following Essentials videos on Alma's User Management. The videos provide an overview of the users in general, user roles, automatic user role generation, workflows, and user bulk updates.

User Account Types (Internal, External)

For Circulation staff, an important component to understanding Alma / Primo VE are the two User account types:

• Internal - Managed in Alma
  • All fields can be edited in Alma
  • The patron may be able to use Alma for authentication (login/password) as well as or instead of Single Sign On
  • This is the expected type for records that are:
    • migrated from Sirsi
    • ILL records or other records created by library staff in Alma
    • records for anyone who doesn't have a noaa.gov email address
    • records for library staff who have user roles other than "Patron" in Alma
• External -  Managed in Another System (Patron Load)
  • Some fields can always be edited manually in Alma (like User Group, Campus, Preferred names, blocks, and notes)
  • Many fields are grayed out and do not allow editing by default
    • We can use the Open for Update button to edit these fields if we need to
    • Edits in these fields may be overlaid by future Patron Load updates
  • Accounts do not have username/password logins, but typically log in through SSO.
  • This is the expected type for records that are:
    • created by the patron load using data from the NOAA staff directory

Unlike internal users, External Users and their metadata are loaded into Alma from an external system via a manual import or through a synchronized process on a regular basis. NOAA personnel who did not have accounts in Sirsi will typically have External records.

(In Sirsi, all user accounts were manually created and managed in Sirsi, and there were no External records.  We now import External records into Alma for NOAA personnel using the Patron Load process, as of September 2022.)

Getting to Know Alma Training (User Management) 

• Learn how to create and edit users in Alma, and assign them roles and privileges (20 mins.).
• Video and print outs of training available.

Getting Started with Alma

Ex Libris provides training videos and documentation for Alma through their Knowledge Center. This information will be useful during and after the migration. If a video will not play for you, please see the accompanying text-based handout. ​​​​​​

• Getting to Know Alma

  "Orientation" series includes short videos with total running time of 15-16 minutes. At the end of the two searching videos, there is a handout of the last video. Other videos are arranged by topic and are more detailed for each area; running times are listed.

• Alma Essentials

  Includes videos, terminology/documentation, and links to specific sub-topics which are quite detailed. If you've already watched "Getting to Know" series, you can start with "Navigating in Alma" rather than the orientation.

• Alma LibGuide from ExLibris

  A LibGuide from Ex Libris with links to videos, documents, updates, etc.

• Product Documentation

  Detailed documentation for each functional area, etc.

Some NOAA staff have having issues viewing some videos while on NOAA ERAV VPN. If you are a NOAA ERAV VPN and unable to view a video please try doing so while not on VPN.