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Alma Resource Management Guide

This guide explains all aspects of the cataloging process, including loading, editing, and deleting bibliographic records, holdings records, and item records in Alma.

Resource Management

 

FLVC's Alma Resource Management Libguide 

aims to make the workflows & knowledge needed to maintain the catalog easy to understand and accessible to all.

Many topics are organized with step by step instructions and simple explanations.

This guide will focus on workflows and processes related to most resources in Alma.

 

Please use the left side menu to visit the various Resource Management pages. If you do not find an information that fits your needs, then please either refer to the FAQ page or if you are at a Florida institution, contact he FLVC Help Desk help@flvc.org

 

What is Resource Management?

Resource Management in Alma encompasses the following areas:

  1. Bibliographic record cataloging, creation &  maintenance
  2. Holding & Item record cataloging, creation & maintenance
  3. Physical inventory cataloging creation & maintenance
  4. Electronic inventory activation & maintenance
  5. Imports
  6. Deposits
  7. Authority Control

 

 

Resource Management Vocabulary

Alma Term

Definition
Brief Level A record's brief level (01 to 10) reflects the amount and quality of bibliographic information. Brief level 10 is the highest level of bibliographic quality. Brief levels in the NZ match OCLC's encoding level (ELvl, LDR position 17).
Brief Record A brief record has an encoding level of 01. It contains the minimum amount of information to identify the resources. The minimum required fields for a brief record: 020/022/024, 100, 245, 250, 260/264).
Catalog The record repository of information in Alma. The catalog contains all descriptive metadata managed by a library, institution, consortium, or community. 
Database A type of electronic collection whose resources cannot be individually managed through an interface.
Electronic Collection A collection of electronic resources that can contain packages (which include electronic portfolios) or databases (which include URLs)
Electronic Resource A digital object that is stored and managed externally from the local library or Institution Zone. 
Full text service A service that provides the user with access to the full text of the e-resource. 
Import Profile An Alma feature defining how records from a file are imported, normalized, and mapped to Alma records.
Integration profile A mechanism for integrating the import and export processes between Alma and an external system.
Inventory The resources that are owned or licensed by or associated with a particular library, institution, or consortium. Incudes physical holdings and items, electronic portfolios, digital representations, and deposits. All descriptive bibliographic metadata resides in the repository and can be edited using the Metadata Management System (MMS).
Item The inventory level of a resource for fulfillment and usage. Items may include bar codes and other identification details.
Location A physical place where items are stored (for example, a shelving location). 
Management tag The record's brief level, as well as fields that determine whether to publish records to a discovery system or export the record. Publish and export fields can be set during record import or from within the Metadata editor.
MARC record Machine Readable Cataloging record. It is a standard record format for library cataloging information, including bibliographic, authority, and holding records.
Material type The type of material, such as a book or electronic journal collection, from which an item takes its form. 
Metadata editor The tool for editing and creating bibliographic and holdings records in Alma.
Metadata Management System ID (MMS ID)

The record ID number. There is a NZ MMS ID ending in 4801 and an institution MMS ID ending with the institutions 4-digit identifier. Bib records that are linked to the NZ have an IZ and a NZ MMS ID that can be found in MARC field 001 of the bib record.
Normalization Rules A set of rules that can be built and applied to bibliographic records in order to enhance the record. Normalization rule require a normalization process to apply a normalization rule to bibliographic records.

OCLC Number

 OCLC control number to identify the bib record in Worldcat.
Portfolio (Electronic Portfolio) Electronic resource (inventory) that maintains the specific coverage (local or global), services, and link information relevant for a particular electronic title that may also be part of an electronic collection. 
Resource Type The type of item in the repository (based on existing bibliographic fields, such as the LDR and 008) or being ordered. A resource is physical, electronic, or digital, but may have a more specific type (not including its physical material type).

 

 

If you're looking for help on getting started with Resource Management or have more specific questions, it may help to begin at our FAQ page.