Alert profiles
An alert profile allows you to create a profile that notifies you when new items are added to the catalogue that you might like. When a new item is added, you will be sent an email the next day that contains brief details for the item, as well as a link to it. Clicking on the link will take you directly to the work, where you can place a reservation.
In order to use this feature you must have an email address included in your member account details.
Alert profiles consist of the following information:
Search Profile
This consists of a number of search fields which define your areas of interest. These search fields include author, title, subjects and collections.
Alert Frequency
This determines how often your profile is checked and you are emailed. You can choose from daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly. If there are no new items that match your profile, you will not receive an email.
Expiry Date
This is an optional date after which your alert profile will expire and you will no longer be sent emails. Your alert profile will still be retained in the system and you can change this date at any time.
Description
This is a short description used to identify each profile. You can setup any number of different alert profiles to scan for different topics and you can use this description to briefly describe each profile.
To add a new alert profile:
- Login and access the New alert profile page.
- Enter your preferences in the search profile fields. You can select several options.
- Click the Search button (or press the enter key) to test your search to see if it retrieves the results you are expecting. This will apply your search preferences to the Library Catalogue and will display the records retrieved. Return to your profile using the navigation breadcrumb displayed at the top of the result set.
- Make any necessary adjustments to your search profile and retest the search.
- Select an alert frequency to set how often your profile is checked and an email is sent.
- Optionally enter an expiry date if you do not want alerts to be sent after a specific date.
- Provide a short description of your profile so that you can recognise it in your profile list. This is mandatory.
- Click the Save button to create your new profile. A message will be displayed to let you know your profile has been created and the form will be cleared to enable you to enter another profile if you want to.
- You can update your alert profile and access your new profile set from the My account history page (see below).
To update an alert profile:
- Login to My Library and access the My account history page.
- Select the Alert profiles link. This will display a list of your existing profiles.
- Select the profile you would like to update by clicking on the description link.
- Make any necessary adjustments to your search profile and retest the search. Remember to change your description if you change your search criteria to retrieve different items.
- Set the Profile Active Flag as required by checking or unchecking the Send alerts option.
- Make any necessary adjustments to the alert frequency and expiry date options.
- Click one of the buttons or select from the extra options menu as required. The actions performed by these buttons and options are described below.
Select from the following update actions:
- Save - saves any changes you have made to your profile. This will also update the records in the profile set to include all records matching your search criteria.
- Reset - this will undo any changes you have made to your profile since it was last saved.
- Delete - this will delete the profile from the system.
- Display new entries - this will display any records which match your search profile but which are not already in your profile set.
- Update profile set - this will reset the profile set to include all records matching your search criteria.
- Display profile set - this will display all records currently held in your profile set.
- Clear profile set - this will clear all records currently held in your profile set. The next time your profile is checked for new entries, all records matching the search criteria will be reported.
Once your alert profile has been setup it may be used in two ways to find new records matching your search criteria. You can also use these mechanisms to place reservations on the new records detected.
Email notification
Active alert profiles are scanned and any new works that meet the profile's criteria are added to the profile set. If any new works are added to your profile, you will be sent an email containing brief details for each work, as well as a link to the work. If you want to see more information about the item, or would like to place a reservation, simply click on the link in the email to access the item.
Online scan
You can also access the records matching your search criteria online. Follow the steps above to access your existing alert profiles. Select the option to Display new entries to find new records matching your search critieria, or select the option to Display profile set to find all records matching your search criteria. Once the records are displayed you can add reservations as you require. You can also save the records to your saved list.