Guides: Alma & Primo VE Training: Creating Campus-Level Alma Training

Developing Campus Alma/Primo VE Training

As the SUNY Library Consortium implemented Alma and Primo VE, at least three different levels of training and documentation material was developed for staff. These SLS-developed training guides are intended to bring together all relevant information in one place, organized by functional area.

However, there will still be a need for campuses to develop some kind of local documentation and training, to record local practice and policy as well as document physical workflows and situations unique to each school.

When creating this campus-level training, it's helpful to remember that each level of training resource has its place:

Ex Libris materials are about the systems and focus on how they work together
SUNY documentation and presentations are about how SUNY is using the systems
Campus materials should be about the local practice and workflows of your own campus/libraries

Don’t reinvent the wheel – link out to SLS or Ex Libris content and let them maintain the step-by-step instructions. Copy or link to training guide pages, FAQs, or Ex Libris documentation for your own materials, or download and customize the generic training scripts below to develop your own training. Save your creation and maintenance energy for the details that can't be captured by either Ex Libris or SUNY support.

Local Training is About the Why

When you're creating technology documentation at the campus level, you'll be teaching participants about the institution as much as the system. Include details about historic local practices, idiosyncrasies in how departments or budgets are set up, or anything else that has an effect on how work is done.

That said, switching to a new system is an opportunity to stop doing things "the way they've always been done." Keep the training sessions focused on the new system, and provide non-training time to discuss policy, physical workflow, and job/duty changes.

Resources for Campus-Level Training

Developing Campus-Level Alma/Primo VE Training for Staff
Review of the tools, platforms, and resources available to campuses to train staff on Alma/Primo VE, whether it's new staff, staff in new roles, or refreshers. Walk through the Alma/Primo training guides and learn a few guidelines for constructing meaningful technology hands-on training for staff (and how it's different than bibliographic or research instruction). Presented by Jennifer Koerber (2020/02/12)
Using SLS Resources for Campus-level Training This link opens in a new window
A review of the SLS Alma training guides and new training scripts, and walk through how to successfully use these tools to develop local campus training, both online and in person. Includes a demo of Screencast-o-matic. Presented by Jennifer Koerber (5/20/20)

How to Create Alma/Primo Training
A "trainer's playbook" on developing and providing Alma training. Developed by Jennifer Koerber, May 2020. Visit her at www.jenniferkoerber.com.

Local/Campus Documentation and Training Examples
Index page to the Local/Campus Documentation and Training folder in SUNY HQ Basecamp.
CUNY Alma Trainer Resources
A list of resources developed for CUNY by Jennifer Koerber in Spring 2020.

Alma Training Videos (Harvard University Library)
Harvard University's Alma Training Videos, created in Fall 2018/Spring 2019.

"Generic" Training Scripts for Local Customization

Script - Intro to Alma & Basic Search
An introduction to Alma as a system, how it works, basic navigation, and basic search. Download and customize for local use. MS Word document developed Spring 2020 by Jennifer Koerber.
Script - Advanced Search & Managing Sets
Tips and strategies for getting the most out of advanced search in different functional area. Overview of logical and itemized sets, and how to use sets for work in Alma. Download and customize for local use. MS Word document developed Spring 2020 by Jennifer Koerber.
Script - Acquisitions
Covers the entire Acquisitions workflow, from pre-order searching to order maintenance and claims. Download and customize for local use. MS Word document developed Spring 2020 by Jennifer Koerber.
Script - Resource Management
An introduction to managing physical items, physical holdings, and all types of bibliographic records in Alma. Note that this script was intended for a single-day in-person training that was rescheduled due to the global pandemic. Download and customize for local use. MS Word document developed Spring 2020 by Maggie McGee.
Script - Fulfillment
Covers all aspects of Fulfillment - Circulation, Requests, Course Reserves - except Resource Sharing. Download and customize for local use. MS Word document developed Spring 2020 by Jennifer Koerber & Tim Jackson.
Script - Resource Sharing
Covers the entire lending and borrowing resource sharing transaction, as well as request maintenance. Download and customize for local use. MS Word document developed Spring 2020 by Tim Jackson.
Script - Planning & Running Jobs/Batch Updates
Discusses strategies for planning and testing jobs in Alma, and demonstrates two straightforward jobs. Download and customize for local use. MS Word document developed Spring 2020 by Jennifer Koerber.

Request Sandbox Access for Training

If you would like to use a SUNY Alma Sandbox as a training environment - to preserve your production environment - please fill out the form below. SLS will get back to you with login account information.

Copy and paste this into the question field: Requesting SUNY Sandbox Access for Training

Additional information: The type of training you're planning and/or the number of people you'd like access for

Topic: General