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Alma Electronic Resources Management

Working with and managing electronic resources in Alma.

Local Content

If an electronic collection or portfolio is unavailable in the CZ, or is unavailable from the desired vendor and/or interface, it's necessary to create a local collection or portfolio.

Local Electronic Collections are created by clicking on the Add Local Electronic Collection button in the Resources menu. Portfolios are added to the collection as individual portfolios or uploaded using the Portfolio Loader as a batch. It's also possible to populate a local electronic collection with MARC records provided by the vendor using an import profile. 

Standalone Portfolios (or portfolios not attached to an electronic collection) can be added to an existing electronic collection in the CZ, linked to the CZ, or added to a local electronic collection for easier tracking and management.

Create a Local Electronic Collection

 Manually Create a Local Electronic Collection

  • Create an electronic collection by navigating to Resources menu, Create Inventory section, and click on Add Local Electronic Collection.
  • In the Electronic Collection Editor, enter a name and description for the collection. Select the Collection Type (Selective Package), Service Type (Full Text), and select the Library. When complete, click Save and Continue.
    Electronic Collection Editor Form
  • In the Electronic Service Editor, select Available for the Service Activation Status.
    Activation tab of Electronic Collection Editor
  • Verify the Service is correct (Full Text) and enter an optional description in the Service Description tab.
    Service Description tab of Electronic Collection Editor
  • In the Linking tab, enter the URL provided by the vendor and enable the proxy.
    Linking tab of Electronic Collection Editor
  • Add Portfolios to the collection in the Portfolios tab. Portfolios can be added in one of two ways:
    • Load Portfolios as an Excel file using the Load Portfolios option (See the Using the Portfolio Loader Function box located below.)
    • Create and add a single electronic portfolio by following these steps:
      • Navigate to the Portfolios tab, click Add Portfolio, and select Add Local Portfolio
      • Enter the following information:
        • Creation Type: Create New Title
        • Record Type: One Time or Continuing
        • Placement of New Record: Institution
        • Title, Author, ISSN or ISBN
        • Enter coverage information for journal portfolios
        • Enter the URL provided by the vendor, select the material type, and enable the default proxy
  • As always, click Save when complete!

Using the Portfolio Loader Function

Upload an Excel file of portfolio information to upload an entirely new batch of portfolios, delete an entire batch of portfolios, or make changes to select portfolios. Make sure that identifier numbers in your Excel file are showing correctly before loading the file, as sometimes leading zeros might be incorrectly removed by Excel.

  • In the Electronic Services Editor, navigate to the Portfolios tab and click on Load Portfolios.
    Portfolio tab of Electronic Service Editor
  • To batch upload an entirely new set of portfolios, select Complete for the Loading Policy Type and Add Local Portfolios for the Select Action. Make sure that Institution is selected for Select Catalog, upload the file, select Validate Online, and click Next.Portfolio Loader form
  • To batch delete an entire set of portfolios, select Complete for the Loading Policy Type and Delete Portfolios for the Select Action. Make sure to also select Delete Bibliographic Record(s) in the Handling Bibliographic Records Without Inventory field. Upload the file and click Next.
    Portfolio Loader form with Delete Portfolios selected
  • To make changes to some of the portfolios in the collection, select Incremental as the Loading Policy Type. A drop down menu will appear in the Select Action section. Select the desired action: update some of the portfolios, delete some of the portfolios, or add new portfolios to the collection. Upload the file and click Next.
    Select Action for Incremental Load
  • Alma will validate the file and make available an Excel file with all the portfolios that did not validate properly on the next screen.
  • Download the file as these portfolios will have to be handled manually.
  • Click the button to Activate the job which will add, delete, or update the portfolios.

Create a Local Portfolio

  • Start the process to create a local portfolio by navigating to Resources menu, Create Inventory section, and click on Add Local Portfolio
  • Add the Descriptive Information for the portfolio:
    • Creation Type: Create New Portfolio
    • Record Type: One Time or Continuing 
    • Placement of New Record: Institution
    • Enter the Title, Author, ISSN or ISBN, and Language information
      New Portfolio form
  • For Standalone Portfolios, enter the General Information as follows:
    • Portfolio Type: Standalone
    • Select the Library and Interface Name
      General information section of New Portfolio form
  • For portfolios that are part of an electronic collection, enter the General Information as follows:
    • Portfolio Type: Part of an electronic collection
    • Select the Electronic Collection, Service, and Library
      Part of an Electronic Collection selected in New Portfolio form
  • Leave the Coverage Information blank for ebooks and streaming media, but enter the start and end dates of coverage for ejournals.
    Coverage Information section of New Portfolio form
  • For portfolios that are part of an electronic collection, the Inventory and Linking Information will already be populated. For standalone portfolios, enter the URL provided by the vendor. In either case, be sure to also enable the proxy.
    • Part of an Electronic Collection:
      Inventory and Linking Information section of New Portfolio form
    • Standalone:
      Inventory and Linking Information section of New Portfolio form
  • Click Save and Done when complete.

Add a Local Portfolio to Existing Collection

How do I attach a local electronic portfolio to an electronic collection in the CZ?


Answer

When an electronic portfolio from a desired vendor and interface is not available in the CZ, there are several ways to create a local portfolio. The two easiest ways are to either Create a Local Electronic Portfolio under Resources, or add a local portfolio in the Portfolios tab on the Services area for the collection.

It’s also a good idea to submit a support ticket to Alma Data Services to request that Ex Libris add the portfolio to the CZ, which helps keep the CZ up to date.


Create a Local Electronic Portfolio

Best practice is to keep all portfolios/titles from a specific vendor package (e.g. Sciencedirect, Academic OneFile, etc.) together in that electronic collection. Doing this helps keep track of what's included in that package, and will alert you when the title eventually becomes available in the CZ. Using a CZ collection to manage your portfolios is best practice, but if the collection doesn't exist in the CZ, you may create a local collection.

Add a local portfolio:

  1. Make sure that the required collection has been activated from the CZ and appears in your IZ
  2. Search the CZ to verify that a portfolio is unavailable from the desired vendor and interface.
  3. Create a Local Electronic Portfolio (Resources>Create Inventory>Add Local Portfolio):
    • Descriptive Information:
      • New Title options: If the title exists in the CZ in a different collection, or if you've loaded a bib record for the title into your IZ, you can reuse that bib record by choosing "use existing title". You may also enter the bib record metadata manually.
      • Record Type: One Time
      • Placement of New Record: Institution (please do not put electronic records in the Network Zone)
    • General Information:
      • Portfolio Type: Part of an electronic collection. Choose the collection where the title should "live."
    • Coverage Information: add coverage dates if necessary
    • Inventory and Linking Information:
      • URL: add static URL
      • Proxy: choose No because the portfolio will inherit proxy settings from the Collection/Service.
      • Availability Status: Active
      • Electronic Material Type: choose type
  4. Choose Save and Done

Add Local Portfolio in Edit Service:

  1. Search for your collection by Electronic Collection Name
  2. From the results list, click the three dots on the right and choose Edit Service
  3. In the Service area, click on the Portfolios Tab
  4. Click the down arrow next to Add, and choose Add Local Portfolio:
    add local portfolio
     
  5. Follow the instructions in Step 3 above, except that the "choose collection" area will not appear because you're already working in the collection where the portfolio will live
  6. Save the new portfolio

Link a Standalone Portfolio to the Community

It's a good idea to go a step further and link standalone portfolios to the Community. By doing so, updates applied to records in the CZ will also be applied to the local portfolio. Linking to the Community saves time in management of the local portfolio in the future.

  • After creating the portfolio, click the button to Link to Community.
    Portfolio record in Alma
  • Select the appropriate portfolio and click Next.
    Link Standalone Portfolio to Community Zone Collection; select portfolio
  • Select the option to Use Descriptive Metadata from the Community (to take advantage of updates and changes passed from the vendor to Ex Libris). Click Next.
    Select source of descriptive metadata; CZ metadata selected
  • Review the information and Click Link to Community.
    Review and Confirm page

Local Electronic Collection and Portfolio Documentation and Training