WRLC Retention

Processes a user-uploaded CSV of barcodes to bulk add or remove WRLC retention commitments across institutions, then emails a summary of results.

At a glance

• Status: Active

• Applies consortium-wide?: Yes — processes barcodes across multiple Alma Institution Zones via subworkflows

• Runs on: Alma Institution Zones (via Network routing in subworkflows)

• Trigger: Manual form submission with CSV upload

• Primary outcome: Bulk adds or removes WRLC retention flags on item records.

• Who receives results: The email address provided in the form submission.

Why this exists

WRLC retention commitments must be applied or removed at scale when retention decisions change. Performing this manually in Alma would require record-by-record updates across multiple institutions.

This workflow enables controlled bulk processing by:

• Accepting a structured CSV upload

• Confirming the number of records before execution

• Calling standardized subworkflows for each barcode

• Emailing a clear results summary

It centralizes retention management while preserving audit visibility.

What it does

• Presents a web form allowing staff to:

  • Choose Add WRLC Retention or Remove WRLC Retention

  • Upload a CSV file (maximum 4,000 barcodes)

  • Provide an email address for results

• Counts rows in the uploaded file.

• Displays a confirmation screen showing:

  • Number of barcodes detected

  • Whether retention will be added or removed

• After confirmation:

  • Processes each row individually.

  • Calls the appropriate subworkflow:

    • Subworkflow – Add WRLC Retention

    • Subworkflow – Remove WRLC Retention

• Aggregates results (successes and errors).

• Sends a formatted summary email.

Where it runs

• Alma IZ(s):

  • Dynamically determined per row using the “Institution Code” column in the CSV.

• Systems touched:

  • Alma APIs (via subworkflows)

  • Email (sent from reports@wrlc.org)

• Reports / queries used: None

How it works

Logic overview

1. Form Submission

The workflow begins with a form requiring:

• Dropdown selection:

  • Add WRLC Retention

  • Remove WRLC Retention

• CSV upload (must contain ≤ 4,000 rows)

• Email address

Required CSV format:

⚠️ The workflow does not validate header names; it assumes:

• First row is header.

• First column = Barcode.

• Second column = Institution Code.

2. Row Counting & Review Step

Before processing:

• The uploaded file is decoded from base64.

• Blank lines are removed.

• Header row is subtracted from count.

• A confirmation screen displays:

  • Number of barcodes detected.

  • Whether retention will be added or removed.

This confirmation step prevents accidental bulk updates.

3. Branch Based on User Selection

An If node evaluates the dropdown choice:

• If Add WRLC Retention → calls:

  • Subworkflow – Add WRLC Retention

• Otherwise → calls:

  • Subworkflow – Remove WRLC Retention

Each CSV row triggers one subworkflow execution (mode: each).

⚠️ Errors are set to continueRegularOutput, meaning:

• Processing continues even if some rows fail.

• Failures are captured and summarized later.

4. Subworkflow Processing

Each row:

• Routes to the correct Institution Zone.

• Retrieves the item by barcode.

• Adds or removes WRLC retention fields.

• Returns success or error information.

(Full logic documented in the respective subworkflow entries, Add WRLC Retention and Remove WRLC Retention)

5. Aggregate Results

After all rows are processed:

The Summarize results node:

• Counts total processed rows.

• Counts successful updates.

• Collects error details.

• Attempts multiple barcode fallbacks:

  • _inputBarcode

  • item_data.barcode

  • Barcode

Errors are retained even if barcode is missing.

6. Email Results

Sends an HTML-formatted email containing:

• Total processed

• Successful updates

• Error count

• Detailed error list (if any)

From address: reports@wrlc.org
Recipient: Email provided in form

If results exist

• Each barcode is processed independently.

• Successful updates are counted.

• Errors are listed individually.

• User receives detailed summary email.

If no results

• If file contains zero data rows:

  • Processing completes immediately.

  • Email reflects zero processed.

• If all rows fail:

  • Email lists all errors.

• Workflow does not halt due to individual row failures.

Artifacts produced

• Updated Alma item records (via subworkflows).

• Summary email to submitting user.

• No files, sets, or spreadsheets are created.