Booking request creation

Basic process and common errors for patron-created requests in Primo and staff-created requests in Alma.

as of 18 September 2025; Primo portions assume use of VE original UI, not NDE UI

Patron-created requests

Basic process in Primo

Navigate to an equipment record in HoyaSearch (Primo)

Patron needs to log in, if they haven't already

Click on the Georgetown Request link

Select the dates/times desired

• for equipment items, select the date range desired, up to three days
• for studios, select the date and times for the reservation, up to 3 hours

Click the Send Request button

If it worked, they'll receive the message, "Your request was successfully placed."

If a patron wants to use multiple pieces of equipment, yes, they have to place a separate request on each piece of equipment.

Common problems/errors

No items can fulfill the submitted request.

This usually means the date range selected is too long. The system is very pedantic about date selection, so "three days" means the 14th to the 16th, for example.

This could also mean that all items are already booked for some portion of the date range selected. The patron can use the "Check Availability" link to see if part of the desired date range is blocked off as unavailable.

Request conflicts were found.

Some portion of the request conflicts with other requests already in the system. The patron can use the "Check Availability" link to see if part of the desired date range is blocked off as unavailable and adjust their request accordingly.

Note for Digital Media Studios: There needs to be a 30-minute buffer between reservations. This allows patrons time to get back up to the circulation desk and return the key without penalizing someone who will be using the room immediately afterward. So if there’s a reservation ending at noon, the next reservation can’t start until 12:30 p.m. Unfortunately this isn’t reflected on the availability calendar, so it can be confusing.

Please fill in the following mandatory fields to proceed: You must select time slot

[Digital Media Studios only] Either the Date, Hour, or Minutes fields were left empty. All three elements, date, hour, and minute, must be selected for both the Reservation Start and the Reservation End to define the desired reservation time. Depending on the size of the browser/screen, the Minute drop-down box may not be visible until after the Hour is selected because the submission form doesn't adjust well to some screen sizes.

The resource cannot be booked while the library is closed.

[Digital Media Studios only] The times selected are outside of the Service Desk hours; the studios can only be reserved when the Service Desk is open. Patrons can use the "Check Availability Calendar" link to see available times on the desired date.

Staff-created requests

Basic process in Alma

1. Perform a title search (All Titles or Physical Titles) in Alma

2. Click the three dots button and select Request

3. In the Request Type dropdown list, choose "Booking Request"

4. Fill in the "Requester", "Date Range", and "Pickup At" fields

5. NOTE: You can override the future limit and maximum allowed booking length by clicking the "Override Booking Policies" checkbox.

6. Click Submit

7. You should be taken back to your search results and see a green popup message "The request was successfully submitted : request id = [long string of numbers]".

If a patron wants to use multiple pieces of equipment, yes, you have to place a separate request on each piece of equipment.

Common problems/errors

No items available for the request due to policy.

Some portion of the request contradicts what's allowed in the Alma terms of use (e.g. how long the booking will last).

If that's the desired outcome, check the "Override Booking Policies" checkbox to proceed with placing the request.

Request conflicts were found.

Some portion of the request conflicts with other requests already in the system. You need to adjust the request dates to avoid the conflict.

Note: Cindy has encountered at least one example where this message appeared even though there were no apparent conflicts, so there may be something in the settings that needs additional refinement? In that case, use the "Override Booking Policies" checkbox to proceed with the new request, if able, then alert AlmaHelp of the issue and provide the new request ID so the "conflict" can be investigated.