Alma System Numbers

In Alma, each record has a system ID number called the MMS ID (short for Metadata Management System ID), which uniquely identifies each record and can be used to link related records together.

Components of an MMS ID

An Alma MMS ID is made up of three parts. For example, the record number 99125388579206421 breaks out in the following manner:

part	example
Two-digit prefix code	99
Unique part of the record number	12538857920
Four-digit institution code for PUL	6421

Two-digit prefix code

Each record starts with a two-digit code that indicates the record type. Below is a partial list.

Prefix code	Type of record	Label in repository search results	Name of search index	Example
99	Bibliographic	MMS ID	MMS ID	99110316513506421
22	Holdings record	Holdings ID	Holdings PID*	2229670740006421
23	Item record	Item ID	Item PID	2329670710006421
61	Electronic collection	Collection ID	Electronic Collection PID	61470709990006421
53	Electronic portfolio	Portfolio ID	Portfolio PID	53478169920006421

*PID: Alma system number for an inventory entity.

Additionally, Alma has other system numbers such as Analytics IEP (Intellectual Entity Physical) beginning with "21". IEP is useful for making itemized sets of physical titles, for which MMS ID and Holdings ID are not valid column headers. The IEP is a unique identifier for all physical inventory associated with a record. It is found in Analytics under Physical Items / Physical Item Details. See Analytics documentation. N.B. To make a set the header must be changed from "IEP" to "PID". See How to create a 'Physical Titles' itemized set using a list of MMS IDs.

Data migration from Voyager to Alma

The MMS ID of bib records that migrated from Voyager to Alma (in July 2021) follows the pattern of 99VoyagerbibID3506421.

Note that the pattern applies to bib records only, not to the Voyager ID of holdings or item records.

The legacy Voyager bib ID is stored in the 035 field and searchable by Originating System ID available in Advanced search.

Convert Voyager Bib ID to Alma MMS ID

Use this Google Sheets Tool to convert Voyager Bib ID to Alma MMS ID.

Alternatively, download to convert Voyager Bib IDs in a batch.

Source

Ex Libris Knowledge Center > Record Numbers