...
| Functional Area | Questions | Answers |
|---|---|---|
| General | How necessary are barcodes? | For items, barcodes are necessary only for check-in/check-out of the item. For patrons, it is optional as long as the barcode field is not configured as a primary identifier in Alma. |
| Resource Management | Can vendor provided bib records be loaded into Alma during implementation and link them to titles in a given electronic collection in the KB instead of using the available bibs in the CZ for those titles? | This cannot be done during migration. But, can easily be done after migration. Please see articles for instructions: http://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Knowledge_Articles/How_to_link_a_set_of_portfolios_to_a_community_zone_collection%3F http://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Knowledge_Articles/How_to_link_local_portfolios_(standalones)_to_the_Community_Zone |
| Resource Management | How should we load our electronic government publications during the migration? | We think that the safety way is to bring records into Alma by using P2E. Clean-up or linking into CZ collection/s can be done later, if required. Regarding government documents in Primo Central, they are scattered across numerous collections. Please refer to http://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Primo_Central/Product_Documentation/Primo_Central_Indexing - the Primo Central Index Collection List is updated regularly with the status and contents of collections. |
| Resource Management | How will Alma recognize local fields in an OCLC record being imported and add those fields as local extensions only? | You can add the local extensions using a normalization rule as part of the import profile, but you do need to use the $9LOCAL to the field. The process isn't working perfectly and we are working through the issues internally. In the meantime, there is a workaround to add the local field manually in the IZ metadata editor after importing the record. The workaround still needs the $9LOCAL to mark the field as a local field and keep it out of the NZ. |
| General | What are the implications of having human readable patron or item types rather than numeric in Alma? Does not having a numeric hierarchy impact your ability to pull information? | There are no implications for having human readable codes in Alma. The way that you pull reports and data from Alma / Analytics is very different from the way that they are constructed with Create Lists in Millennium/Sierra. In fact, I recommend that you create human readable codes to make the process of creating sets of records easier in Alma. Codes only need to be unique in the specific code area. So, you can have "0" for a patron code and "0" for an item location code if you wish. However, it will be easier for long-term maintenance if these codes are actually human readable. |
| Discovery | How are locations codes in our bibs and/or items used to create the locations facet in Primo? | The locations facet in Primo is generated using the AVA field. The AVA field is added to the MARC record when published to Primo, and is based on information from the holdings record. Here is a brief description from the Alma-Primo Interoperability training: "The AVA fields are created and added to the MARC record published for print holdings, so bib records with associated holdings records, will have the AVA field included. The AVA includes information like the library, collection, call number, and availability of the print record. Note that the AVA is published at the holdings level and not at the item level - so if you have multiple items with the exact same holdings information they will appear once in the bib record." |
| Discovery | Is existing display logic set up in SFX migrated to Alma? | Display logic rules are configured in Alma (they do not migrate from SFX). Please see for more information: http://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/Alma_Online_Help_(English)/Fulfillment/080Configuring_Fulfillment/100Discovery_Interface_Display_Logic#Configuring_Display_Logic_Rules |
| Resource Management | Is there any way to map ITYPE values to the Item material type selection in Alma? | The mapping of material type is hardcoded into how data is migrated into Alma and uses position 06 & 07 of the leader as well as the 007 to determine material type. However, Sarina suggests placing ITYPE into an item note field so that you have the option to run sets to update the item’s material type accordingly. You can do this by mapping it into NON_PUBLIC_NOTE_1, NON_PUBLIC_NOTE_2, or NON_PUBLIC_NOTE_3 in the Field Mapping form. Sarinawill work on developing a way to update the item material types without human intervention, but this will give you a good alternative to updating item material types. |
| Resource Management | Do locally create full text targets/e-collections migrate to Alma? | Portfolios migrate with attached bibliographic records. There was recent improvement for e-collections in CZ by which e-collections are started to be enriched by bibliographic records. Regarding e-collections - from the Alma migration guide - Package (Inventory) – A collection of electronic portfolios from a specific data provider - includes provider name, package name, services supported by the package and admin/access info. Currently, does not have its own Marc Bibliographic data, but rather key package descriptive fields... |
| Resource Management | How does Alma handle and display the subfield 3 of the 856 field? | Public note (from 856+sub-field) will migrate to Electronic portfolio information - Public Note. Public note displays in Primo. You can migrate URL, provider and public note, but each field from only one sub-field. |
| Discovery | Do locations have any implications for Primo scoping? | You can create scopes based on Primo locations if desired but scopes do not rely on location data. |
| Resource Management | How do prediction patterns work in Alma? | Additional information: https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/@api/deki/files/39149/All_You_Wanted_To_Know_About_Print_Serials_Management_in_Alma.pdf https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Training/02_What%27s_New_Videos_2015/12_January_2015_Release/Prediction_Patterns_for_Periodical_Holdings |
| Resource Management | Will the FTP marc record import from OCLC Worldshare still work in Alma? | yes. Import profile has to be configured in Alma. |
| Resource Management | How does serial claim work in Alma? | Additional information: https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/Alma_Online_Help_(English)/Acquisitions/Purchasing/Processing_Claims |
| General | Can Alma run searches on MARC tags to pull a list of records? | Create an Indication rule and use it to filter a set of records. https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/Alma_Online_Help_%28English%29/Resource_Management/Using_the_Repository_Search/Managing_Search_Queries_and_Sets#Creating_Indication_Rules |
| Resource Management | If an electronic resource is being managed in the NZ or in the CZ, does the bib record need to be migrated by the institution or can it just be activated after migration? | Records converted from print to electronic in the p2e process migrate as local standalone portfolios and should be linked later to the NZ or CZ record. If you were managing these records in SFX or your link resolver, adding the link resolver prefix in the 035a will cause those records to be skipped by the p2e process as they will already exist in your link resolver data. If there are records that you do not want to migrate as P2E and simply activate later in Alma, make sure those records have the prefix in the 035a. However, if there is linked inventory to the bib, (order, physical location) the bib will still migrate as suppressed. You will want to ensure the resource is in the CZ if you want to be able to activate from the CZ. |
| Discovery | When CSU campuses get access to their Primo configuration in July/Sept 2016, will it be the current Primo interface or the new UI? | Access will be provided for both. We’ll be configuring the CSS/HTML for the current UI now and based on the status of the new UI following the May release, we’ll also start configuring the new UI prior to the handoff in July if possible. The August release with the full new UI is currently scheduled to be added to your environment in late July/early August (but as you know, the new UI can currently be accessed using an alternate URL now and more functionality will be added to it with the May release) |
| Discovery | Can you provide some insight into the pros/cons of setting up multiple Primo views at an institution? What are the ramifications at the institution/consortia level? | Pros: If you have multiple libraries on campus and you want the Primo interface to be customized for each library, the views allow for this customization. Views are also good for testing purposes, for example, UI testing of tabs v. dropdown search scopes or making view changes such as modifying the central content of the Primo page, adding search options, etc. There are really no ramifications at the consortia level, however the discovery group might provide guidelines to the institutions on how to utilize views if the discovery group wants to control/limit that to any extent. At the institution level, multiple views are fairly straightforward to maintain. There is also the option to have a parent view and child views that inherit changes, which may prove useful for you. Cons (not really cons per se, just things to keep in mind): At the same time, the more views an institution has, the more maintenance/overhead there is. Megan had noted in Fresno that with multiple views, there are multiple entry points into Primo that have to be maintained by the institution. For example, if you make a test view the “live” view, you’ll have to make sure any links to Primo on your library or institutional page have the current view ID, or vid, parameter. However, this can be managed by using a DNS entry on your side and the Front-End Redirect Definitions mapping table on the Primo side. When a view ID changes, you can just update the mapping table in Primo to point to the new view without having to modify any links on your external pages (and subsequently not impact any bookmarks saved by your patrons). This DNS/redirect is extra configuration that will need to be coordinated with your IT department. |
| Discovery | About the CR_RESTRICTED (course reserves restricted field, described here: http://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Knowledge_Articles/Course_Reserves_…). We would like to set a specific field aside for the CR_RESTRICTED note in Alma for use by the consortium. We have reserved a number of local fields to be used by the network. Could we use one of those fields as the local field for all libraries wishing to implement CR_RESTRICTED? | Any of 9XX fields can be used for CR_RESTRICTED functionality. This field can be added automatically by selecting check box when creating brief citation for a reading list. In consortia environment with NZ there is an option appears to select where to save the brief record created - in IZ or NZ. More likely brief citation will be saved in the IZ. In case where brief citation is selected to be shared in the NZ, it is recommended to switch CR_RESTRICTED to local extension in MD Editor. On the Primo side, a field is designated for the CR_RESTRICTED flag, which by default is the 999$a field. This can be changed in the normalization rules if we choose to use another field instead. |
| Resource Management | Would anything different happen with a bib record that is listed on the P2E list, but does not contain an 856 field? | it will go through the p2e process, physical inventory will be converted to electronic, but URL field will be empty. Resource will not be available. |
| Acquisitions | What happens if we submit an order record line that does not contain a corresponding bib record ID number? | The order record will not be loaded. |
| Resource Management | Are we expected to migrate local authority records? | Local authorities are not part of migration. Local authorities can be loaded manually after migration. See http://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/Alma_Online_Help_%28English%29/Resource_Management/Metadata_Management/Working_with_Authority_Records#Adding_a_Local_Authority_Definition |
| Resource Management | The Inventory section of the Migration Guide mentions that MARC holdings records can be matched to checkin records, if provided. What would be the benefit of providing both? | Checkin note fields are not included in MARC holdings exports in Millennium/Sierra. Based on this I think that the benefit of providing both checkin record exports and holdings exports in MARC format is that the note fields from the checkin records will be migrated. |
| Resource Management | Is "$9 LOCAL" case sensitive? What is the expected format of that subfield? | Expected sub-field structure is - '$$9 LOCAL' |
| Acquisitions | Are we constrained to only "open" orders, or can I send a larger batch during migration? | All orders from Millennium are migrated to Alma, but only the active orders (NEW, SENT, and WAITING_FOR_INVOICE) in the current fiscal year have a link to the fund via an encumbrance transaction. You can provide closed historical orders, but fund transactions are only created for open orders in the current fiscal year. Order status mapping is done in migration form PO Entry Point table. |
| Resource Management | How should one protect a local URL or other desired data field from being overwritten by a NZ record? | Every field that campus wants to retain should be copied/moved to a local field. When BIB record is not master record, it is overridden by BIB master record and original BIB record can only be found in original record versions in Alma MD Editor. Local fields are retained in bib record in IZ. If record is in P2E file - Holding record generated/or migrated in/to Alma is deleted when record converted from physical to electronic. |
| General | Can we organize / alphabetize the list of fields to search in Advanced Search in Alma? | Search indexes mapping table has column 'Index Order' which takes effect for Simple search index list, but not Advanced Search. A case is open with Ex Libris Support to see if this functionality can be put in the development queue. |
| General | Can you have multiple Alma clients open at the same time? | Becasue of the way various browsers work as well as the way the session is managed in Alma Application Server, we don’t support working on more than 1 tab in the same session. This is because every screen is saved once on the session. While it may in practice work if you open 2 different screens in 2 different tabs, this is not currently supported. Additional documentation can be found under: https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/Alma_Online_Help_(English)/Getting_Started/050Alma_User_Interface_%E2%80%93_General_Information/Browser_Requirements |
| General | What needs to be done to set up email address for printers? | would suggest to start from information explaining printing from Alma that posted on Developer Network: https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/blog/Printing-in-Alma On Alma side only printer e-mail address is defined. The email rules are made in external software, not in Alma. The following posts may be useful as well: https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/blog/Simple-Alma-printing https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/blog/numtuk https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/blog/outlook-as-a-print-proxy https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/blog/Using-Thunderbird-as-a-print-prox… In ALMA-LIST discussions you can find solutions and approaches taken by other institutions. Spine Labels You will need software to print spine labels in Alma. There are multiple ways to print labels from Alma data, and different solutions work best for different customers. I would consider this as part of integration setup. * SpineOMatic Created by Glenn Manino at Boston College, this is a newer tool for Alma label generation that was released to Alma-L in Sept 2013 and has rapidly become popular. Features are still being added to it by the BC staff, but it is simpler to install than BIAF. Information and downloads are at http://arc.bc.edu:8080/Getfile/ and Glenn can be reached for questions at manino@bc.edu. Some links from Developers Network: https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/blog/SpineOMatic-Label-Printing-Software-for-Alma https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/blog/Label-printing-in-University-of-Rhode-Island * BIAF BIAF is a flexible label formatting tool that can be configured to work with Alma. See "How to Configure and Use Alma with BIAF to Print Labels" in Ex Libris Documentation Center > Alma > Product Documentation > Resource Management > How To Documents and Presentations. If you'd like to proceed with working with BIAF, please reply to this case to coordinate receiving the install file from us. http://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/Alma_Online_Help_%28English%29/Resource_Management/080Configuring_Resource_Management/Configuring_the_Label_Printing_Tool * API https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/alma/apis/bibs/GET/gwPcGly021om4RTvtjbPleCklCGxeYAfEqJOcQOaLEvNcHQT0/ozqu3DGTurs/Xx+GZLELMQamEGJL0f6Mjkdw==/af2fb69d-64f4-42bc-bb05-d8a0ae56936e https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/alma/apis/soap/bib/label https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/blog/API-to-print-spine-labels |
| General | What is the purpose of the active (yellow) check marks next to set names when working with sets in Alma? | Set can be active/inactive. Active sets will appear as available to use as input in Alma processes (ADMINISTRATION - Run a Job). |
| General | When running a job on a set of records, do those records get locked while the job is running? Is it possible to cause errors with jobs by releasing records while a job is running? | External process takes priority on a record update. Even if record was opened in MD Editor the working copy of the record will be changed on the server. Cataloging operator will be notified by the system that record was changed by external process and should be reloaded from the server. |
| Resource Management | What are the implications of having one location with multiple call# types in Alma? | Call number types are determined in the following order: value of the first indicator in MARC field 852. If this above value is missing, the call number type for the holdings record is taken from the default value for the location If that value is missing, then from the institutional default value. So, you only need to select a value if the location uses a call number type that is different than the institutional default (see call_number_type), in which case, this value overrides the institutional default. |
| General | Will campuses be able to see local fields such as 590 from the other CSU libraries in their institutional instance of Alma? | You will not see fields in the NZ record that were localized by other institutions from supported local extensions range (09X, 59X, 69X, 9XX). |
| General | How do we search for / create a set of records that are NOT linked to the network zone (in other words, records that were loaded in but were unable to find find a match in the network zone)? | The easiest way to search for "not linked to NZ" records is to run an advanced search -- All Titles where All titles (Is linked equals "No") Find records not linked to NZ with OCLC numbers -- All Titles where All titles (Other System Number starts with "(OCoLC)" and Is linked equals "No") Note: A reason for non-linking to NZ may be a multi match of OCLC number Find boundwiths parent record (they are not linked to NZ by default) -- All Titles where All titles (Title starts with "Host bibliographic record")- Combine set 1 and 3 – all not linked records without parent boundwiths - Combine set 4 and 2 – all not linked without OCLC number and not include parent boundwiths |
| Fulfillment | Is there a way to see a quick list of the last few patrons served at a circulation desk? | There is no such option. |
| General | If a patron record is open by one Alma user, is it "busied" and items can't be checked out? | User record is not locked. Record can be checked out by both staff users. |
| Discovery | I had a question from a library about the various proxy check boxes, specifically the one in PCI back office and the proxy checkbox in the Alma e-resources? Is there a best practices of which one should be checked? Should both be checked? | vetlana or Megan can respond further about Alma, but proxy settings in the Primo institution wizard are for backlinks found in the Details tab in Primo Central records (explained in http://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Primo/Product_Documentation/Back_Office_Guide/02Configuring_Primo_Institutions_and_Libraries/Editing_an_Institution) Select proxy checkbox in Alma e-resources, if you want Alma to automatically including additional proxy information in the resolved URL. Proxy URL configured in General Configuration menu - External Systems - Integration Profiles. See for additional information: http://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/Alma_Online_Help_%28English%29/Integrations_with_External_Systems/030Resource_Management/220Resolver_Proxies |
| Acquisitions | We noticed that there are new options on the input screen of the POL rollover job. The new options (Continuous Order Only; Standing Order Only; One-Time Order) are a bit ambiguous—we have some theories but would like clarification to save us testing time. | Ex Libris documentation on this screen has been updated to address these new options: https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/Alma_Online_Help_%28English%29/Acquisitions/100Advanced_Tools/020Fiscal_Period_Closure#Rolling_Over_PO_Lines |
| Resource Management | What format does the Excel file need to be if getting e-resource info from a vendor rather than Alma? | The article http://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/Alma_Online_Help_(English)/Resource_Management/050Inventory/Managing_Electronic_Resources#The_Bulk_Portfolio_Information_File addresses this. |
| Resource Management | Can you set up expiration date for a specific portfolio? | You can set an "active until" date for electronic collections but not for specific portfolios. |
| Resource Management | Can you link to CZ with collections as well, or only with portfolios? | Yes, you can link electronic collections to the CZ. |
| Acquisitions | If purchase operators can't see the screen where e-resources get assigned, how do they assign things to the e-resource operators? | Electronic resources are automatically added to the Electronic Resource Activation Task List page if they are ordered from the Community Zone or Institution Zone. |
| Acquisitions | We want to be able to set up a trial without having to add a PO. is that possible? | A PO Line is required to set up a trial. If you do not have a price quote at the time of trial, you can enter a dummy amount in the price field and edit the price in the PO at the point of actually ordering from the vendor. |
| General | How do you manage library staff records when using SIS integration to load patron records? | You can use the external user records that are loaded through the SIS integration for your library staff records. All that is needed is to add the roles to those records. Roles are retained with the nightly job that runs. Many institutions go this route instead of maintaining separate duplicate user records for staff. The benefit of handling staff users in this way is that you can then use your institutional single sign on system for those users to authenticate into Alma and you don't have to be in the business of password management. The roles won't change, but there isn't an actual functional impact in Alma for public vs staff users. It's perfectly fine to give your library staff a record type of "public" and then assign that user roles to allow for Alma functionality. |
| Resource Management | I have set up an Import (856 tags) on the Sandbox. Everything works except that the Holding fields (852) has a first indicator 1 (DDC) rather than 0 (LC). I have changed the default template in the Metadata editor for MARC 21 holdings (Books_LC) to 1st indicator 0, but records still import with a 1st indicator of 1. Where is my mistake? | In the import profile with description '856 tags' - default inventory library is Main. Main library/main location has no default call number defined. Institution level call number is set under Resource management configuration menu - Other settings - call_number_type. It is set to '1'. During import system checks location default call number type. If it is not defined, system uses institution level default call number type. Template is used when records edited manually from Metadata Editor. I would suggest to update location default call number type to '0' and test again. It can be done by going to Fulfillment Configuration menu 1. select Main library under "You are configuring" 2. Click on Physical Locations 3. Click on Actions and Edit main location 4. select call number type from drop-down list |
| General | On https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/alma/apis/xsd/rest_user.xsd, the documentation states that "on SIS load, the record_type field is determined according to the SIS profile." Does that mean we should insert "<record_type>PUBLIC</record_type>" for each user record, leave the field empty, or not include that field at all? | The documentation is not clear. We will ask for improvement and clarification. We would recommend to have <record_type>PUBLIC</record_type> in the record. |
| Resource Management | How is the material type in the item record created in Alma? What field(s) does this information come from in Sierra? | Please see page 24 in the following guide: http://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/@api/deki/files/39050/Millennium_and_Sierra_(III)_to_Alma_Migration_Guide.pdf |
| Resource Management | Do the internal descriptions in the SFX targets, target services and portfolios migrate to Alma? | The following document lists all fields that migrate from SFX -https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/@api/deki/files/39014/SFX_to_Alma_Migration_Guide.pdf Internal notes should migrate. |
| Analytics | In 2016 Q3, will our existing Ustat usage data and SUSHI accounts become available in ALMA, or will usage data need to be loaded into ALMA and SUSHI connections re-established? In June 2017, will all usage data and SUSHI setup configurations be wiped out, and need to be re-entered? currently, SUSHI harvesting can only be used for JR1 reports. Do you know when this functionality will be enabled for DB1, BR and other COUNTER reports? | When functionality becomes available in Alma, existing Alma customers who already use USTAT will be provided with the relevant instructions later in the year on when/how to move from USTAT to Alma. A similar process will be used for customers who already use USTAT and migrate into Alma. We recommend do not implement USTAT by institutions that didn’t use it before Alma implementation to avoid transitioning step of Ustat into Alma. New development will eventually, at a later stage, replace the use of UStat for purposes of managing COUNTER reports and SUSHI harvesting for Alma institutions only. The COUNTER reports will be directly loaded into Alma (via SUSHI harvesting or manually) and then, as today, exported to Alma analytics. Beginning in the September 2016 release functionality will roll-out to early testers as well as new Alma institutions. Beginning in November there were will be a gradual move of existing Alma institutions from UStat to Alma. At that time institutions will be contacted by Ex Libris staff with detailed procedures on the move. There are many benefits of this move from UStat to Alma. In addition to all existing functionality which currently exists with UStat: 1. New report types will also be supported. In the initial stages support for PR1 and JR1a will be added. At a later stage additional types will also be supported. This is in addition to the existing JR1, DB1, BR1 and BR2. 2. All report types (not only JR1) will be able to be uploaded either manually or via SUSHI harvesting. 3. The SUSHI harvesting will be via a weekly automated job and can also be run manually on-demand. This will greatly decrease the time it takes for the reports to be available in Alma analytics. 4. From within the vendor interface of Alma it will be possible to set up and view SUSHI accounts as well as logs of the reports. Further details will be available in future release notes and in the on line help. |
| Resource Management | What kind of collection services (i.e. "Get ILL in SFX") are provided in electronic resource linking process? | The only service that is provided by the link resolver in Alma is FullText, any other services can be configured and added via the General Electronic Services. Services added in General Electronic Services can conditionally appear in Primo ‘ViewIt’. Display rules defined in Display Logic Rules. Fulfillment Configuration - Discovery Interface Display Logic - General Electronic Services. Fulfillment Configuration - Discovery Interface Display Logic - Display Logic Rules. |
| Resource Management | Can local collections be created and managed in the Network Zone and shared by multiple libraries? | Yes, it is possible to create local collection in the NZ and make it available for a specific group of libraries. |
| General | In what format are Alma print jobs? What if a local printer cannot process that format? | Alma print jobs are e-mail messages containing XSL-formatted text/html in the body. External clients (Outlook, Thunderbird, Namtuk, etc.) may be usedto process incompatable formats and route messages to the appropriate printers – see multiple articles in the Developer Network by searching "alma print proxy" |
| Discovery | Can access to the Primo Back Office be restricted by login or IP address range? What access will be provided upon handoff of our Primo instance? | Yes, there are logins required to access the Primo Back Office. There are different levels of login available such as admin (access to everything at the institution level) all the way down to utility (access to the file uploader utility only). A full description of each staff user level can be found in the Primo Back Office Guide. We'll provide a single admin level user for each institution when we handoff the Back Office, after which each institution will be able to create all of the necessary logins for the relevant staff. In addition to the logins, we have to open the back office server to staff IPs, which you'll provide to us under the question "Please list the IPs for the computers at your institution that staff members will use to access the Primo Back Office (i.e. the administrative interface)". Users outside these IPs will instead see a page cannot be displayed error. |
| Fulfillment | Does the minimum amount of time required between booking requests by the same patron setting affect a specific item or class of items (e.g: single laptop vs. all laptops)? | This setting affects an entire class/group of items if the items in question have no description. When placing a booking request on a specific item within a record that contains multiple items:- If the record's items contain descriptions, only the specific item attached to the booking request can fulfill that request (even though there are other items associated with the record). If an operator tries to loan an item other than the specific item which was requested, the booking request cannot be fulfilled with that item.- If the record's items do not contain descriptions, any item associated with the record can fulfill the request, as the request is placed on the title level. Furthermore, all of the record's items are available to be used for other requests, provided that there is one item remaining to fulfill the booking request. |
| General | Are local call numbers treated the same (i.e. tagged) in an item record as opposed to a bib record? | An item record in Alma is always a local institution zone record. It inherits call number from linked holdings records in the Network Zone. Item records may have an 'Alternative Call Number', if exists, which is stored in a item record and can be displayed to the end users if enabled by configuration parameter. |
| Resource Management | Do we need to move OCLC numbers in the 001 to the 035 prior to migration, or will Ex Libris handle moving any 001 values to the 035 during the data load process? | ExL will move these values to the 035 during the data load process. The migration moves (003)001-institutioncode to the 035a, for example: 001: The former system number is number in 001, and the library's Marc Organization Code could be in 003. Script will discard 003, put 001 into 035 $a as (MOC)001_value-01cust |
| Fulfillment | Is it possible to set up recalls so that only certain patron types can recall an item that is checked out to certain ptypes. Example: Students and Faculty can recall items checked out to faculty and grad students, but community borrowers cannot recall items checked out to faculty and grad students. | Loan is linked to a specific Fulfillment rule. Fulfillment rule defines if item is recallable or not. If rule is set based on user group, you can set that all items loaned to community users are recallable. But, there is no option (or at least requires more research) where you can set that specific patron group can/cannot recall item loaned to a specific group. |
| Fulfillment | On the 'Block When Overdue Length' - What is the patron blocked from? Are they just blocked from checking out material or does this block them from remote access to electronic resources too? Do we have a choice to say they can't check out materials, but could have access to electronic materials? | It is blocking user from loaning items. Restricting access to e-resources is done by using EZProxy in conjunction with Alma, or available for group settings in Alma. |
| Fulfillment | How do we allow booking on some, but not all items in a Location Type? Example: If we have an 'Equipment' Location Type that includes some materials that are bookable and some that are not. Is that possible and how do we note that on the configuration form? | It is possible to do by using item policies. In addition, Alma can be configured to not allow community patrons (or any other user group) to place requests, which has the effect of not allowing them to recall items since they cannot request them in the first place. |
| General | Do printers have to be network/system printers to be used by Alma? | Alma is hosted in a SaaS environment. Due to security concerns and technical limitations, SaaS environments do not support direct connection of local or network printers. Instead, printing in Alma works using email. Each library/institution must define the email addresses of its local printers in Alma, which route staff-oriented, Alma-originating e-mails (including request and transit slips) to the appropriate printer. |
| General | Do printers need individual email address to be used with Alma? | Newer printers have their own built-in email addresses to support cloud computing. If you are using a new printer, therefore, the email address for notifications should be the printer's email address. Older printers do not support direct emailing and will therefore require a print proxy. For information on applications available to manage printer routing, see Technical Requirements for Alma Implementation in the Documentation Center. |
| General | What network access do printers need to be used with Alma? | Alma does not require direct access to printers. Alma will need to be able to send print jobs via email either directly to printers or through a mail-routing proxy. |
| General | What third-party software is recommended to be used to manage Alma print jobs? | There are several applications available to manage printer routing. For example: - MS Outlook printing rules – It is possible to create an email address and link this address to a printer via your MS Outlook printing rules. - Automatic Email Manager (AEM) by Namtuk – For details, see http://www.namtuk.com/ Note: Any print proxy that meets your institution's needs can be used. Please refer to developers zone articles: https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/blog/Printing-in-Alma and https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/blog/Simple-Alma-printing - The Alma listserv may be a good source for additional information. |
| Resource Management | Can we use local fields (9XX) to hold data that we do not want to contribute to the Network Zone but would like to display in our local Primo? | Yes, it can. Consortium members decide which range of local 9XX fields will be used as local by institutions and which may be used on records in the Network Zone. A field that will be migrated to one of these fields should be marked by subfield $9 LOCAL in the data provided in migration. This will enable for each institution migrate local data and later catalog their local information in the records that linked to NZ. |
| Resource Management | Are local fields in the 09x, 59x, 69x and 9xx that are not tagged with the $9 LOCAL retained in the master record in the NZ for the master record, or are all such fields wiped clean before the record is loaded to the NZ? | They are removed from the master record before loading to NZ. |
| Resource Management | Are any 9XX fields reserved for specific uses by Ex Libris or other? | Use of 9XX fields is a consortium decision in determining which fields are used locally by institutions, and which used in the Network Zone. Ex Libris documentation includes the following recommendation:"If local extension fields are provided, it is recommended that local institutions use the range 950-999 for this. Network zone shared records can identify local fields that are not local extensions and are shared/used equally across the network. Leaving the 900-949 range openallows this option." |
| Acquisitions | Is it possible to track payment for the resources the are negotiated by the Chancellor's Office but the libraries pay for (opt-in databases)? | It should be possible to manage this within Alma, with the following workflow:Configure Network Zone with allocated funds for each libraryCreate POL for shared resource and split the fund allocation accordingly among the purchasing institutions In addition, you might want to look at the workflow that allows central license negotiation with subsequent ordering of e-resources by local institutions. You can find more information in the 'Working with Collaborative Networks in Alma' document, specifically the parts 'Central License Negotiation' and 'Order Electronic Resources Negotiated and Managed in the Network Zone by Member'. You can find the document here: http://customercenter.exlibrisgroup.com/DocumentationCenter/Ex%20Libris%20D |
| General | The Sierra exported MARC records' file extension is *.out. Do we need to change/remove this extension when exporting records to Alma during migration? | In Millennium, you can change the file extension from *.out to *.mrc in Data Exchange before exporting. As the files are exported in MARC, changing the extension before export should be sufficient. |
| Acquisitions | In Sierra, the "SUB FROM" data is in the PAID line fields (which is already planned to come over with the rest of the PAID data in a note field.) Why is SUB FROM also listed as a defined field (vs a note?) on the Field Mapping form? | Migration script expects PO Line subscription start date in 'SUB FROM' field. |
| General | Are hyphens acceptable to use in migrated fields? Or must they be strictly alpha-numeric, no spaces or other characters? | Spaces, hyphens and the like are fine in the codes. However, in most places within Alma, it is the name that displays instead of the code. As such, the code doesn't need to be as descriptive in Alma as it did in Millennium where the code was the main display. Other vendor systems might not like special characters in the code fields when using EOD or EDI. |
| General | In the "Extract Records from Millennium and Sierra (iii) for Migration to Alma" documentation, it states that create list is limited to 25 fields but I'm seeing I can extract 32 fields in Sierra. Do we still have to limit our data extract files to only 25 fields? | Alma can handle more fields, so extract as many fields as you can. |
| General | How would the migration handle the addition of special characters (#,$,%,-, etc) in the telephone number field, as might be used to identify bad or missing numbers? | The migration process will not have a problem with the special characters in a phone number and will bring string into Alma as is. However, these characters might impact "visiting patron" services if the field validation regex in use at an institution does not validate a field using these characters. |
| Fulfillment | Will an item migrated with a status 'in transit' be understood to be in transit in Alma, such that if the item is subsequently scanned into its home location, the 'in transit' status will be cleared? | in transit' process will migrate into Alma as any other process status in III. The process statuses from III will be mapped into Alma Process type = 'Technical – Migration' in item record. Description of III process migrate into item internal note 3 which is indexed and can be searched. Items with 'Technical – Migration' process type will migrate with base status 'not on shelf'. In order to re-shelve the item operator will need to scan item for return in item's home location. This step will clear out 'Technical – Migration' process type and item base status will be changed to 'on shelf'. |
| Resource Management | How will non-OCLC values located in the 035 be treated by Ex Libris during data migration? | Ex Libris confirmed that current default matching algorithm (will be used in a test data load and NZ creation) is only based on OCLC number. Normalization routine checks if 035 prefix is an OCLC number prefix. Records that do not have OCLC number will remain in IZ and not contributed to NZ. |
| Resource Management | Regarding the Mapping Form tab for Checkins & Holdings, lines 20-26 and 40-48, are those left blank if our exported bibliographic records do not output summary holdings statements (866s)? | This is optional mapping table and it can be filled in when there is an information in a field embedded in the bibliographic record for holdings statement. Migration programs can generate a holding record (and summary statement) from the field, if present. If there is no such field in the bibliographic data for holdings statement, you do not need to fill in this table. |
| Resource Management | Are all electronic resources required to be configured in the Alma KB? Ex: local websites and continuing resources which need to be made available to off-campus users? | Community Zone e-resources are maintained by Ex Libris. E-resources that do not exist in the CZ can be added to Alma as local e-resources. |
| General | Are barcodes a requirement for items that do not circulate? What about institutions using RFID? | There is no need to do any barcode cleanup in preparation for data migration. You may want to take the time to check if all your circulating items have a barcode, however. Item barcodes are migrated in the following way: -If the barcode is empty, leave it as empty when moving to Alma. -If the barcode exists but is not unique: first item barcode encountered – migrate as is; second and subsequent item barcodes encountered – migrate as <item barcode>-<itemid> |
| Resource Management | Are there any types of electronic holdings that are not represented in the Alma KB? Ex: Continuing resources, gov docs, local websites, streaming video and sound | The Alma KB (Community Zone) contains the same formats as the SFX KB, with the addition of E-Books. |
| Resource Management | Are there resources available in the Alma KB that aren't also currently available in SFX? Is there a resource that touches on what types of e-resources are excluded from the Alma KB, if any? | See "SFX to Alma Migration Guide", page 11 "SFX areas that do not migrate to Alma CZ": Areas/Fields Not In Scope: Active Target services which are TOC/Abstract Inactive Global Targets/Target Services/Portfolios/ObjectsLocal target parsersLocal e-inventory material type |
| Resource Management | Can you tell us what are the minimum required data elements in 008 field for Holdings Data in ALMA? | We follow LC standards. Link: http://www.loc.gov/marc/holdings/concise/hd008.html Thirty-two character positions (00-31) that contain data elements that provide coded information about the record. The data elements are positionally defined. Each defined character position must contain either a defined code or a fill character (). The fill character is used when no attempt is made to supply a defined code for a specific character position. |
| Resource Management | Do all bib records require a 245 entry? | Yes |
| Resource Management | Does Alma import both 85x/86x pairs and 866 textual holdings located in a single holdings record? | Predication patterns 85x/86x and summary holdings 866 provided in MARC holdings will be loaded with no changes. Summary holdings can also be generated from the checkins file (if MARC holdings are not provided). |
| General | Does Alma include a link checker to help maintain local e-resources in the Alma KB? | Not at this time. There is an existing enhancement request for Alma UResolver to have a "Report Broken Link" feature, which would simplify broken link reporting via a URL directly in the UResolver screen, from which you would be able to submit broken link reports to the Alma Data Services Team. This functionality is on the Alma development roadmap, but a release data is not yet confirmed. |
| Resource Management | Does Alma require serials statements in pure MFHD, or can textual holdings statements also be handled? | Textual summary holdings (866/7/8) are sufficient, however, Ex Libris would like to learn about your current practices and data to provide further recommendations during your campus migration work. |
| Resource Management | Does the CZ supply bib records for any and all e-resources it provides? If so, would you recommend taking those over migrating existing e-resource bib records? How are bib records created for targets created by a campus in the Alma KB? | Yes, all CZ portfolios are linked to CZ BIB records. CZ e-resources that were activated in local institution will benefit from automatic updates (changes to coverage, URLs, etc).Not all CZ portfolios may need to be activated. Ex: E books - you may use your local BIB records and local portfolios for E-books. This will be discussed during the migration/analysis meeting.Alma CZ is based on SFX KB. We link SFX BIBs with Alma CZ BIBs on unique identifiers – issn or isbn. |
| Resource Management | For all our serial publications, we include links/856s/URLs to the SFX menu, which will be unnecessary in Alma/Primo, but those links are very useful in our current situation. How can we keep them in Sierra, but "lose" them when we migrate our records? | You can remove them in MarcEdit when migrating your records, or in III immediately prior to data export during the final migration. |
| Acquisitions | How are order records/payments managed for e-resources in Alma? Does the answer depend on whether the e-resource in question is a journal title or package? Whether the resource exists in the Alma KB or is added as a local resource? | Alma has different E-order types (subscription, one time, access) for both e-collections and portfolios. The system gives you an option to select relevant type when you create a new order for an electronic resource (local or CZ). |
| Resource Management | How does Alma handle a multi-format resource ex: a resource in both print & microform or print with an accompanying CD? | The answer depends on your circulation policies. If the individual parts are circulated separately or together. If separately, then Alma will need an item for each along with fulfillment notes in the record to prompt for all items to be circulated at the same time. |
| Resource Management | How will Alma/Primo handle our MARC 590 fields (local notes)? And what if we have included some local information in other than 59X fields (e.g., we use 541 for gift/giver information)? Implications for migration? | Alma has local notes that allow you to localize information regardless of whether you are using local bibs or bibs linked to records in the network zone. I'd imagine that is where this information should be placed. |
| Resource Management | How would a campus manage a database w/o portfolios (a database that does not contain journals) in Alma? | The workflow as follows:(a) Create Bib record describing a database (b) Create local standalone e-collection type "Database" (c) Link e-collection type "Database" to a BIB record and add URL to e-collection level. (d) Results: BIB record will be published to Primo and a link/URL will appear in the ViewIt delivery section. |
| Resource Management | If a bib record was "replaced" by enabling a resource in the Alma KB, what happens to the order record? Are order records ever loaded into the NZ? | If a local Institutional e-resource (with order) is linked to the Community Zone (CZ), the order record will also link to CZ and remain in the IZ. Orders are not loaded to the NZ. |
| Resource Management | Since Alma KB does not contain MARC bib records for A&I databases, are we supposed to migrate our cataloged OCLC bib records along with our order records for those e-resources? | In this case you should add those records to the P2E as DB records (no fulltext). |
| Resource Management | We use BCODE2 fields for limiting by Material Type. These codes do not always correspond to REC TYPE MARC codes. How will this work in Primo? Do we need to address this during data cleanup? | My understanding is that Alma adheres to standard MARC interpretations for fields. You will have an option to map III record fields to "non-default" Alma fields during migration, but if you are using a given MARC field for multiple purposes you might want to disambiguate those prior to migration for sanity reasons. |
| Resource Management | When creating a local resource in Alma KB, do we add to KB a local target/portfolios for a group of eBooks, and we are responsible to maintain the links? | Local e-resources require local bib records. Local e-resources do not link to the Community Zone and the customer is responsible for the records maintenance (changes to coverage, URL, etc). |
| Resource Management | Will bib records without attached item records create migration problems? | Alma manages electronic resources in its Central Knowledge Base (CKB). Enabling these resources for your institution will create bib records in your local institution for you. Therefore, right now I'd advise you to enable your internet resources in the CKB where you can instead of migrating those bib records. For those resources that aren't in the CKB, I believe that Alma will just create the appropriate records for you if they are missing. |
| Resource Management | Please provide examples to clarify the difference between a Database and a Package when exporting P2E records. | A database is a resource that has no portfolios (i.e., no full-text or direct links to journals); in other words, a abstracting and indexing database with no full text. For example, PsycINFO is a database, while PsycINFO with full text is a package. A package that contains a mix of indexing/abstracting and full-text is still a package. |
| Resource Management | Should we migrate government document electronic records? | Have you activated these resources in SFX? If yes, these will migrate from SFX. If you have the corresponding bib records in your ILS, be sure to mark these records with the SFX prefix in migration form so that you won't migrate duplicate ILS records. However, if there is a PO line linked to the record, we will retain the ILS bib and will correspondingly suppress it. If you DO want to keep the ILS record for some reason (e.g. enriched), then do not mark them with the SFX prefix, but please note you will see duplicates in Alma. After migration you can link those portfolios to the Community Zone and also keep your local bibliographic data if desired. |
| Resource Management | Will there be a problem during migration if bibliographic records for electronic resources do not come in with a provider subfield? | This is not a problem. If provider is not present system will show 'Online' string by default. |
| Resource Management | The Field Mapping form indicates that Checkin Record Locations will be used to generate holdings records locations ("use in Alma migration form Location map to get Location and Library based on code"). What happens if checkin record locations do not match with item locations? How do checkin record locations display to the user in Primo? | Location can be taken from item records. If you're going to provide checkin records, we advise to do some cleanup before providing the data. Page 17 of "Millennium and Sierra (III) to Alma Migration Guide" – this demonstrates how holding records are created. Migration will build holdings records from both checkin and items and link items to holdings record when it matches. Note: If you don't want multiple holding records for the same item if the locations don't match, then we advise cleaning up the checkin record data. |
| Resource Management | How should we deal with bib records created to house checkin records for monographic series, e.g. a Monographic Series whereby each issue has its own title. When an item arrives that is a part of this series, a new bibliographic record is created for the item and items are attached; but the Checkin Record is updated to indicate that it was received. | Northridge decided to migrate these records but to ensure they would only go into the Institution Zone, we stripped identifiers from them (e.g., OCLC numbers, etc.) so they wouldn't end up in the Network Zone. Because we were using "real" OCLC records for what are more like inventory records, we decided to treat them more like inventory records with skeletal information. |
| Fulfillment | In Millennium, we have a fixed field value (PCODE2) we use to indicate whether or not a user has signed an TOU agreement to check out equipment from the library. Can this only be migrated as a note? Will there be an option to set this up as a binary element (i.e., Has Signed the Agreement / Hasn't signed the agreement) in the patron record in Alma? | Can migrate as a note. Can be managed as a note or added as statistical category, but not as a binary element. |
| Analytics | Is it possible to set up user statistical categories later? (III Field Mapping Form) | Yes. Related table should be created in Alma manually. Patron loader can be used to populate the user record with statistical category. If there is a data that you want to keep, fill codes in migration mapping table. Stat cats can be created post-migration. |
| Resource Management | P2E: How should we deal with single-record approach records (records that have an 85640 | u but also have attached physical items? |
| Resource Management | How should we migrate digital bookplate links? Is there a difference in migration strategy for those who have digital bookplate links in item records vs. those that have them in bib records? | Ex Libris will generally migrate these as a print item with a URL in it. May want to modify these records once in Alma depending on how these display in Primo. |
| Resource Management | Where do you find your MARC organization code? | http://www.loc.gov/marc/organizations/org-search.php |
| Fulfillment | Renewal Date - we have a variety of renewal dates. Should we leave this field blank? | According to EL, leaving this blank means that they will assign the renewal date either based on renewal date information in the order or migration date + 1 year. |
| Fulfillment | For Link+ locations we used the Instutional Alma Library code. Is that what's expected? | Yes, use the Alma Library code. If it's left out, at the point of migration, there will be temporary items that are "local" but are owned by another library. If you don't migrate the temp bibs and temp items, they will be orphans. Participation in Link+ will affect this decision. |
| Fulfillment | We use call number type "0" for all Link+ location codes. Is that what's expected? | Depends on whether the default Call Number type is LC. If they are temp items not displayed to the user, it doesn't really matter. Be sure to mark Link+ Locations as suppressed. |
| Fulfillment | ItemType Column C-- Should the Alma item description match the III item description or the Alma itemPolicy code? The training video shows it matching the latter. | Alma item Policy code is for exceptions to location-based rules based on itypes. If you have itypes that share the same location but have differeing loan policies, define them here. |
| Analytics | User Stat Categories – is using the III PCODE3 numeric codes for the Alma userStatCategory codes acceptable or are more descriptive codes recommended? How will these codes appear in Alma? Will be see the codes or the descriptions? | Description will be displayed in Alma. Alma migration will repopulate the table in Alma. |
| Fulfillment | Course Unit - III Branch-- is using the base location codes of the areas that manage and circulate the course reserves expected? | Ex Libris will follow up with more information. |
| Fulfillment | Course Faculty Code - Course Faculty Codes-- what codes are expected in this tab? | Ex Libris will provide a screenshot. |
| Acquisitions | (for ACQ migration) How much of the paid history for electronic resources should be migrated? | You can migrate additional paid history as a note; you might want to think about purging order records that are not needed. Consider only retaining the # of years you need for auditing requirements. |
| Fulfillment | How can we set up community users to be able to log into Primo and view my account (for physically checked out items) but they will not be able to access electronic resources remotely? | Ex Libris has set this up at University of Oregon and Harvard. Entirely possible to make this happen. Define user groups for community users that Primo can map to unaffiliated users to restrict access to content. On-campus users would be able to access resources unless Primo always requires users to login. Can also be set up to work with EZProxy as well. |
| Resource Management | Will multiple 85x holdings statements in a bib create multiple holdings records? | Depends on the holding library locations. If the locations were the same it would take the first 850 holding statement. |
| General | Do we need to fill in the Course Unit tab, if we are not migrating course reserves? | No |
| Resource Management | Do records just going into the IZ need to have the LOCAL designation to preserve the local extensions? | No; if records are only going to IZ local extensions do not need to be noted. |
| Resource Management | How should records with an 856 with provider name information be notated on the Migration form? | Migration will use field and subfield provided in migration form in the line for electronic provider information. |
| Resource Management | Do we have to move all $9 LOCAL fields to a 9xx, or just 79x? For example, we have 541 fields that are local, do we need to move them to 941 and mark as Local? | Yes, move to 9xx fields. Ask Tech Services Group to have a best practice for which fields should go to which 9xx fields. |
| Resource Management | What should we do with Bound-Withs? | Migration does not required any special procedure for preparing or extracting boundwith. |
| Resource Management | During data load, will 850 holding statements located in a given bib record create holding records? Will it create multiple holding records based on format if multiple 850 statements are present? | Answer: if you use to map 850 in migration mapping table and holding library/location are different - separate holding record will be created. |
| Resource Management | Can non-OCLC provided reocrds be loaded into the Network Zone for managing resources held by multiple CSU campuses? | Records will not be loaded during migration. Records with linked POLs will be suppressed and loaded to IZ.After migration create Collection in NZ and load records using spread sheet under collection. |
| Resource Management | On the checkins and holdings tab of the data mapping form, in the holdings from bib summary statement, what location code should be used for the mandatory value when there is not a single location code for materials described in the Bib Summary Statement | SUMM_LOC_CODE? Yes if SUMM_LOC_SUBF not provided or not found, the Alma Library Code that will be used instead. This code must be present in Column D of the Alma Location tab of the Migration Form. This is the default library code and Alma location code (new Alma codes, as mapped from III in the form) that will be used when cannot be identified based on input data. You can put any code that you can recognize later by retrieval |
| Resource Management | As part of the OCLC reclamation process, the OCLC# was put in the 001 and the control number identifier put in the 003. In some instances, the OCLC# with the old prefix (ocl7 or ocm) is also found in the 035; in other instances the records have no 035 or have some other information in the o35. How will this be treated during migration? | Matching: The NZ linking programs use values in the 035 $a and 035 $z fields to determine a match. Note that control field 001 in Alma is reserved for the Alma internal Bib ID (MMSid), so migration processes ensure moving any previously existing 001 content to 035 $a or 035 $z. Numbers in 035: Non-OCoLC. As a rule, the exact string in the 035 $a or 035 $z fields are used for matching. For example: (NhCcYBP)40015704661, (CaOOAMICUS)000026217529,(Gale)ESTCN6838. Exact string matching is done for the above numbers, but not for OCLC numbers which have unique and special prefix handling. |
| Resource Management | We have many serial records with no Holdings records. No checkins at all. Is that a problem for migration? | MARC 21 holdings records are not mandatory in III and migration can use MARC holdings file if provided. Holdings file is not mandatory for migration. Other data containing holding information is used - item and/or checkin, bib tags. Alma will create holdings info based on item information. Please check in your test load and verify if the level of detail is ok. |
| Resource Management | In the case of serials with Holdings records, the "Extracting Records ... for Migration to Alma" document mentions extracting checkin records as "non-MARC holdings." Please explain what this means. | I assume it is because checkin is not using MARC21 standard fields. |
| Resource Management | In preparing local MARC fields for migration do you recommend we follow Orbis Cascade's document "Preparing for Migration of Local Bib Data to Alma Bibliographic Record Extensions"? | Standard list of fields approach is a good one to follow. |
| Resource Management | What happens if we miss a resource on P2E? | It migrates as print and will require cleanup |
| Resource Management | For government documents, we plan to migrate all of our gov docs that are print + online, and turn on KB for all online resources. Are print + online considered package or portfolio? | Portfolio |
| Acquisitions | Issue of Acquisitions data and masking data:do we need to worry about confidentiality of price data? | CSU: When sharing credentials for the vanguard, provide statement to all CSU's to ensure understanding that pricing / order data is confidential and not to be shared out or shared with vendors |
| Fulfillment | How to handle SPC items that are in ASRS, pulled for researchers who come to view materials for the course of several months. | Mark the location as a reading room, move items in and out from this circulation desk. Check out to patron, goes back to 'reading room' status. |
| General | Can normalization rules be shared with other CSUs? | Yes, you can create normalization rules inside the Network Zone and all other CSUs will have access to the normalization rule. |
| Resource Management | Match profiles - why we would want to avoid matching on "community zone" records? | When loading vendor files be aware of matching on Community Zone records; can set up match profiles to not match community zone records. |
| Resource Management | When are authority records loaded, for those campuses that have local authorities? | Authority records are loaded into Alma post-migration. |
| Resource Management | How will MARC field 994s, which contain holdings symbol from OCLC that comes from Connexion be handled? (example field: 994__ C0|bCNO) | There is no functional use or any functional implications related to this field in Alma. |
| Fulfillment | Should we assign non-circulating locations a Location Types and then use the Exception rule to keep them from circulating? | Those locations still should be assigned location type (mandatory). But, they will get circulation rules based on item policy that will be created according to item exception table and will be assigned non-circulation policies as defined. Some advantages that I can think about right now is that when user gets to Primo item list system displays policy. You may still want to enable digitization requests for item in those locations. There are other places where system checks TOU (terms of use) rules, for example, requestable/non-requestable for resource sharing. |
| Acquisitions | How do we set up and handle funds that have Deposit amounts that aren’t counted against this fiscal year (i.e., funds were allocated years ago to the vendor but we still use the deposit account)? | In Alma, funds and ledgers are defined per fiscal period and can be used only during that fiscal period. There is a rule under ledger that enables to define grace period that allows the allocated funds to be used before and after the fiscal period for which they are defined. Fund from previous year will be available during this grace period. But, as you do not know how long deposit funds will take to be spent, you may consider to use current fiscal year ledgers and funds for vendors deposit amounts instead off grace period (recommended). At the end of the fiscal year you will rollover remaining transactions to a new fiscal year. You can create separate ledger and funds for vendors deposit amounts with allocated transaction and notes indicating an allocation source. This will also enable you to track transactions per specific vendor, see remaining balances, create reports. |
| Resource Management | Is Alma configured to accept, manage, index (the titles, in $t, only) these 970 fields and all of its coding? If yes, is this in the IZ or NZ or both? Does Primo also index and display these 970s? | Alma supports local field 970 and sub-field 't' in IZ and NZ. If the 970 fields come over in the MARC records from Alma (as it sounds as if they will), then yes, the normalization rules can be modified to make these fields both displayable and searchable. |
| Fulfillment | What is the purpose of "Course Department" under work order departments? | Course processing department appears very similar to work order department in Alma, but it has its own purpose. It should be created from Fulfillment Configuration menu. Course processing department is a mandatory field in course record. Operators working on courses of a specific department are defined under a course processing department. Big institutions may have multiple course processing departments with their own courses and operators. |
| Fulfillment | How do I add a new work order department? | Please go to Fulfillment Configuration menu - Courses - Processing Departments - click Add Department. NOTE: General Configuration Menu --> Work Orders and Departments --> Work Order Departments will not work. Work order configuration starts with defining the type (the work you're going to track with a work order), then defining the department(s) who will do that work and the statuses that make up the work being done. Work Order Departments are associated with Work Order Types. So, yes - you will need to configure a work order type before you can set a department.
|
| Analytics | Is it possible to search local data MARC fields in Analytics? Is there something we need to configure to make local 9xx fields searchable? Alternatively, is there a way to create a Set and somehow use the Create Set export / criteria to create an Analytics analysis, so we could search for this criteria in Create Sets and then create an Analysis from the set? | ANALYTICS: Bibliographic data in Analytics is found in the Bibliographic Details shared dimension. Documentation on what's included there is in Alma Online Help > Analytics > Shared Dimensions > Bibliographic Details. * The Local Notes (59x) fields are not currently included in Analytics. * Ex Libris staff can make up to 5 9xx fields per institution available for your use in the Local Param fields of that shared dimension. Please log a Salesforce case with the fields you want added, and we can do this for you. Further details from the CKC: SEARCH SETS / EXPORT: This approach should work for your use case, because the 59x and 9xx fields are indexed for searching in Alma. (I've included some links from Alma Online Help > Resource Management that I think will be helpful.) * The "Local Notes" index in Alma searches only the 59x. (See Search Indexes in Online Help for a list of MARC tags indexed per index name and vice versa.) * Every 9xx field is indexed separately in Alma, but few of them are active for searching by default. These can be turned on in the Resource Management Configuration Menu. (See Configuring Search in Online Help for details on enabling these for search.) |
| General | How do I find items in our catalog that have OCLC numbers but did not link to the Network Zone? | You may create a set of record that have OCLC number and 'Is Linked' = No. Under Run a Job - find process "Link a set of records to the Network Zone" - select contribute option. Run the same search second time and find records that didn't link to NZ. Those records will need additional analysis. |
| General | Is it possible in Alma to set up static due dates for return of items? | You will need to update calendar event date. Please see articles: http://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Knowledge_Articles/How_to_add_a_Fix… http://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Knowledge_Articles/Add_or_modify_%2… http://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Knowledge_Articles/Why_is_new_%22En… |
| Resource Management | Is there a way for Alma to enable sorting of portfolio titles within an electronic collection? | There currently is not a way to sort the list, but the Idea Exchange is the perfect place to elevate the idea. To search for a portfolio title within a collection, you can search in Electronic Portfolios for the collection name and portfolio name. For example, searching for "Elsevier SD Corporate Edition Value in Health" retrieves the two Value in Health portfolios within the collection. |
| Discovery | Is the relationship between our Test Alma and test Primo fully functional and dynamic? | During implementation we don't have incremental/ongoing publishing turned on between Primo and Alma. However, we can certainly do ad hoc publishing when needed if there is something that institutions would like to test. Once you are live, publishing to Primo will happen every 6 hours. The Alma pipe and indexing will run on the Primo side a couple of times per day. |
| Resource Management | We de-duped our OCLC numbers so our records now only have one 001 and 003. Will migration team move them to the 035 in Alma, or should we create the 035 in Sierra before data load? | Migration script moves 001 content to 035 during migration. You should leave OCLC number in 001 with the cataloging agency in the 003 field. On migration, 001 and 003 are moved to an 035 $$a field. OCLC prefix is not added by default, and will not be added if no 003 field. Migration script should check if there is already OCLC number and will not create duplicate, if it exists already. If there is in data 001 and 003, no need to add 035. |
| Acquisitions | We noticed that when creating a new item record, the Process Type field has no options in the drop-down menu. However, once the item record is saved, then our process types appear in the drop down menu. Is this the way it is supposed to work? Or are we missing something? | Yes, this is expected behavior. Process types are dependent on work orders and Alma doesn't know which work orders are appropriate until the item is created. More info here: http://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Knowledge_Articles/Cannot_edit_or_a… |
| Acquisitions | How do we achieve the following workflow: route a newly received book to cataloging (which is a staff of about 7 people) for final review before transiting the book to the shelf, like this: 1) Book is received (by Acquisitions) and "In Processing" Work Order is assigned 2) Book goes to cataloging department 3) Someone in cataloging reviews the bib record and item record and when complete the book can go to the circ desk for shelving | That workflow will be accomplished by using the "Keep In Department" checkbox, which creates a work order under the default AcqWorkOrder (CAMS) type. Since this type is out of the box, you don't need to add departments or operators to it. Any operator with the role of "Receving Operator" or "Purchasing Operator" will be able to manage items associated with this work order. More info here: http://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/Alma_Online_H… |
| Acquisitions | How do we allow the Acquisitions Dept to shelve books after receiving, rather than requiring them to be sent to the Circ Desk, scanned there, and then shelved? | The way this works in Alma is that your operators will actually be "Currently At" the Circ Desk to do their receiving. The configuration has made the Circ Desk (which you can rename to "Main Desk" or another name of your choosing) able to manage Acquisitions Receiving, so that you can skip the extra transit step.
The last part of the setup would be that you can scope the acq staff's receiving roles only to the Circ Desk and eliminate the default Acquisitions Department, so that they're not having to change their location for any reason. (Remember that, in Alma, "Currently At" only matters when you are scanning a physical item in order to do something to it or move it.) |
| General | Dance in Video records are not searchable in the NZ using the Electronic Collection title. Nor are they searchable in NZ using Electronic Portfolio. We assume this is expected behavior because the local collection record is only in the IZ, even though the records are linked to NZ and portfolios linked to the records. Also, these records are only searchable in the NZ using an “All title” search. Results are not received using an “electronic title” search. | This is expected behavior. Search for IZ inventory is done in the NZ under 'All Titles' search type only. Except Institution zone CZ records which are searchable in Electronic Titles search in Network Zone tab. IZ SFX migrated records are linked to CZ and their bibliographic records are contributed to NZ. Those titles are indexed in the NZ and searchable in Electronic titles search type. |
| Fulfillment | We noticed that when a user's expiration date is coming up, the due date is automatically shorted to the day before the user's expiration date. However, there isn't any indication that the loan is shorter than the regular loan. We were wondering if there is any way to configure an alert at the time of checkout that indicates the item's due date has been shortened as a result of the user's expiration date? | Please see documentation for configuration details http://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Release_Notes/01_2016/06June_2016/A… chapter "Alerts for Shortened Due Dates" |