Alma Analytics

Advanced Search in Alma is powerful:

• For all record types, Advanced Search has more extensive lists of criteria than Basic search
• For some search types, you can mix criteria from related records (e.g., Title, Holdings, Item)
• You can search for records with empty fields (e.g., Items with no barcode, Titles with no LC/Dewey number or standard numbers, Portfolios with no Access Rights listed, and much more)
• You can Save the Query to re-run as needed (read more on working with Saved Queries/Logical sets)
• You can Export results to Excel for data manipulation and/or sharing

How do you decide when to use Alma search or Alma Analytics? Each has benefits and limitations:

If you're still not sure, ask yourself, What am I trying to do?

• If you need lots of data across different record types, and are doing comprehensive work on very large data sets, use Analytics.
• If you are working on smaller groups of records, and want to be able to act on those records immediately, use Alma.

Use Alma for what it’s good at – having lots of information in one system!

• View a snapshot of current data – what’s the situation Right Now?
• Go from a Title record to an Item record (to view circ stats or availability) to Ordering a new book
• Go from an eResources subject search to a title list to the collection/service information to the license, with just a few clicks

Exploring Advanced Search

Begin by choosing a Search Type and then Advanced Search, and skim the complete list of Criteria. Don't try any searches this first time - just read your way through the list and get familiar with what's there.

Search types with Advanced Search:

• Titles – All, Physical, Electronic
• Physical Items
• Electronic Collections & Portfolios
• Order Lines (POLs)
• Licenses
• Reading Lists
• Authorities

• Acquisition Method
• Fund Code
• Fund Name
• Import Job ID
• Interested Users (Yes/No)
• PO Status
• Rush (Yes/No)
• Title - Starts with (the Basic search is Keywords)
• Workflow (Acquisitions workflow status)

For both Physical search types, you can mix and match criteria from the title, holdings, and item records.

Physical Title record criteria:

• Genre form
• Has Inventory (Yes/No)
• Tag Suppressed (is it suppressed from discovery? Yes/No)
• Uniform Title
• Additional subject criteria options
• Lots of format/material types

Physical Holdings record** criteria:

• Has items (Yes/No)
• Permanent call number
• Permanent physical location
• Summary holdings (Contains keywords, Contains phrase, Is Empty)
• Tag Suppressed (Yes/No)

** Reminder: You can't search for holdings records directly, but you can search for the related Title or Item record using holdings record criteria, then get to the holdings records from those results.

Physical Items record criteria:

• Barcode (Contains keywords or phrase, Is Empty)
• Base Status (Item in place, Item not in place)
• Chronology or Enumeration fields
• Current Library or Location
• Due back from temp location (date)
• In temporary location (Yes/No)
• Issue year
• Item Policy (select from dropdown)
• PO Line (in other words, an item ordered on a specific order)
• Process Type (if not on shelf, why is it not on the shelf? Includes on Loan)
• Public Note (on the item record)

For all three Electronic search types, you can mix and match criteria from the title, collection, and portfolio records.

Electronic Title record criteria:

• DOI
• Government Document #
• Has Inventory (Yes/No)
• Is Linked (Yes/No)
• Local notes fields
• ORCID (Contains, Is Empty)
• Open Access (Yes/No)
• Peer Reviewed (Yes/No)
• Tag Suppressed (Yes/No)
• Lots of format and material type criteria
• All the dc: and lom: fields

Electronic Collection record criteria:

• Activate From / Activate Do (dates)
• Activation date
• Available for / Collection only available for (choose from a list of SUNY campuses)
• CDI criteria, including In CDI (Yes/No)
• Is Local (Yes/No)
• Library (if your campus has more than one library identified in Alma)
• Linking Level
• Proxy-related criteria
• URL (Keywords, Exact Phrase, Is Empty)

Electronic Portfolio record criteria:

• Availability at the portfolio level
• Is Local (Yes/No)
• Is Standalone (Yes/No)
• Library (if your campus has more than one in Alma)
• Proxy-related criteria
• URL (Keywords, Exact Phrase, Is Empty)
• Lots of format and material type criteria

The only additions in Advanced Search are Course Start Date and Course End Date, which makes sense because you need to add them each as separate rows.