Cataloging and Inventory Management: FAQ
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- 1 Log into Alma
- 2 Searching Alma
- 2.1 1) What is MMS ID?
- 2.2 2) What does Princeton's Repository mean?
- 2.3 3) How do I search by a non-LC call number, such as one of Special Collection materials?
- 2.4 4) How do I browse records by call number?
- 2.5 5) I'd like to narrow down my search by journal title, so I select the search index Serial Title in the Advanced search. Somehow it finds nothing even though I am searching a known journal title PUL has. Why?
- 2.6 6) I found the title I am looking for by an Order Lines search. What is the quickest way to bring the bib record into the Metadata Editor?
- 3 Metadata Editor
- 3.1 1) How do I select multiple fields at a time?
- 3.2 2) What can I do if a record I intend to edit is currently locked in someone else's MDE? The record header displays View Only - locked by [the Princeton ID of another cataloger].
- 3.3 3) How do I release multiple records from the MDE at once?
- 3.4 4) How do I know when a new record becomes permanent in Alma?
- 3.5 5) I have retrieved a WorldCat record to overlay an Alma record, but realize that this is a wrong choice. How can I recover the original Alma record?
- 3.6 6) How can I prevent a skeleton record from being exported to OCLC?
- 3.7 7) How do I enter diacritics and symbols in the Metadata Editor?
- 3.8 8) I don't have the privilege to delete a bib/holdings record that needs to be deleted. What shall I do?
- 3.9 9) I'd like to contact the person who has last touched and saved the record I am opening in the MDE.
- 3.10 10) How do I catalog bound-with materials?
- 4 Connexion Client
- 4.1 1) I am new to Connexion Client. How do I set it up?
- 4.2 2) Do I use PUL or NjP in the subfields of 040?
- 4.3 3) If a record requires major editing, I am required to edit it in Connexion Client, correct?
- 4.4 4) My existing local bib contains some rich data not found in the WorldCat record. I'd like to protect those fields in the overlay process. How do I do that?
- 5 Inventory
- 5.1 1) I heard that location codes have changed after data migrated to Alma. Where I can find the latest list of location codes?
- 5.2 2) I have brought a holdings record into the MDE earlier but don't see it listed in the Left Pane. What do I do?
- 5.3 3) I have a holdings record open in my MDE? How can I open its item record from here?
- 5.4 4) Is there a keyboard shortcut for the menu option Update from Bibliographic?
- 5.5 5) Can two people edit the same item record at the same time?
- 5.6 6) Does Alma display bib-holdings-item records in a hierarchical view like Voyager does?
- 5.7 7) How do I link a title in Alma to a Figgy item?
- 6 Blacklight Discovery
- 6.1 1) How does one suppress a bib or holdings record so that it does not show in Blacklight?
- 6.2 2) How long shall I wait to see changes I made to a record in Alma reflected in Blacklight?
- 6.3 3) How do I tell if a record is from Princeton’s repository or one that belongs to one of our ReCAP partners?
- 7 Work Order
- 8 Other
Log into Alma
1) I bookmarked the Alma homepage in my web browser. The second time I tried it I couldn't open Alma.
A: On Preferred Web Browsers you can find instructions on how to bookmark the Alma homepage with its stable URL.
2) Can I have Alma open in two windows?
Ex Libris recommends having Alma open in only one browser window. You may lose work done in one window if you refresh the other.
See Preferred Web Browsers - Best Practices on how to work with two browser windows if called for by your workflow.
Searching Alma
1) What is MMS ID?
MMS ID is short for Metadata Management System ID. It is the unique identifying number of records in Alma. For bib records, MMS ID is stored in the MARC field 001.
See full explanation in Alma System Numbers
2) What does Princeton's Repository mean?
Princeton's Repository is where metadata of PUL's resources is stored. Save to DB, the Voyager operation of saving a record to the catalog database, would be translated into Save to Princeton's Repository in the Alma context.
See Alma Vocabulary Cheat Sheet for brief explanations of key terms in Alma.
3) How do I search by a non-LC call number, such as one of Special Collection materials?
See Sample Searches no. 11 Special Collections AbID. If the call number is short and giving you many false recalls, you may use the Advanced search.
Alternatively, you may include 852 $k (Call number prefix) value in your search text if such information is available. For example, instead of searching for call number 11352, type in Euro 20 11352
4) How do I browse records by call number?
The Browse Shelf Listing features allows us to browse records by call number and bring them into the Metadata Editor.
The feature is an exact replica of how Voyager browses by call number.
5) I'd like to narrow down my search by journal title, so I select the search index Serial Title in the Advanced search. Somehow it finds nothing even though I am searching a known journal title PUL has. Why?
The search index Serial Title is another misleading choice, which indexes the MARC field 222 according to the Ex Libris search indexes table. Not every serial publication contains that field in the bib record, resulting in incomplete or zero results. See the example below.
Serial title | No records were found by serial title search |
|---|---|
Title | Three journal titles found by title search |
One workaround is to choose Title - Starts with (or another operator that best suits your search criteria), and, in the results display, select the facet Journal to filter the list.
6) I found the title I am looking for by an Order Lines search. What is the quickest way to bring the bib record into the Metadata Editor?
One way is to copy the MMS ID of the title and conduct a new All Titles search. Here is an alternative method to try.
Click on the hyperlinked title in the Order lines search result, and you open Purchase Order Line Details.
If the details page takes up the entire webpage, press Ctrl + minus to zoom out until the page splits into two panes.
Click on the hyperlinked title in the narrow pane on the right side. This takes you to the read-only Record View of the bib record
Press Edit or Push to MDE
Now you will be able to edit the bib.
To recover the page to a larger font size, press Ctrl + 0 (zero) to return to the default setting or Ctrl + plus to zoom back in.
Metadata Editor
1) How do I select multiple fields at a time?
Hold the Ctrl key down while you click on the fields of interest one by one
See Edit Fields or the tutorial video Edit Fields in the Metadata Editor: Basic Operations
2) What can I do if a record I intend to edit is currently locked in someone else's MDE? The record header displays View Only - locked by [the Princeton ID of another cataloger].
The plan is to configure Alma so that records will be unlocked after X number of hours has elapsed since an Alma user exits the MDE. We will update the answer when the configuration has been finalized.
See Save and Release Records - Unlock by the system
3) How do I release multiple records from the MDE at once?
You can use the Release displayed records in list (Icon no. 7 in the Left Pane) button. Note that this action does not save the latest changes you've made to these records before releasing. See more in Release all
4) How do I know when a new record becomes permanent in Alma?
A newly created or imported record is added to Princeton's Repository after the record has been Saved (Ctrl+S) or Saved and Released (Ctrl+Alt+R). The key signal is the presence or absence of the badge in the record header. You can also identify a record that has been saved to the repository because it contains an 001 field with the MMS ID. This topic is discussed in Module 3.
See Save and Release Records and click to display the answer to the question Has the record (or its current version) been saved into Princeton's Repository
The question is also addressed in Quiz no. 9 & 10 of the tutorial video The Metadata Editor: Orientation
5) I have retrieved a WorldCat record to overlay an Alma record, but realize that this is a wrong choice. How can I recover the original Alma record?
If you have performed Copy & Merge but have not saved the merged version to Princeton's Repository, you may apply the menu option Reload Original Record; otherwise apply View Versions to restore.
See detail in Import OCLC Records Into Alma. View Versions is also explained in Save and Release Records
6) How can I prevent a skeleton record from being exported to OCLC?
In Voyager we used to check or uncheck the OK to export box. In Alma the equivalent choice is controlled under the menu option Record Actions > Set Management Tags > Export to WorldCat > Don't Publish or Publish Bib.
Alternatively, Alma allows us to define brief levels as a threshold to prevent skeleton records from being exported to WorldCat. The "Brief Level" is a feature custom to Alma and is not the same as the Encoding Level in the LDR of the bib record. Please stay tuned for updates once configurations and default choices are finalized.
7) How do I enter diacritics and symbols in the Metadata Editor?
As of July 2021 we have macro books version A and B available for testing. You are welcome to download them and test. Feedback is appreciated!
We do recommend using Connexion Client for heavy editing of diacritics and symbols.
8) I don't have the privilege to delete a bib/holdings record that needs to be deleted. What shall I do?
Suppose your unit has a designated person to delete records, select the menu option Record Actions > Assign Record to Another Cataloger. Click on the target name, leave a note, and press Assign To
This operation is covered in Cataloging & Inventory Management Training Module 3: Cataloging, Part 2 Slides no 46-47
See Suppress or Delete Bib Records
9) I'd like to contact the person who has last touched and saved the record I am opening in the MDE.
This is actually best done from repository search results view.