Skip to Main Content

Alma Workflows

This guide will help you learn about all of the different workflows in Alma that are specific to Miami Dade College, Learning Resources.

Adding Items to the Institution Zone (IZ)

  1. Search All Titles in the Alma Institution Zone to see if one of our campus libraries already has a record for this item. This should always be your first step to avoid duplication of records. Try by scanning the ISBN of the item first, as it is the most accurate way of finding materials. You can also search for the item by Standard Number (the UPC Number on the back of an item) or even Publisher Number (the short number found on the spine of a DVD case). However, it is recommended that you leave it as a Keyword search, as that will search in all fields.

     
  2. Review the results and find the item that best matches the one you are trying to add. Pay close attention to the record's details by clicking on the item's Title to see the entire MARC record without having to edit it. Check for things such as such as whether it is an electronic resource, a book, or other type of media and if it is the correct edition, format, and has the right year of publication. If you don't find the item you're looking for, skip the remaining steps below and go to Adding Items from a Network Zone Record.
     
  3. Next, expand the Physical tab to see if you might already have a holding record for this item.
    Notice that when you're in the Institution Zone tab, a Network Zone icon next to the title means that this record is linked to an NZ record. No icon means that you are looking at an Institution Zone record.

     
  4. If there is already a holding record listed for your campus with the correct collection code desired, continue to the next step below. Otherwise, you will need to add a holding record to the IZ record before continuing below.
     
  5. Click on the Holdings button.

     
  6. Now, verify that all of the information is correct and then click on ellipsis button for your campus holding record. Select View items from the list to add the item.

     
  7.  Click on Add Item at the top right.

     
  8. Fill out the following 5 fields:
    • I. Barcode - You should scan the item's barcode last, as the scanner will press enter, which will save the record before you have the opportunity to fill out the other fields. You may also manually type the number, but this is not recommended, as it can lead to errors.
    • II. Material Type - Select from a standardized list of material types that best describes the item.
    • III. Copy ID - Enter the copy number here as a numerical value only. For example, 1, 2, 20, etc. Do not enter any letters or words. Unlike Aleph, Alma does not use the description field for copy numbers. The description field is only used for chronology and enumeration information (such as volume numbers, and issue numbers for serials, etc).
    • IV. Item policy - Select a policy from the list that will tell Alma what loan rule to use for this item.
    • (Optional) V. Enumeration A - This field should only be used to specify the volume number of a multi-volume set of items, such as a set of encyclopedia books, etc. Enter a numerical value only.
    • VI. Replacement cost - Enter the item's price. This is important in the event the item is lost!

       
  9. Once you have scanned the barcode (or clicked on Save at the top right), the item will be added and is now ready for checkout.
    • If you have added a volume number, you will get a pop-up asking you to Confirm this, which will add "vol. x" to the description field automatically, where "x" will be populated with the volume number you entered.

Adding Items from a Network Zone (NZ) Record
If you have not looked in the Institution Zone first, stop and go to Adding Items to the Institution Zone.

  1. In the event that you are not able to find an item in the Institution Zone , you can try to look in the Network Zone by clicking on the Network tab, where you can try to search in this tab using the same methods to find titles in the Institution Zone.
    Notice that when you're in the Network Zone tab, an Institution Zone icon next to the title means that an IZ record exists for this title. No icon means that no IZ record exists for this title yet.

     
  2. Review the results and find the item that best matches the one you are trying to add. Pay close attention to the record's details by clicking on the item's Title to see the entire MARC record without having to edit it. Check for things such as such as whether it is an electronic resource, a book, or other type of media and if it is the correct edition, format, and has the right year of publication. If you don't find the item you're looking for, skip the remaining steps below and go to Importing Bib Records from OCLC.
     
  3. You will now need to add a holding from this NZ record.

Updating a Specific Item

  1. Search for the exact item by selecting Physical Items in the Alma Institution Zone and scanning the item's Barcode.

    You can just leave the search criteria as Keyword which will search all fields or manually select Barcode from the list, but this is not necessary.
     
  2. The search result will bring up that specific item and only that item. Now, click on Edit to make changes.

     
  3. Follow the instructions from step #8 in the previous section. Once you have scanned the barcode (or clicked on Save at the top right), the record will be updated.
     
  4. (Optional) You can also set a temporary location to an item by scrolling all the way down to the Temporary Location Information section and updating the following 5 fields and then clicking on Save at the top right when done:
    • I. Item is in temporary location - Select Yes to activate. If No is selected, none of the information in this section will take effect and the item's information will revert its holding record data.
    • II. Temporary location - Select the new location and collection code from the list.
    • III. Temporary call number type - Select Library of Congress classification, Title, or Other scheme.
    • IV. Temporary call number - Enter the desired temporary call number that matches the type you selected in the previous field, including any collection code prefixes.
    • V. Temporary item policy - You can temporarily change the item's loan rule here by selecting a new one from the list.

      Please note: This should only be done in very specific circumstances where an item is moved to a temporary location or collection. For example, an item from the CIRC collection is temporarily moved to RESER for a class, or a laptop is returned to your campus from another campus, etc. Another example, would be putting an item On-Display. If you are trying to permanently update an item's location or collection, you should update its holding instead!
       
  5. (Optional) If you set a temporary location for the item, you can verify that this worked by searching the item again by selecting All titles, setting the query to Keyword and scanning the item's Barcode. In the search result, you can expand the Physical tab where you will see a little clock next to the item, letting you know it has a temporary location. The original location will not show an item availability for that item until you turn off the temporary location in the item record.

Updating Multiple Items

  1. The fastest way to pull up all items attached to a record is by scanning the Barcode of one of the items in that record into an All titles search by Keyword in the Institution Zone , which will search all fields in the record, including the barcode. Alternatively, you can search for the record by ISBN, Title, and many other fields.
     
  2. After you have searched for the item by barcode or any other search criteria, click on the Physical tab to see the first five holdings for the record (to see all the holdings, you would need to click on "Holdings"). Next, click on Items.

    (Optional) Please note: The example above shows a laptop record with many items attached. Because this is equipment, the record is Suppressed (recommended for all library equipment), which is indicated by the suppressed icon  next to the title of the record. This means that this item is not discoverable in the library catalog. Any record can be suppressed from discovery in the library catalog by editing the MARC record, clicking on Record Actions and selecting Suppress from Discovery.
     
  3. The next screen shows you all of the items attached to this record in a similar fashion to Aleph. Here, you can easily filter out records by selecting the campus from the Library drop down menu and finally clicking on the barcode of the desired item you want to update.
    Notice that you can also search in this screen by Barcode or even Call Number. You can also sort results by clicking on Sort routine.
     
  4. After clicking on the barcode of the desired item, follow the instructions from step #8 in the previous section. Once you have scanned the barcode (or clicked on Save at the top right), the record will be updated.

Deleting & Withdrawing Items

Every so often, you will need to remove items from Alma using the Withdraw Guidelines below:

  • An item was added erroneously and needs to be deleted.
  • An item is obsolete, irrelevant, or damaged beyond repair and a librarian has determined it should be withdrawn.
  • An item has been marked as missing for more than a year and cannot be found.
  • An item has been marked as lost for more than 5 years and has still not been returned or replaced.

If the item meets any of the criteria above, you can remove the item from Alma by following the steps below:

  1. Unlike Aleph, in Alma, Withdrawing an item is the same exact action as Deleting an item. Search for the exact item by selecting Physical Items in the Alma Institution Zone and scanning the item's Barcode.

    You can just leave the search criteria as Keyword which will search all fields or manually select Barcode from the list, but this is not necessary.
     
  2. The search result will bring up that specific item and only that item.
    • Important: If you are actually withdrawing the item instead of just deleting it due to an error or other reason, it is good practice to go into the item record, click on the Notes tab, and add WD to Statistics note 2 so that you can easily differentiate between deleted items and actually withdrawn items when looking at the Withdrawn Report by Campus (Collegewide) in your Alma Analytics Reports list, since Alma provide no other differentiation between the two. It is also important to remember that items should only be withdrawn in consultation with a librarian!
  3. When ready, click on the ellipsis at the right of the item, and select Withdraw.


    You can also Withdraw items from the multiple items screen:

     
  4. Click on Confirm to withdraw the item, which will delete the item record.

     
  5. If this is the last item of that holding record, Alma will ask you if you would also like to delete the holding record. If this is the case, you should always choose to Delete the holdings record to prevent orphaned holdings, unless you will be adding additional items to that same holdings record.

You can also request to have items withdrawn in bulk if you create an itemized set from a search query. Contact aherna19@mdc.edu for bulk withdraw requests.