Library Answers: Los Rios Common Questions

We find that occasionally there are user records with unique identifiers, but common user names and contact information. This seems to result from human error in the student account verification process during enrollment. A second wID is assigned to a student in PeopleSoft, and a second user record is created in Alma. We can identify these accounts in Alma by locating accounts that have a common first name, last name, and email address. 

System librarians can use the Merge Users job in Alma to cleanup these duplicate records.

Identify Duplicate User Records

1. In Alma, visit the User Dashboard and go to the User Troubleshooting tab.
2. Look for the table called Duplicate users (based on first name, last name, email) and export the results.
3. Create two columns for primary identifiers labeled From and To
4. For each user, search Users by email address to find all associated user records.
5. In the From column, enter the primary identifier for the user record with the older expiration date.
6. In the To column, enter the primary identifier for the user record with the more recent expiration date.

Merge User Records

1. In Alma, go to Admin > Merge Users
2. Select Add Job
3. Enter the value from the From column in the From User field. This record will be deleted after the Merge Users job runs.
4. Enter the value from the To column in the To User field. This record will be retained after the Merge Users job runs.
5. Choose the following segments to be copied to the user record
   • Statistics
   • Notes
   • Attachments
   • Blocks
     
     
      
6. Select Merge and confirm to run the job
7. Repeat for all duplicate user records.

The Merge Users job creates a note in the retained user record that includes details of the merge, including the second primary identifier.