[opal_migration_leads] Guidance Regarding Alma IT Integrations for Patron Load & Authentication

[Heidi Beke-Harrigan]

Hello,

There have been several questions about Friday's email from Theda at OhioLINK about Alma IT Integrations for Patron Load & Authentication. These are two related, but separate processes. We're sharing some additional context below to clarify what this means for OPAL libraries and to help guide conversations with your IT departments. The Alma Library Mobile App is a separate configuration that will take place after the Go-Live date next summer.

1. Patron loads & updates from your campus Student Information System (SIS) to Alma

SIS load stands for Student Information System and is Ex Libris' term for what we currently call patron loads (a data file from your campus systems that we at OhioNet load into Sierra to create or update your patron records). These are referred to as "External Records" in the Alma user management documentation. Using SIS load is entirely optional. You will want to review the documentation and consult with your IT department and other stakeholders to determine if it makes sense for your situation.

The other option is to manually create user records in Alma (what they refer to as "Internal" patron records). If you only need to manage a small number of patron records or already use this approach, it continues to be available. Internal users are then authenticated using an email-based login.

If you want to use SIS load:

  *   Your IT department may configure the process to load and update user/patron information from your institution's campus system into Alma using an XML file as outlined in the OhioLINK/Ex Libris documentation and timeline of tasks. Choose this option if your institution would like to directly manage the loads or anticipates frequent changes in patron data parameters.
  *   OR we can continue to load the patron data you or your IT already submit on a regular basis. That means we will take care of translating it from its current format into the Ex Libris XML format, map any values from the Sierra values to their Alma counterparts, and configure Alma to load the data. You will need to let us know if there are any changes to your patron load profiles.
  *   If you do not currently submit patron data but would like to use SIS load with Alma, you can also work with us directly to establish an automated process to extract delimited text files from your campus system and make them available by SFTP.


2. The process to authenticate users/patrons to the Alma system.

  *   Authentication is how users sign into Alma and Primo to access their library account, place requests for library material, or access electronic resources. Alma integrates with several federated authentication options, including LDAP and single sign on protocols (SSO) such as SAML, CAS, and OpenID Connect. IT departments will be able to configure authentication of patrons in Alma and Primo according to your campus authentication process.
  *   Patron records maintained manually are authenticated using email-based logins and passwords, which are stored in the Ex Libris Identity Service.
  *   Off-campus access to resources will continue to be authenticated using the proxy. If your campus user/patron authentication process changes let us know so that we can review your proxy configuration and make any necessary adjustments.

Hopefully, this clarifies the variety of available options to meet your needs and the opportunity to choose what will work best for your campus. If you or your IT team have any questions, please reach out to us.

Best,
Heidi

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Heidi Beke-Harrigan, MLS, CPL
Library Operations Analyst
OhioNet | Suite 275 | 570 Polaris Parkway
Westerville, Ohio 43082
p: (614) 484-1068 | https://www.ohionet.org<https://www.ohionet.org/>
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