Primo VE Environments Released

December 4, 2019

CARLI is pleased to announce that the Primo VE discovery interface environments are now available for testing.  Primo VE is the discovery service that Ex Libris is providing with Alma. Primo VE will completely replace New VuFind, VuFind 0.6, and WebVoyage when we go live on Alma in June 2020. Please share the following information with staff at your library so that they can begin learning about and testing Primo VE.

Your institution’s Primo VE discovery interface can be found at:

https://i-share-xxx.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?vid=01CARLI_XXX:CARLI_XXX

where xxx is your institution’s three-letter I-Share code in lowercase
and
where XXX is your institution’s three-letter I-Share code in UPPERCASE

What can be searched in Primo VE?

In the search box, all institutions will have slot options for:

1. Library Catalog – searches all physical/print and electronic records in your Institution Zone (IZ)
2. All I-Share Libraries – searches all physical/print and electronic records in your IZ; and all physical/print records in the CARLI Network Zone (NZ); and all physical/print records in any other I-Share institution’s IZ (whether or not those records are linked to NZ)
   These two search slots are required for all I-Share institutions. You are free to change the name “Library Catalog” to another name of your choice; please do not change the name “All I-Share Libraries”.
   Some institutions requested and will see search box slot options for Course Reserves and/or the EBSCO and WorldCat API-based searches if the appropriate credentials and database codes were provided on the Alma Configuration Form:
3. Course Reserves – searches within this profile include all records that are linked to an active course in Alma
4. EBSCO API Databases – searches your institution’s configured EBSCO databases; you must be signed in or on campus to see results; these should not include the databases purchased by CARLI for all institutions as those are to be managed in the Network Zone
5. WorldCat API – searches WorldCat
   These three search slots are optional and may be activated or deactivated at any time.  You may change the names if desired. If you did not provide the appropriate credentials before, they can be added now or later.

At present, no institutions will have search box slot options for the following two Central Discovery Index-based searches:

• Everything - Local data and Central Index
• Articles - Central Index only

The new Central Discovery Index, which will include e-resource packages and authority records, is new for all Alma customers and will not be available until February 2020. Ex Libris staff will enable these two optional search slots when the new Central Discovery Index becomes available, and CARLI will notify you of this change.

Documentation and Other Resources

CARLI has gathered helpful links to Primo VE documentation, training videos, and information on our Primo VE Resources webpage.

Initial Customizations to the Primo VE Interface

In most cases, Ex Libris staff set up your institution’s Primo VE interface to display according to the choices that were submitted on your Alma Configuration Form.  If no specific choices were made, defaults were applied.  Almost all display options are changeable and customizable in Alma Configuration by a user with the Discovery Admin role.

Logging In to Primo VE

During this testing phase, all library staff users that have been toggled to “Internal” can log into Primo VE with the same User Name and Password that they use to log into Alma because all staff users should also have the Patron role.  Click on the “Sign In” link in the upper right corner in Primo VE to log in.  Users can review the details of their account—called My Library Card in Primo VE—including checked out items, requested items, fines/fees, blocks, favorites, and saved searches.

Requesting in Primo VE

At this time, you should limit your testing to requesting items at your own institution.  CARLI and Ex Libris are currently in the process of setting up the Automated Fulfillment Network (AFN), which will allow users at your institution to request items from other I-Share Libraries and for users at those other institutions to request your institution’s items.  Until this AFN configuration has been completed for all 91 I-Share institutions, requesting between institutions may not work as expected.  CARLI will notify all institutions when it is appropriate to test cross-institution requesting.

If you have any questions or concerns, contact CARLI Support. Thank you!