Reassign WRLC Retention Form

At a glance

• Status: Active
• Environment / Tags: Live
• Applies consortium-wide?: Yes
• Runs on: The Alma Institution Zone associated with the staff member submitting the form
• Trigger: An authenticated staff member submits the “Reassign WRLC Retention” form
• Primary outcome: Reassigns a WRLC Retention commitment from a scanned item to another eligible consortium copy
• Who receives results: The staff member who submitted the form sees the result directly in the form

Why this exists

When a library can no longer retain the copy originally committed for WRLC Retention, the retention commitment may need to be transferred to another eligible copy in the consortium. This form gives staff a straightforward way to initiate that reassignment by entering the original item’s barcode.

The workflow verifies that the barcode belongs to an existing item and that the item is currently marked for WRLC Retention before attempting any changes. It then reports clearly whether the reassignment succeeded or why it could not be completed.

What it does

• Presents an authenticated form requiring the barcode of the item whose retention commitment should be reassigned.
• Uses the authenticated staff member’s institution code as the owner_of_item_code, identifying the Alma Institution Zone in which the submitted barcode should be found.
• Sends the barcode and institution code to the Look up consortial item by barcode subworkflow.
• Checks whether the barcode was found in the submitting institution’s Alma IZ.
• Stops and displays a Barcode Not Found message if no matching item exists in that IZ.
• Checks whether the item’s retention reason is exactly WRLC Retention.
• Stops and displays a Not a Retention Item message if the item is not currently committed for WRLC Retention.
• Sends eligible items to the Reassign WRLC Retention subworkflow, which attempts to transfer the retention commitment to another qualifying consortium copy.
• Displays a success message, including the submitted barcode and reassignment details, when the retention commitment is transferred.
• Displays an error message with the barcode, title, and returned status when the reassignment cannot be completed.

Where it runs

• Alma IZ(s): The submitting staff member’s institution is identified dynamically through Alma authentication. The workflow is not limited to a single named IZ.
• Systems touched:
  • LibOW’s authenticated web form
  • The WRLC Institution Information data table
  • The Look up consortial item by barcode subworkflow
  • The Reassign WRLC Retention subworkflow
  • Alma services used by those subworkflows
• Reports / queries used: None

How it works

Logic overview

1. A staff member signs in through Alma authentication and submits an item barcode.
2. The workflow captures the barcode and the institution code supplied by the authentication session.
3. The consortial-item lookup subworkflow retrieves information about the submitted item.
4. The workflow routes the result into one of three paths:
   • Barcode not found: It looks up the institution’s display name in the WRLC Institution Information data table and tells the user that the barcode was not found in that Institution Zone.
   • Item is not marked for WRLC Retention: It displays the item’s barcode, title, current retention status, and retention reason without making a change.
   • Eligible retention item: It calls the retention-reassignment subworkflow.
5. After the reassignment attempt, the workflow examines the returned reassign_retention_status.
6. A status beginning with “Retention reassigned to item” produces a success confirmation. Any other status produces an error response explaining that retention was not reassigned.

• If results exist: The workflow verifies the item’s retention reason and, when eligible, attempts to reassign its WRLC Retention commitment.
• If no results exist: The workflow stops without making changes and tells the user that the barcode was not found in the submitting institution’s Alma IZ.
• If the item is not a WRLC Retention item: The workflow stops without making changes and shows the item’s current retention information.
• If reassignment fails: The workflow displays the status returned by the reassignment subworkflow along with the item’s barcode and title.

Artifacts produced: The workflow produces an on-screen success or error response for the form submitter.