Load Process
DETAILED OVERVIEW OF THE ENTIRE PATRON LOAD PROCESS
This is a detailed overview of the complete load process from beginning to end, to give you a good idea of what is happening when you initiate a patron load. The exact workflow for staff to initiate a patron load is detailed in the next section on the navigation menu, entitled "Load Instructions"
How does the Load Process Work?
Step 1:
The Data File
It starts at your institution, where the SIF file is generated from Banner and uploaded to the GIL SFTP server. It is best if this is automatically scheduled to run, but if that isn't possible, you can log in to the GIL SFTP server and place the patron data file manually.
Step 2:
Other Files
Some institutions also provide a ‘barcode’ file that maps a barcode to patrons based on their institutional IDs. Placing this file alongside the patron data file on the SFTP server will enable this additional processing step.
Additionally, if you want to set an expiration date for all patrons in the file, another file should be placed on the SFTP server with a simple date (e.g. 2017-09-01). More on this later in the Expiring Patrons section.
Step 3:
GIL Processing
GIL’s scripts will extract patron data from the file, set any additional provided data, and generate Alma User XML for each patron. User groups (e.g. UNDERGRAD, GRADUATE) from the patron data file will be mapped into Alma-ready values according to an institution-specific mapping.
Once complete, notification emails are sent that the Alma XML file has been sent on its way to Alma.
Step 4:
Alma Ingest
Alma, on schedule, will look for any available files from the SIS integration. If any are found, a job will be run to import the file and create new patrons or update those already existing.
Only users flagged as type EXTERNAL will be updated by the Patron Load process. If a patron in the data file matches with an INTERNAL Alma user, the data will be rejected from the patron load.
How is this Different from the Voyager Patron Load Process?
There will be no more uploading of patron files via the web form. GIL Staff have worked with the goal of automating this Integration as much as possible. Patron data files will be placed on our GIL SFTP server, processed and imported into Alma according to a regular schedule. Alma does not automatically generate PDF reports upon completion of the patron load job. Instead, reports from these imports are view-able through the Alma Job History interface, provided you have the “General System Administrator” role.