Emory University Libraries Alma Documentation

Collaborative repository of Emory University Libraries documentation with a focus on Ex Libris's Alma.

Documentation that is general enough to apply to any EUL library will be named by activity, e.g. Suppress a Bib Record; documentation that represents a library's specific, local practice will be preceded by the short name of the library, e.g. Woodruff - Gift Book Collections.

Purging McNaughtons

About Purges

McNaughtons are purged when the McNaughton shelves are getting “too full,” a metric which is largely left up to the discretion of the Discrete Collections supervisor.

The McNaughtons purges process has two stages: Purging and Pulling.

Manage Sets

Go to Alma > Resource Management > Search and Sets > Manage Sets

Public Sets

Click "Public Sets."

Locate UNIV MCN Set

Scroll through the public sets until you find one called UNIV MCN. Then, go to Actions > Results for the UNIV MCN set.

Export Set

Export the set to Excel by going to Tools > Excel.

Select the Set

Press CTRL+A to select the set, then go to DATA > Sort.

Sort the Set

Sort by Barcode on Values in A to Z order, then click OK.

Print First Column

Select column A and click CTRL+P to print.

Print Selection

Choose "Print Selection" under Settings and then click "Print."

Pulling McNaughtons

Because McNaughtons are barcoded in the order they are acquired, pulling the items in the order we sorted them will ensure the older McNaughtons are pulls before the newer ones.
Pull until enough items have been removed to create the desired amount of free space. (The shelves should be roughly 80-85% full.)
Balance and straighten the shelves.

Note: For the purposes of pulling, the Non-Fiction and Fiction McNaughtons should be treated as to distinct collections. If the Non-Fiction shelves are looking full, while the Fiction shelves look fine, you can pull only Non-Fiction items, leaving the Fiction shelves alone. Unfortunately, the two groups are not differentiated in Alma, so the pull sheet will have both Fiction and Non-Fiction mixed together.

Purging McNaughtons (1)

Switch the Alma search bar to "Physical Items" and then scan the item's barcode into the search bar.

Purging McNaughtons (2)

Click "Items."

Purging McNaughtons (3)

Click "View All Items."

Purging McNaughtons (4)

Go to Actions > Withdraw for the item you wish to purge.

Purging McNaughtons (5)

Click "Confirm."

Purging McNaughtons (6)

If there ARE other books on the record, select “Delete the holdings record” and click “Go.”

If there ARE NOT other books on the record, select “Delete bibliographic record that have no other holdings” and click “Go.”

Finish Purges

Repeat Purging McNaughtons steps for all items to be purged, then pack the items into boxes and give them to the mailroom folks for shipping.