Many of these processes involve creating short lists of MMSIDs, barcodes, and OCLC numbers. Standard basic text programs like Notepad are okay, but Notepad++ is free, awesome, and offers bells and whistles that Notepad and others don't.

Download Notepad++ for free

[This is akin to the Make Table function using Access connected to your data tables back in the days of yore, in order to, for example, run a report of barcodes associated with a particular list of MMSIDs]

Convert a .txt of MMSIDs, barcodes, OCLC numbers, etc. one to a line (separated by carriage returns) to a continuous list separated by a space and a semicolon for use in an Alma Analytics filter:

• To view invisible characters like carriage returns and line breaks: View -->Show Symbol --> Show All Characters
• You want to replace CR and LF with a semicolon and a space

• Use the Replace function (Search --> Replace)
• Make sure to choose Extended in Search Mode
• Find what: \r\n (this finds CR and LF)
• Replace with: ; (make sure to type in a space)
• Replace All

The list has to start with a number (syntax: number semicolon space number semicolon space...), so delete your text header (Barcode) before pasting into the fllter

To paste into the filter in Analytics, Filter

Paste from Notepad++ and OK

Ways to figure out what you need to change in Alma:

• Analytics - separate module/program based on Oracle Business Intelligence that allows you to report on criteria in Alma
• Indication Rules - rules you create and run in Alma using Drools logic to create sets of records or items

About Analytics:

• Difficulty level: very difficult to learn and use. Not for casual use, unfortunately
• Lisa Hamlett is our resident Analytics expert - I recommend just putting in a ticket to Core Services for Lisa to help you create the report you need

If you want to delve into learning Analytics yourself:

• You must have Designs Analytics user role to use it - contact the user manager for your area to assign this role to you
• Use it from Alma: Analytics --> Design Analytics; it opens in another window

• Create your own folder using your netid to store your reports:

Resources for learning Analytics:

• The Basics of Working With Alma Analytics
• Alma Analytics documentation
• Alma Analytics training
• Ask Lisa Hamlett specific questions or to see if she can give you some training :)
• Learn about SQL queries

Prerequisites:

• You need the role Catalog Administrator to work with Normalization and Indication rules - contact the user manager for your area to assign this role to you
• You need to know how to create a set in Alma

About Indication Rules:

• Indication rules are used to retrieve data according the presence (or non-presence) of data in fields or subfields.
• Unlike indexes, the indication rules can work on any field / subfield / content combination and does not require that the field has been indexed ( = you can report on more fields than you can using Analytics)
• The data is retrieved by building an indication rule and then running it to filter a set
• Indication rules are written in the same syntax as Normalization Rules
• Create, duplicate, or copy community rules in the Metadata Editor under the left side, Rules --> Indication Rules:

Example indication rule: find EBL or ebrary in 856 $$z

Run that rule on a set to find records with EBL or ebrary in 856 $$z:

• Create a set of records to run the rule on (note: the bigger your set, the longer it will take to run your indication rule on)
• Go to your sets - Admin --> Manage Sets and find that set you created
• Ellipses on the right  --> Filter Set

Set the Indication Rule to the rule you just created, name the new set, and Submit

The job will run and create the new set with your search criteria applied and will email you when done.

Find the new set under Admin --> Manage Sets and look at Members to see what's in it.

From that view you can also Export an excel list of the members of that set:

Resources for learning Indication Rules:

• Filtering Sets
• Presentations and Documents - Rules
  • Both the Indication Rules and Normalization Rules sections are helpful, since you use the Norm Rule syntax to write Indication Rules
  • The last link - Rules - Indication rules and set filtering - links to a very helpful PowerPoint that explains the whole process

• Creating Sets in Alma
• Running Jobs
• Normalization Rules
• MarcEdit
  • Pulling records out of our catalog
  • Pulling records out of OCLC

You run jobs, norm rule changes, and indication rules on sets of records.

Logical Sets

• Based on search criteria; dynamic (all electronic records with the keyword "ebrary", for example)
• Created by using the Repository Search page (Resource Management > Search > Repository Search)
• Saving a search query is another name for creating a logical set. A logical set is dynamic, recalculated each time it is accessed - in other words, the search is rerun and the results are the set. When you save a query (set), you are saving a set of search criteria that can be reused. Each time you run a query, the results may be different if the records have changed since the previous run. Note that you can turn logical sets into itemized sets.
• Saving and Reusing Search Queries

Itemized Sets

• Based on a finite list of identification numbers (a list of barcodes, for example)
• Itemized sets are created on the Manage Sets page
• Creating Itemized Sets
• An itemized set is a fixed collection of items that may have been entered by hand, uploaded from a file, or the result of a previous search (but no longer associated with the query terms). Note that you can turn logical sets into itemized sets.

Example: create an itemized set from a list of barcodes

• Create a file (Excel or .txt) of id numbers, one on each line
• Make sure your file has a header - Barcodes for physical items in this case

• Admin --> Manage Sets

• Add Set

• Itemized

• Give set a name and set the content type (important because has to correlate with which type of job you're trying to run on something)
• Browse to the Excel or Text file you created

• Click Save to add the members from this file to this set

• An email will be sent to you when the job has been run - it will also tell you if there were any errors adding members to the set
• Go to your sets - Admin --> Manage Sets and find that set you created
• Ellipses on the right  - lots of options for things to do with sets (filter them using indication rules, for example)

Prerequisites:

• To run a manual job, you must have roles that enable you to a) access the Run a Job – Select a Job to Run page, and b) run the job.To access the page, you must have one of the following roles:
  • Acquisitions Administrator
  • Catalog Administrator
  • Catalog Manager
  • Digital Inventory Operator
  • Digital Inventory Operator Extended
  • Fulfillment Administrator
  • General System Administrator
  • Purchasing Manager
  • Purchasing Operator
  • Repository Administrator
  • Repository Manager
  • Repository Operator
  • Requests Operator
  • User Administrator
  • User Manager
• Only jobs that you can run (that are available to you because of your user roles) appear to you on the Run a Job – Select Job to Run page. See the table on this page for the required roles for each job.

About Running Jobs:

• Perform changes on sets of records
• Changes can be actual changes to the information, or include withdrawing (deleting) items
• Records can include bib, holding, and items, but only one type of record at a time
• Some jobs run on some records will have effects on related records. Some logic is built in and some you can choose - for example, if you delete items, you have several choices for what to do with the related holding and item records - keep them, keep them and suppress them, or delete everything if it is the last item on the record

To learn more about running jobs:

• Running Manual Jobs on Defined Sets
• Withdrawing Sets of Items
• Performing Global Changes on Holdings Records

Example: withdraw (delete) items

• Create a set of records
• Admin --> Run a Job

• Withdraw items

• Select your set

• Choose how to treat related records

• Choose when to run job

• Confirm

• Monitor the job in the Running tab
• Click Refresh to update this page
• You can also go to Admin --> Monitor Jobs to get to this page

• When the job finishes running, you get an email and it will move to the History tab

• If the job had any errors, you can look at what went wrong by using the ellipses on the right of the job and clicking Report

Prerequisites:

• To work with normalization rules, you must have the role of Catalog Administrator

Learning to work with Normalization Rules

• Working with Normalization Rules
• Normalization Rule Examples
• Search ALMA-L for answers to norm rule questions or to ask others for advice

Example Rule

What this rule does:

Unconditionally adds the following fields to records:

583 1# $$a committed to retain $$c 20170701 $$c 20421231 $$f HathiTrust $$u https://www.hathitrust.org/shared_print_program $$5 GEU

590 $$a Retained as part of the HathiTrust Shared Print Program until December 31, 2042.

940 $$a HATHITRUST SHAREDPRINT

About Normalization Rules

• Create, duplicate, or copy community rules in the Metadata Editor under the left side, Rules --> Normalization Rules:

Emory naming convention: EMORY-[library code] Name of rule

EMORY-ALL can be used for all libraries/shared processes

Examples in Shared folder:

Tips for working with Norm Rules:

• I create various normalization rules in my Private Folder and then paste them into EMORY - UNIV Generic change when I need to actually run one
• EMORY - UNIV Generic change is set up to work this way - it's set up as a reuseable process that you can just paste your Norm rule text into for "one off" change jobs, as opposed to things you need to run regularly or as part of another process. Otherwise, you'd have to set up a separate process for each norm rule you create to run them
• Start by duplicating another rule and trying to change it to do what you want, rather than starting from scratch - it's much easier this way
• Use the Split Screen editor and a test record to test your Norm Rule and adjust as needed

Using the Split Screen editor and a test record to test your Norm Rule:

• Open up your test record in the Metadata Editor
• Click the Split Screen Icon

• Your record will collapse to the left and the right side opens up:

• Click on Rules at the bottom left
• Find the rule you want to open and choose Edit

• The rule will open up on your right

• Click Preview to test your rule on your record
• Changes to the record will be highlighted
• Changes won't be applied to the record unless you click Apply Changes

Run a Norm Rule using EMORY-UNIV Generic Change

• Develop your norm rule using a Private Rule and testing on a test record until you're sure it works as expected
• Create a set of records to run your norm rule on (you'll need to create a set of bib records for this kind of change)
• Paste text of your Private Rule into body of EMORY-UNIV Generic Change and SAVE:

• Admin --> Run a Job
• Choose EMORY-UNIV Generic Change and click Next

• Choose the set to run the norm rule on and click Next

• Click Next

• Review and confirm job
• Submit when ready

• Monitor the job in the Running tab
• Click Refresh to update this page
• You can also go to Admin --> Monitor Jobs to get to this page

• When the job finishes running, you get an email and it will move to the History tab

• If the job had any errors, you can look at what went wrong by using the ellipses on the right of the job and clicking Report

About MarcEdit

• Separate powerful, free program to edit records, among tons of other things
• MarcEdit home
• Download here

Basic Method of Using ME to Edit Records

• Export records from Alma into ME (or get a file of records from somewhere else, like a vendor)
• Edit the records using ME's functions - delete subfields or fields, replace or swap subfields or fields, create regular tasks comprised of these functions, etc...
• Import the records back into Alma by using Import Profiles

Learning about MarcEdit

• Subscribe to the MarcEdit listserv
• MarcEdit tutorials on YouTube
• Learn about regular expressions

Batch Export Records from Alma to MarcEdit by MMSID List

Batch Export Records from Connexion to MarcEdit by OCLC Number List