Alma
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We would love to be able to respond to every idea that is submitted, but this is not feasible. We are, however, committed to responding to the most popular ideas—those that have received the most points.
For more information please review our FAQ and guidelines. Thank you.
32 results found
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Create a new an authorities search index “Matching Information” (or the like) for field 885
As Alma GND User Group we represent staff users that are tasked with data management in the Integrated Authority File (GND), the most widely used authority file in the German speaking library community.
We would like Ex Libris to introduce an authorities search index that makes the content of MARC 21 Format for Authority Data field 885 available for search purposes.
As a QA measure several different algorithms are applied to the content of GND to find potential duplicate records and mark these candidates in field 885. In cases where the confidence value does not reach a certain threshold, the…106 votesIt is now allowed to search for the Authority content in Marc field 885.
For more information, please refer to the Alma May release notes and online help.
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Please add the "suppress bibliographic record" to the log of the "view versions" in the MD editor
Hello,
We would like to have the ability to know when and by whom a bibliographic record was suppressed, when checking the "view versions" in the MD editor.
Thanks.
Dafna219 votesManagement tags now include a record version to better track system changes. For more information, please refer to the Alma May release notes and online help.
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New Alma Layout and New Metadata Editor: Same Icons for Different Functions
In the New Alma Layout the ‘Recent Pages’ and ‘Recent Entities’ share the same icon although they serve different content (cf. attached screen clipping).
In the new Alma layout, the icon for Advanced Search displayed left of the persistent search slot is essentially the same as the icon in the new Metadata Editor's left pane, which serves to filter the list of records (cf. attached screen clipping).
We believe that using one icon for two different functions is confusing to the users and suggest replacing the icon for one of the two for both cases.
2 votesThank you for your feedback. We have changed the advance search icon to a different icon than the filtering option in the new metadata editor.
We have checked the other idea of changing the icon for Recent Pages and the icon for Recent Entities and come to the conclusion it is the common semantic users are used to. -
Show if cataloguer notes exist
When working in the meta data editor we don't know if a record has notes attached to it unless we select "View Notes". it would be helpful if record with notes attached showed the existence of a note, maybe with a small symbol?
1 vote -
UNIMARC to MARC21 Authorities crosswalk issues
UNIMARC to MARC21 crosswalk should be updated
On behalf of the Product management team we would like to hear about the improvments that are required of the following 'Planned' feature (which it's need was raised by a specific library) - any comment is welcome.0 votesA number of enhancements were introduced to the UNIMARC/MARC21 crosswalk to handle missing/new/incorrect fields mapping
For more information please see Alma December Release Notes:
https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Release_Notes/2021/Alma_2021_Release_Notes -
Support SWEDISH and NORWEGIAN special diacritics in Browse
Support SWEDISH and NORWEGIAN special diacritics in Browse
On behalf of the Product management team we would like to understand the need and use cases of the following 'Planned' feature (which it's need was raised by a specific library) - any comment is welcome.0 votesAs of July release the handling of Scandinavian characters was enhanced.
for more information please see Alma July release notes:
https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Release_Notes/2021/Alma_2021_Release_Notes -
The issue of generating 008 filed in MARC 21 Bib
While creating a new MARC 21 bib record, Alma generates the 008 automatically, such as "191126s2013####xx######r#####000#0#eng#d"
The value in position 7-10 is a fixed date "2013". We would like the position 7-10 can be customized and retrieved from 264$c or 260$c.4 votesMARC21 OTB template of Books/Computer Files/Maps/Music, field 008 positions 7-11 had the year 2013. This was modified to the current year 2021.
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We expect UNIMARC and CNMARC tag 100 could be treated as a Control Field in NRs like MARC 008 field.
We have an issue with UNIMARC/CNMARC field 100 which is not considered as Control Field when using Normalization Rules
The current incorrect behavior is that the UNIMARC/CNMARC tag 100 cannot be changed using a NR for "replaceControlContents" - "Failed during compilation of drools files". Changing the NR to "replaceContents" produces no error but is not working (as 100 is a Control Field)
We expect UNIMARC and CNMARC tag 100 could be treated as a Control Field in NRs like MARC 008 field.7 votesA new function was added to enhance the Alma DROOLS to support the normalization of UNIMARC and CNMARC 1XX fixed position fields. As a result of the enhancement, UNIMARC and CNMARC tag 1XX are treated as Control Fields in Normalization Rules and no error messages are displayed.
For more information please see Alma November Release Notes
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The metadata editor is not friendly for editing the bibliographic record
It would be advisable to improve the visualization of the complete record; also that the cursor should be more precise when completing the indicators of each field; that the spaces between the subfields should be more clearly seen, etc, etc
1 voteWas addressed as part of the new Metadata Editor
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Stop adding a line and taking cursor to 2nd line when I copy/paste into a field
Whenever I copy & paste content into a field (replacing old content), it automatically does a carriage return/enter and adds an extra line below and moves the content I just pasted to the top where it disappears until I scroll to see it again. My cursor is automatically taken to the 2nd line and the first line disappears until I scroll or back up to see it.
1 voteThe new Metadata Editor now supports several copy-paste options.
For more information see August Release Notes -
Prevent 9xx local fields from being saved to Community Zone (CZ) records
There is a known issue of some sites not adhering to the Community Zone (CZ) Contribution Guidelines and Community Catalog Standards.
An example of this is the addition of local 9xx fields to CZ records.
Ex Libris already uses a normalization routine to validate CZ records which are changed by customers.
However, this routine does not specifically prevent the addition of local 9xx fields, even though the guidelines are clear that only changes which benefit the broader community should be made.Use case:
This has been a longstanding issue, but has been fixable in the Primo Back Office to an…24 votesHello all,
All 9XX local fields, excluding 906, 920, and 999, are removed from being saved to Community Zone records.
Please see October 2020 release notes https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Release_Notes/2020/Alma_2020_Release_Notes
Alma Product Team
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Create a Physical Titles or Physical Items set from a list of MMS IDs
It is possible to create an All Titles set from a list of MMS IDs, but not a Physical Titles or Physical Items set. To run certain jobs – like Change Holdings Information – a Physical Titles set is required. In order to run this job on a list of MMS IDs, you must first create an All Titles set, then extract some other key like OCLC #, then create a Physical Titles set from that list, and only then can you run your job. Since all physical titles and items DO have MMS IDs, it should be possible to…
40 votes -
Add OCLC number to physical item export
Large scale weeding projects would be made much more efficient if Alma offered the ability to include OCLC numbers in the physical items set export details. Currently, we are in the position of using a work-around where we must create a title-level set based on the same items. There are bib-level elements present in the physical item export, so we assume this is possible. Ultimately, we would prefer the option to select which fields export for every export we perform, but the addition of OCLC number to physical item exports would be a great first step.
95 votes -
Preferred term correction should flip headings that change tag number
Alma authority control does not handle cases where the bib heading is linked to an authority via a cross-reference, but the preferred and non-preferred terms are in different fields, e.g. preferred term is in authority field 130 and cross-reference in authority is in 410.
Alma should be able to handle this scenario. Currently when the bib heading matches the authority cross-reference, Alma won't correct these and instead puts them on this report: Preferred Term Correction - Bib Heading found no authorized term.
Example bib heading that Alma won't correct:
110/2_ $$a Allied and Associated Powers (1914-1920). $$t Treaties, etc. $$g…
249 votesNow in Alma, the Preferred Term Correction can flip headings with cross-reference in different fields.
For more information, see Managing Preferred Term Correction.
For more information on the report type, see Using the Authority Control Task List.
For more information on the customer parameter, see Configuring Other Settings (Resource Management).
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offer true author/creator browse
Currently Alma offers browsing bib headings with using "names" type - which includes also headings from 600/610/611.
We find it more useful to have a way to browse by author/creator headings without the subject name fields (relevant 1xx and 7xx without 6xx).263 votesAlma enables you to browse bibliographic headings to support various cataloging workflows. You can browse by author name, subject, series, and title.
As of November release for cases when a person appears both as a creator and as a subject (i.e., ‘Agatha Christie’ might be both the subject and an author), you can select between the following methods of mapping the MARC 21 fields 600, 610, 611:
Names – (existing options) When browsing bibliographic headings using this option, the 6XX fields appear under Names.
Subjects – (existing options) When browsing bibliographic headings using this option, the 6XX fields are not found.
Names (without MARC21 600/610/611) – (new option) When browsing using this option, the 6XX fields are not found.
Subjects (with MARC21 600/610/611) – (new option). When browsing using this option, the 6XX fields appear under Subjects.For more information please see Alma November Release Notes:
https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Release_Notes/2020/Alma_2020_Release_Notes -
Generate accession number by using keystroke combination
Generation an accession number in 852$$h can only be done by using the menu (tools -> MARC21 holdings -> generate accession number), we would prefer a keystroke combination. It would reduce the clicking enormously!
142 votes -
Increase size of MD Editor main panel
The Metadata editing window (main panel) is really small compared to the rest of the screen. Dragging and dropping the panes does not have much effect. There is also the Full Screen functionality which only widens the editing screen. The problem is that it should extend the view of the fields in the length. We would like to see more fields of the record at one time. The panels at the top and bottom of the screen are very wide, so there is plenty of space to make more room for the actual editing.
52 votesIn the new Metadata Editor, the editing area has been increased significantly
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Ability to limit Authority Control task list to only Institution zone records
It is overwhelming to have hundreds or thousands of records listed in the Authority Control task list every day, especially when most of them are Community Zone records that we're not supposed to change. We need to have the option to get a list of only our Institution Zone records that need to be worked on. This would save a lot of time and frustration from having to weed through the morass of Community Zone authority issues.
4 votesIdea was implemented as part of August release
please see https://youtu.be/BgQam-QxyAo
for more information -
cataloging level defaults
We have cataloging levels enabled in Alma. We would like the default for imports to be higher than the lowest level. Currently, all imports from import and integration profiles are assigned the lowest level, and the only way to change them is to run a job after importing.
30 votes -
Use the same font and formatting in the MD Editor and View Versions pane
Alma currently uses a different font in the View Versions display than that used in the MD Editor. The records are also formatted differently, with the field number being center justified against the corresponding field, rather than the number appearing at the beginning of the field. Line spacing is also different between the two versions.
These design issues make comparing two versions of a record side-by-side much more difficult than it should be.
Please use the same font and formatting in both the MD Editor and the View Versions record display. The use of shading in alternate fields (as in…
26 votesIn the new Metadata Editor, we have make sure to align the look of the record and its version to make it easier to compare
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