Browse Bib Headings

Open Browse Bibliographic Headings

There are two ways to open the bibliographic headings browsing options in the Metadata Editor:

From the left menu column, select Resources > Cataloging > Browse Bibliographic Headings.

The MDE will pop up with the Browse Bibliographic Headings window in the main pane:
In the MDE, select menu option Search & Browse > Browse Bibliographic Headings. If you already have a bib or holdings record open, the Browse Bibliographic Headings window will appear to the right of the record, in split pane mode:

You can browse by the following heading types:

Names (the default option)
Series
Subject
Title
Call Number/Classifications

Note that this tool shows headings that appear in bibliographic records in our catalog. If you are trying to search for authorized headings, use the F3 key to access the authorities lookup.

Interpreting the Headings Browse Results

When you search for a heading in the Browse Bibliographic Headings tool, the resulting list of headings will appear as follows:

On the left side of the main pane, you see the list of headings. Headings with the binoculars icon to the left are authorized; those without the binoculars icon are uncontrolled headings in our catalog.
The number next to the binoculars indicates the number of times the heading appears in our catalog.
Clicking the "view" button will pull up any associated authority or bibliographic records in the right side of the main pane. If the heading is not established, only associated bib records will be displayed.
Consult the Ex Libris documentation, linked below, for information on which fields and subfields are indexed.

Source

Ex Libris Knowledge Center > Browsing Bibliographic Headings contains extensive documentation on the available search parameters and fields/subfields indexed by the browse feature.

Known Issues

There are a number of known issues with Alma's Browse Bib Headings feature, some of which are slated to be fixed in upcoming software updates:

(Table below adapted from Harvard's Alma Wiki)

General	Problem	Impact	Workaround	Created Date	Expected resolution (Via Harvard)
	Usability issues	We need an option to leave the vocabulary blank in Browse by Subject. Otherwise we have no way of seeing headings that are not in one of vocabularies in the Alma CZ, such as Getty and AAT. Dropdown selections need to be sticky so you don't have to reselect every time. Subjects > Geographic names, there is both an option for LCSH and an option for LC Name authority records for 651. This is very confusing because both those vocabs read from 651/0 so you have to look in two different places depending on whether a 651 may be subdivided or not. There should be one LC vocab option when browsing by subject geographic names.		(Initially reported as part of implementation) Salesforce case created after lack of traction: 11/12/19 (Also reported to UX basecamp)
	Headings Info search (via Browse) fails to retrieve data for LC names for 651 when using "Exact phrase starting with"	Using Open in Repo search defaults to Equal, where correct results are retrieved. Changing Equal to Exact phrase, when using LC names for 651 vocab, returns 0 incorrectly. Cannot effectively use search for LC names 651 searches.		1/31/20
Heading Type: Source Code	Problem	Impact	Workaround	Created Date	Expected resolution
Name	240 is missing from index entries for 100 / 110 / 111	Name-title entries are incomplete because they include $t from 6XX/7XX but not 240 with 1XX		6/21/17	Working with ExL to develop new, separate name-title browse
Name: Personal	$t is missing from entries based on 700. It is present for entries based on 600.	Name-title values from 700 are listed as only names and not names with titles. Name-title values from 600 are listed as names with titles. Name-title values file separately when they are 700 vs. 600 due to inconsistency of title display		4/6/18	Same as above Update Feb 2021: ExL reported this would not be part of current development work plan
Name: Personal	$q is missing from entries based on 100/700. Is present for entries based on 600.	Names with qualifiers from 100/700 are listed as only names without qualifiers Names with qualifiers from 600 are listed as names with qualifiers. Names with qualifiers file separately when they are 100/700 vs. 600 due to inconsistency of qualifier display		4/6/18	Planned to be fixed ~~Q3 2020~~ August 2021
Series: Uniform Title	490/1 is included	490/1 is not a controlled heading, therefore the list cannot be used to verify whether the series headings in controlled fields have the correct term		12/18/2018	Case closed. Needs to be enhancement or Ideas Exchange. Forwarded to ELUNA Authority Task Group.
Title	240 uniform title is missing 740 title is missing 600 $t is missing			4/9/18	Working with ExL to develop new, separate name-title browse Update Feb 2021: ExL reported this would not be part of current development work plan