| Term in Alma | Definition |
|---|---|
|
Circulation Desk |
Location selected in Alma where circulation or fulfillment activities are handled. Often associated with a physical location. |
| Claimed Return | Items that were checked out by a patron and the patron claims they have returned the items, but they are still showing as checked out to and are not found in the library. Read about how to change an item's status to Claimed Return here. |
| Community Zone (CZ) | A shared catalog of electronic resource records that are updated and maintained by Ex Libris or any Alma user around the world. If NCCU has access to an electronic resource in the CZ, we can activate it from there and use its bibliographic record in our Institution Zone catalog. A search in the CZ will return results for resources that our patrons do not have access to. If you want to search the CZ, make sure to (1) set your search type to "All Titles" and (2) select the Community Zone icon in the persistent search bar.  |
| Discovery | The interface that allows a patron to find records and inventory from the library. This is the public library catalog, also referred to as Primo. |
| Found Item | An item that was marked Claimed Returned or Lost and has been found either by the patron or staff. Read about how to change an item's status to Found here. |
| Fulfillment | Processes by which patrons borrow and return physical resources, or access electronic or digital resources. Remember that in Alma, circulation = fulfillment. |
| Institution Zone (IZ) |
The library's local inventory, including items, holdings, portfolios, and orders. If you want to search for items in NCCU's collections, make sure to (1) set your search type to "All Titles" and (2) select the Institution Zone icon in the persistent search bar.
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| Item in Place | The item is in place on its shelf (AKA, it is available for checkout). |
| Item Not in Place | The item is not on its shelf (AKA, it may not be available for checkout). The item is recorded as being somewhere else (i.e., on loan, lost, being processed, etc.). |
| Lost | Items that were checked out by a patron and are either extremely overdue (and assumed lost), or were declared lost by the patron. Read about how to change an item's status to Lost here. |
| Missing | Missing items were not checked out by a patron. They are supposed to be in place on the shelf and are not. |
| Network Zone (NZ) |
Includes items owned by NCCU AND items owned by libraries in our consortium. If a patron is interested in an item that we don't own, you can search for the item in the NZ by (1) setting your search type to "All Titles" and (2) selecting the Network Zone icon in the persistent search bar.
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| Operator | Staff member who performed/performs a task in Alma. |
| Persistent Search Box | A search box consisting of simple and advanced search options. This search box is available from any page in Alma and is located at the top of the screen. |
| Physical Titles (Searching in Alma) | Performing a Physical Titles search in Alma will search all indexed fields from records designated as physical (i.e., physical books). |
| Primo/Primo VE | Ex Libris's discovery system for patrons. It is a single search interface that allows users to search through all of the library's resources, including journal articles and print and electronic collections. |
| Resource Type | Describes the format of an item. A resource is physical, electronic, or digital. |
| User | A person with an Alma user account. In Alma, patron = User. |
| User Roles | Determine the privileges that a user has to work in Alma. A user's roles determine user access to certain pages, fields, and functions in Alma. |
Attribution: Much of the content on this page was taken or adapted from a number of Alma Glossaries: Vanderbilt University, Grasselli Library & Breen Learning Center, and University of Georgia Libraries.
