Alma
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102 results found
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Make Cataloger notes searchable in Alma and/or Analytics.
It would be helpful if the data in the Cataloger notes within bibliographic records were searchable, possibly through Advanced search, keyword search, or even within Analytics. This would allow catalogers to easily gather these notes and organize them for specific resources related to projects that require review.
22 votes -
Apply different Physical Item Sort Routines to different material types
It would be useful to to apply a different sort routine to different item formats. So for example, we'd prefer books to sort by description ascending, but journals to sort by description descending.
21 votes -
Permanent Call Number in Physical Item Editor
It would be extremely useful if we could edit the permanent call number in the physical item editor the same way we can edit the permanent location. This information is an holding's element in many libraries.
Otherwise, after receiving the orders, we need to edit both the physical item and the holding after cataloging and before scanning the items to put them on the shelves.. This is tedious and prone to errors.20 votes -
Allow merge rules for authority import profiles
It would be very useful allowing custom merge rules in Alma authority import profiles for ensure controlled, automated updates of authority records,
especially in a cooperative cataloguing environment.
Configuring these rules to selectively merge, keep, or add specific MARC fields during import, would ensure enhancing data quality for both local
and network zones.18 votes -
Ability to change item's Material Type while in process
We would like the ability to change an item's Material Type while the item is in process. Currently, Alma does not allow this unless the item is in place. If the item is in process, we get the error message, "The item is not in place and there are requests registered for this item. Please handle the requests before moving or updating this item." Incorrect material type is part of the reason the item was sent to processing, so it seems strange the change cannot be made while the item is there.
17 votes -
Consortia distribution mode of RetentionReason table per row
Hi,
we're thinking about the distribution of configuration for the Collection development from the Network Zone.
For our use case, we need to be able to centrally distribute the Retention Reason table per row (
Customization mode: Specific rows can be customized). There might be a mix of consortia and local reasons for retention. The NZ should be able to distribute the consortia retention reasons and the IZs should be able to add their own local retention reasons independently of the distributed NZ reasons.16 votes -
History Note Indicating Shelf Report Processing
For physical collection care/management teams, it would be valuable to have an indicator in an item's history that notes a barcode was fed through the Shelf Report Function along with the date. This small note can be immensely valuable when tracking down missing physical items in a collection.
16 votes -
Auto Populated Copy ID Number Added to New Item Records
I'd like to propose streamlining the Alma item record creation process by enabling automatic population of the Copy ID field with "1" for new items. The system should also allow for easy modification of this default value for subsequent copies (2, 3, 4, etc.).
Currently, the manual entry of "1" is often missed, leading to errors and requiring time-consuming batch corrections. Implementing this auto-population feature would significantly reduce data entry time and the need for monthly clean-up reports, ultimately improving efficiency and data accuracy.
This idea was previously suggested by Leona Hughes on June 24, 2020, but was closed: (Automatic…
13 votes -
Apply physical item template with POL template
The POL template allows a small number of item record elements to be saved: library, location, material type.
It would be beneficial to save staff time by allowing staff creating POLs to also select a physical item templates when creating a POL. This would allow setting defaults such as copy ID, item policy, is magnetic, and pieces, that are generally known at the time of order.Templates are essential time savers.
11 votes -
Decouple temporary item policy and temporary location
Sometimes we have to set a temporary item policy for items that stay in their permanent location. This requires setting "Item is in a temporary location" = yes and setting the temporary location to the permanent location for the temporary item policy to apply. We would like the ability to set the temporary item policy without needing to set a temporary location.
Furthermore, no warning message is given when "Item is in a temporary location" = no and a temporary item policy is selected. This can lead to confusion because the temporary item policy is not emptied after the setting…
11 votes -
Collection management tool: adding usage data to reports
This tool would have significantly more value if there was a column for usage data in the exported reports.
Currently the only indication of usage is in the “Badges” column, e.g. “High Usage, Single Item” or “Single Item, Low/No Usage”, but we often need more granular data than this in order to make decisions.
When creating a project, the user can limit the usage of titles (though not items) to more or less than a given number, within a specified timescale; could the actual number of uses be included in the report?11 votes -
Missing Padding Option for Accession Number Sequences in Call Number Generation
Currently, Alma does not support padding (adding leading zeros to reach a fixed number of digits) for accession number sequences used in the automatic generation of call numbers (e.g., via the "Generate" / "Calculate" button in the item editor). If the next sequence value is set to "0003," the leading zeros are removed upon saving. Even if the next sequence remains "0003" in the sequence configuration, the zeros are still automatically stripped when generating the next call number in the item editor.
Institutions that use custom call number schemes requiring padding can therefore only use Alma’s "Generate" or "Calculate" button…
9 votes -
Generate barcodes in batch
Alma can be configured to generate a unique identfier in the barcode field of the item record one record at a time. Once the configuration is set, the unique identifier can be created by clicking the Generate button or simply by clicking Save.
It would be very helpful for Alma be able to generate sequential unique identifiers for each item in a set by running a job. That way, we could create a situation where each item in Alma has a unique identifier, either a real barcode number for a real barcode attached to an item or a different unique…
8 votes -
When editing an item – show only valid item policies for a chosen location
We suggest that the drop-down list of item policies only display item policies that are valid for the chosen location. At present, the drop-down list for item policy in the physical item editor shows all item policies available in the system, regardless of whether they are actually in use for the chosen location or not.
Or the system should display a warning when selecting an item policy that is not used for the chosen location.8 votes -
Put related holdings in its own tab not displayed among the actual holdings in Alma
Add the option to turn off the display of related records holding in the holding display for a title in Alma. Having it among the 'true' holdings is very confusing and for most part not relevant when needing to locate the title at hand - In that case I'm not interested in a completely different title just because they share a relation to that title in our collection.
A tab with the related records information would make a less cluttered view7 votesHi all,
This idea was mistakenly closed. It has now been reopened, and we apologize for any inconvenience caused.
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Customize search indexes for any Holdings field and subfield
The current Holdings indexes skip several valid fields, such as the 347 and 562 fields. The ability to index these fields (especially the 562 field) would help find records with local information that is only recorded in the holdings record.
Additionally, the ability to index any field and subfield combination would allow libraries to use custom subfields within a valid, relevant field (e.g., a 541$g for a non-public Gift Of note).
5 votes -
Expand the character limit for Inventory number field
The Inventory number field for physical items in Alma is currently limited to 20 characters. We are using RFID tags to track some of our items, and would like to store them in the Inventory number field. Because these codes are generally about 25 characters long, it'd be helpful if the size of the field could be extended to 30 or (preferably) 50 characters.
5 votes -
The Provenance field in the physical item editor
We would like the Provenance field in the physical item editor to be mandatory.
It is possible to have a default for the list but that is not the same thing. We are afraid people will be not so attentive, and the default option will be the one they always choose. We want it to be mandatory and default to nothing. The user then has to choose something in order to save the item.4 votes -
Add clarifying language to the Delete Holdings records with no Physical Items job
Adjust the wording on the “Delete Holdings records with no Physical items” job to match wording from the “Withdrawn Physical items” job. Change “Delete bibliographic records” to “Delete bibliographic records that have no other holdings” AND "Suppress bibliographic records” to “Suppress bibliographic records that have no other holdings from publishing”. This would add needed clarity to what is happening when running the "Delete Holdings records with no Physical items" job.
4 votes -
Add RBMS CVRMC (Controlled Vocabulary for Rare Materials Cataloguing)
We would like to suggest adding RBMS CVRMC, (Controlled Vocabulary for Rare Materials Cataloguing) to the authority vocabularies in the resource management configuration.
The vocabulary comprises terms specific to the needs of the rare materials community and combines six separate, print thesauri used for recording the genre and physical characteristics of cataloged materials
RBMSCV is available at the Library of Congress' linked data service https://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/rbmscv.htmlWe add the terms at present in a 655 _7 $a heading $2 rbmscv but they do not authorize when we hit f3
Adding CVRMC terms would help greatly with user needs when searching PRIMO
4 votes
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