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Alma Front Desk Training

A guide for training Law Library staff on Alma tasks commonly performed at the front desk.

Accessing Alma

Accessing Alma

Alma is the behind-the-scenes or staff portion of the catalog (as opposed to Primo, the online patron catalog). This is what you will use for all circulation functions. Anything that you previously did in Symphony Workflows will now be done in Alma.

Alma is cloud-based, meaning you access it via an internet browser rather than software downloaded to your computer.

To login:

Wait... where's circulation?

When you log in to Alma, you'll see a menu down the left side of your screen, but none of these say Circulation, Access Services, Checkout, or any other typical terminology for circulation tasks. That's because in Alma, circulation = Fulfillment. 

Also note that Alma sometimes uses the term Users instead of Patrons.

Setting Your Location

Setting Your Location

After logging into Alma, you'll have to set your location first before you can perform any tasks:

  • Click on the location icon in the task bar. It's located in the upper right-hand corner of your screen.

     
  • This will bring up a sidebar. Select Law Library - Law Library Circ Desk from the drop-down menu that appears in the sidebar.

     
  • The sidebar will disappear after you make your selection. Click on the location icon again, then select the box next to Always show current location.

Once you have selected your location the first time, it should be saved the next time you log in. You shouldn't have to select it every time.

Creating a Bookmark or Shortcut to Alma

Creating a Bookmark or Shortcut to Alma

Since Alma is not a software program installed on the computer, to quickly and easily access it, you'll need to make sure the computer you're using has a bookmark and/or desktop shortcut to our Alma website.

To create a bookmark:

  • Navigate to Alma in a browser and create a bookmark.
  • Edit the bookmark.
  • Copy this URL: https://nccentral.alma.exlibrisgroup.com/SAML and paste it into the URL field. You must do this additional step. If you just bookmark the page once you're logged in, when you use this bookmark it will not prompt you to authenticate with your NCCU credentials.
  • Then, to access Alma, open this same browser, then click the bookmark.

To create a desktop shortcut:

  • Right click on your desktop
  • Go to New > Shortcut
  • Paste https://nccentral.alma.exlibrisgroup.com/SAML into the field labeled "Type the location of the item:"
  • Click Next
  • In the "Type a name for this shortcut" field, delete New Internet Shortcut and type Alma in its place.
  • Click Finish.
  • Then, to access Alma, double click the Alma icon on your desktop.

Required Roles

Required Roles

  • The options available on the left side of your screen and under each of these menus are dependent upon your assigned user roles. Your list of options may be different than the screenshots included in this LibGuide. If you can't do something that you need to do in Alma, ask Sam to adjust your roles. 
  • To complete Fulfillment tasks outlined in this document, you must have one or more of the following roles:
    • Circulation Desk Manager
    • Circulation Desk Operator
    • Circulation Desk Operator - Limited

Now you are ready to perform basic circulation duties or FULFILLMENT duties are they are called in Alma.

Primo VE Links

Primo VE Links

Primo VE, sometimes shortened to just "Primo," is name for the public-facing catalog created by Alma.