Patrons will want to login to OneSearch to:

• view or renew their checkouts
• place a hold / request an item from LINX or other print collections
• see loan terms for their specific patron user group (for example, 16 weeks)
• save favorites and searches
• set up alerts for new materials
• see some results in OneSeach only available to logged-in users
• see some links in OneSearch (such as ILLIad links) only available to logged-in users

 Alma requires a current, non-expired account before patrons can use the system.

How expiration dates affect patrons in Alma / Primo

When student expiration dates are wrong

• Student expiration dates are determined by the last semester the student is enrolled. 
  Expiration dates in Alma are updated (on the next business day) after the student registers for the current semester or preregisters for the next semester. 
• Students needing privileges over the summer will need to be enrolled in summer sessions or be preregistered for fall.  Otherwise their expiration date will be in May. 
• In some instances, the library does not receive the updated expiration date in a timely manner.  We are working with UAConnect staff to improve this process. 

Workarounds for expiration date issues

• Enrollment and employment status can be confirmed in UAConnect. 
• Desk Supervisors can manually update a patron expiration date, then item due dates can be extended. 
  • Unfortunately, until a student expiration date is corrected in the Student Information System, UAConnect, the earlier expiration date may be reinstated by a record load and overwrite the value in Alma. 

UofA patrons and affiliates have a uark.edu email account and are considered "external" patrons in Alma because their data is maintained external to Alma in campus systems Workday and UAConnect.

As shown in the graphic below, UA Employees are extracted from Workday and imported into the Student Information System, UAConnect.  Then a daily feed is sent to the library of all records updated since the last extract.

"Affiliated" students, faculty, and staff are those patrons who are not current employees or students but who are deemed by their colleges or departments to be affiliated in some way. This might include visiting faculty or students needing extended campus privileges to complete a thesis. 

Affiliated employees are created in Workday as "contingent workers" while affiliated students are entered into UAConnect.  

The Library makes no determination about affiliation. 

Special Cases

The FAQs below provide library account information for specific patron groups.  You can find more library privileges FAQs by searching the topic "privileges" in our FAQs. 

See also this new workflow for UADA affiliated patrons. 

Community borrowers and other patrons who have no current affiliation with the UofA are considered "internal" patrons in Alma because their data is  maintained in the Alma system. They do not have a uark.edu email account and do not receive remote access to online resources as part of their borrowing privileges. Examples of Non-affiliated patrons are Community Borrowers, ARKLink students from other universities in Arkansas, alumni, and high school students. 

The graphic below shows that library staff create records for non-affiliated patrons in UAConnect in order to generate a UofA ID number and then create and maintain the patron records manually in Alma. 

Special Cases

The FAQs below provide library account information for specific non-affiliated patron groups.  You can find more library privileges FAQs by searching the topic "privileges" in our FAQs. 

Check for yourself or ask a User Services supervisor to check that the patron has a unexpired account in the Alma system.

• If unable to locate by ID number, try uark.edu email address

Patron not found?

Proceed to Step 2

Patron record found but not current?

Proceed to Step 3

Patron found but patron can't login to OneSearch / My Library Account?

Proceed to Step 4

Verify the student's status in UAConnect.

Found in UAConnect and Currently Enrolled? 

1. Create a temporary record in Alma,  Required fields include:
   1. primary identifier / uark.edu
   2. uark.edu email address (type is school)
   3. ID Number (Barcode)
   4. User group (undergraduate or graduate student)
2. After saving, convert the record type from internal to external. 
   1. External records can be overwritten by UAConnect feeds - we want that. 
3. Save and ask the patron to test by having them log into OneSearch (https://uark.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/account?vid=01UARK_INST:01UARK&section=overview )
   1. If they can't login, proceed to Step 4. 
4. Report the issue to libweb@uark.edu so we can investigate why we did not receive the record. 

Patron not registered currently or not registered for upcoming semester

1. Explain the library account policy and suggest student pre-register for the coming semester. 
2. For graduate or other students wishing to continue library privileges for a short time after graduation, refer them to the FAQ on requesting extended access. 

Patron is registered but Alma expiration date is incorrect

1. Confirm the student's enrollment status in UAConnect.
2. Extend the expiration date manually by one month.
3. Report the issue to libweb@uark.edu. 

If the patron record looks correct in Alma but the patron reports issues logging into OneSearch, here are a few items to check:

Is the patron record type marked "External" or "Internal?"

External

External Users login with their uark.edu ermail and password and should choose "Login using your UARK credentials."

• Make sure that uark.edu patrons are marked "External." 
• If repeated attempts to login do not work, ask the patron to try an incognito or private browsing window. 

Internal

Internal users, such as community borrowers, login with the email address on file in their Alma record and a password provided to them. 

• Double-check the email address stored in the primary identifier and email fields. 
• Desk managers can issue a new password, if necessary.

Still no luck?  Open a ticket with libweb@uark.edu.