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Linked Patron Accounts

Patron linked accounts can be updated in several ways.

    1. If a patron renews an item on loan from partner institution, the patron's expiry date will automatically be updated to match the expiry date at the home institution.
    2. If a patron requests a new item from a partner institution, the patron's expiry date will automatically be updated to match the expiry date at the home institution.
    3. A staff member can manually force an update to a linked patron's expiry date by using "Manage Patron Services". 

                 Fulfillment  --> Checkout/Checkin  -->  Manage Patron Services  -->  Patron Services page

        • Select "Find user in other institution", select the appropriate institution.
        •  Scan patron's ID or search for patron and select appropriate one.
        • "Find User"  (This will force an update to the patron's linked account.     

     

    How Linked Patron Accounts are configured

     

    Linked Account Rules (Institution Zone)

     

    Each institution in the WRLC network has configured a WRLC Fulfillment Network Patron linked account rule in their Institution Zone (minus Catholic University Law school, which does not borrow nor lend using the WRLC AFN).

    Below are the recommended configurations for the WRLC Fulfillment Network Patron linked account rule, found in

    Configuration > User Management > Collaborative Networks > Linked Account Rules

    Screenshot 2026-01-29 100333.png

      Input Parameters
        Name = Source Institution Operator = In List Value = all institutions in the WRLC Network except for Catholic Law Output Parameters
          User Group = wrlc user Expiry Date = NULL Expiry from Source = Same as in source

          Copies Expiry Date from the patron account in the patron's Home Institution

              Refresh Expiry Date = Yes

              When set to 'Yes', the corresponding date is recalculated each time the linked record is refreshed from the source institution

                  Purge Date = NULL Purge After Expired = One month after expiration

                  The above sets the Purge Date; the account will only be purged if the 'Purge User Records' job is run 

                      Refresh Purge Date = Yes

                      When set to 'Yes', the corresponding date is recalculated each time the linked record is refreshed from the source institution

                          Resource Sharing Library = [your institution's resource sharing library] Copy Network Blocks = Yes

                          When set to 'Yes', Alma will delete all the current network blocks that exist on the linked account and re-create them each time the linked record is refreshed. Blocks can only be placed on linked accounts if they are configured in the User Block Definitions and User Block Descriptions section.

                           

                          For more information, please see the Configuring Linked Account Rules page on the Alma Knowledgebase.

                           

                          Linked Account Shared Fields (Network Zone)


                          The configuration that determines which fields in the user account are shared in linked accounts is managed in the WRLC Network Zone. Below is the current configuration.

                           

                          Field Name Shared First Name True Middle Name True Last Name True Pin Number False Job Title True Job Description True Preferred Language True Birth Date True  Expiry Date True Purge Date True Email List True Address List False Phone List False Preferred First Name True Preferred Middle Name True Preferred Last Name True

                           

                          For more information, please see the Configuring Linked Account Shared Fields page on the Alma Knowledgebase.