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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.

Deleting Item Records

 

About

Deleting item records in Alma is known as withdrawing.

Item records can be withdrawn:

  • Individually
  • Multiple item records using the "Withdraw Items" job 

 

Withdrawing records can be performed :

Manually from the item page

Running a job

 

Manually Deleting an Item Record

 

To manually delete an item record:

Part 1

  1. Perform "Physical Items" repository search  
  2. Click Edit Item from the item record being withdrawn
  3. Click on the Notes Tab
  4. Scroll to Statistics note 1 field: [Type wdn] 
    • This is mandatory in order to keep statistics on withdrawn items in Alma using Analytics
  5. Optional: Statistics note 2 field- type in the reason why the item is being withdrawn
  6. Click Save

Part 2

  1. Click Withdraw from the ellipses of the item being withdrawn 
  2. Click Confirm when the Confirmation Messages appears asking if you want to withdraw the item
    NOTE: If this is not the last item on the holdings record you are done
  3. If this is the last item for the holding record a pop-up will appear asking "The last item of this holdings record was deleted or moved. What do you want to do with the holdings record?" select “Delete Bibliographic Record (unless other holdings present)” 
  4. Click Go

Alternative simpler way to delete an item record:

  1. Perform a "Physical Title" repository search  
  2. Click Items from the ellipses of the title of the item being withdrawn
  3. Click Withdraw from the ellipses of the item being withdrawn
  4. Click Confirm when the Confirmation Messages appears asking if you want to withdraw the item
    NOTE: If this is not the last item on the holdings record you are done
  5. If this is the last item for the holding record a pop-up will appear asking "The last item of this holdings record was deleted or moved. What do you want to do with the holdings record?" select “Delete Bibliographic Record (unless other holdings present)” 
  6. Click Go

 

Deleting Item Records in Batch

 

 

Roles Needed:

 To complete the withdrawal process, you will need to have the Design Analytics Role and a role that allows running and monitoring of jobs. 

Important information to remember:

    The Analysis must be run in Analytics as they require filtering by multiple Barcodes

    It is recommended to save all reports created by this process

    If you withdraw more than 5,000 items at a time the job cannot be restored 

Batch Deletion Steps

1. Retrieve MMSIDs from Analytics

  • Create and save set of physical items that you want to withdraw:
    • Sets can be created by uploading a set of barcodes from a .txt or Excel .xsl file or directly in Alma with a scanner 
    • If uploading a file to create a set, you must include the column header “BARCODE” at the top of the list of barcodes

2. Review set to make sure it is what you want to withdraw

3. Export using the export icon at the top right of the screen and save the set as an Excel file

4. Navigate to Alma Analytics menu > choose Design Analytics from the menu

  • Create a new Analytics Report 
    • Go to top menu and select: Create > Analysis > Subject area: Physical Items 

In your analysis, you will need to use the barcode list found in you exported Excel file set. Analytics will use those barcodes to then find the MSSIDs on the records belonging to those barcodes.

5. Choose the Criteria for your analysis. This will be the columns you want to see on your spread sheet. Suggest at least Barcode, MMSID, & Title for spot checking) 

  • Choose Barcode: Physical Items > Physical Item Details> Barcode  (double- click or drag "Barcode" to the Selected Columns box)
  • Choose MMSID: Physical Items > Bibliographic Details > MMS ID

6. Filter the Barcode Column

  • Click on the gear icon in the Barcode box in the Selected columns box
  • Operator is equal to / is in
  • Click the magnifying glass in the Value field 
  • Click the edit icon in the upper right corner
  • Paste the list of barcodes in white area 
  • Click ok and then ok and then ok 
  • Your analysis will now be filtered by barcode 

7. Click the “Results” tab and the report should run bring back only information for those Barcodes

8. Export the Analysis to Excel

  • Copy the NZ MMSID’s and paste them into a new Excel file 

9. (Optional) Run the “Change Physical Items” on the set of items being withdrawn (Alma)

  • Enter the reason for the items being withdrawn in the internal note field
  • When the job is finished, check to make sure the changes made have been reflected in the item record 

10. Run “Withdraw Physical Items Job”  

  • Alma > Admin > Run a Job > find and select the "Withdraw Physical Items" Job > Next
  • Select the correct Set to run the job on.
  • Select the radio buttons that are relevant for your institution/this job
  • Click Next 
  • Confirm you want to run the job (note: It says it cannot be restored, but if the set has fewer than 5,000, the job can be reversed if you have the process/job id) 

11. Review and save the job report

12. Spot check the barcodes to make sure they have been withdrawn

13. You can now go back to Admin >Manage Sets and delete the set to remove the empty set from list of sets