Alma Brief Record Level Configuration

Document status	APPROVED Dec 9, 2016 ; REVIEWED Jul 3, 2019
Area covered	acquisitions, cataloging
Lead Author	@Wendy Vermeer (Unlicensed)
Co-authors	@Carole Correa-Morris (Unlicensed), @Del Williams, @Kim Valenzuela,@Moon Kim, @Tyler Rogers

Background

Alma supports 10 levels (often referred to as “Encoding Levels”) of brief bibliographic records. This policy articulates recommended Brief Record Level Configuration Rules for records.

Policy Statement

The rule "CSU Brief Level Rule" is written to implement the following hierarchical logic based on value in the Leader byte 17 "Encoding Level" and applies to records imported to the NZ:

Mapping Information

The NZ Brief Record Level Rule is mapped as follows from the Leader byte 17 "Encoding Level" of the MARC record:

Alma Brief Level	Leader byte 17	Description
10	(blank)	Full level
09	I / L	Full level input by OCLC participants (uppercase “i”) / Full level input added from a batch process (future: use ‘M’ instead)
08	1	Full level, material not examined
07	4	Core level
06	K / M	Less-than-full added from a batch process
05	2 / 7	Less-than-full level, material not examined / Minimal level (OCLC Bib Formats: OCLC participants cataloging online at Minimal level, use ‘K’)
04	8	Pre-publication level
03	3	Abbreviated level
02	5	Partial (preliminary) level (and other codes, e.g., u & z, as encountered and appropriate)
01	J	Deleted record

Note: institutions have the ability to create import profiles that utilize "CSU Brief Level Rule." Otherwise, import profiles that load records into an institution's IZ (i.e., have "Use Network Zone = No") will use the local IZ Brief Level Rule.

Documentation (Ex Libris)

"Working with Brief Record Levels" (see Setting the Brief Level Rule Default in the Metadata Configuration)

Action log

Section	Point Person	Expected Completion Date	Last action taken

Section	Point Person	Expected Completion Date	Last action taken
Articulate the need for the policy (background)	Acquisitions Task Force	Oct 14, 2016	Need to set brief record level configuration in the NZ.	Sent to Technical Services Working Group
Create a Policy Statement	@Wendy Vermeer (Unlicensed)	Nov 11, 2016	Drafted policy and input draft.
Identify and create best practice recommendations	@Wendy Vermeer (Unlicensed)	Nov 11, 2016
Revised @Luiz Mendes (Unlicensed) Created "CSU Brief Level Rule" in NZ (Marcus Jun, Import Profiles Task Force)	Cataloging Task Force Import Profiles Task Force	Feb 20, 2017	Revised policy. Added reference to CSU Brief Level Rule created for the NZ.