Directions for Alma Test Load Location Spreadsheet

Overview:

As part of the migration from Voyager to Alma/Primo VE, each institution needs to make decisions about the "locations" used in Alma. This spreadsheet, when completed, will accomplish two important tasks:

1. Inform the CARLI staff which of your institution's locations represent electronic resources when preparing your P2E (print to electronic) worksheets (more details on this process coming soon).
2. Establish the locations as you want them set up going forward in Alma.  Your institution may have had changes since you began using Voyager; you can use this opportunity to realign the locations in your institution in Alma.

Your Tasks and Deadlines:

Deadline 1: June 4, 2019. By this date, you will have uploaded a copy of the spreadsheet to Box with "Column F- Electronic Location (confirm with YES by June 4)" completed to indicate all locations you use for e-resources in Voyager.

Deadline 2: July 23, 2019. By this date you will have uploaded a copy of the  spreadsheet to Box with the remaining five columns completed to map all of your Voyager locations to Alma locations.

Process:

1. Download from your library's Box folder the file named: Location_List_XXX.xlsx (where XXX is your library's 3 letter CARLI code).
2. Read the "Reviewing the Location List spreadsheet" section below; this describes the columns in the spreadsheet.
3. By June 4, 2019, complete the steps detailed in the "June 4 Deadline Instructions" section below.
4. By July 23, 2019, complete the steps detailed in the "July 23 Deadline Instructions" section below.

Reviewing the Location List spreadsheet:

The top row of the chart lists an Alma location code of UNASSIGNED. Do not delete this row, as it is required in case locations appear in Voyager that are not in this list.

• Column A- carliCode: contains your library's 3 letter CARLI code in lowercase letters.

Each location in Voyager has an associated location code, location name, and an optional OPAC display name which together represent the single location in the spreadsheet row.

• Column B- location_code: lists all of the location codes that your library has established in Voyager. The location code is used by catalogers.
• Column C- location_name: lists the names of the locations that your library has established in Voyager. Library staff see the Location Name in the Voyager clients.
• Column D- location_display_name: lists the OPAC display name for the location in Voyager. Patrons see the Display Name in the online catalog.
• Column E- location suppress_in_opac: if the value in this field is set to Yes, materials cataloged in Voyager for this location are automatically suppressed from the OPAC.
• Column F- Electronic Location (confirm with YES by June 4): In this column, enter a "YES" in the row for each location at your institution that represents electronic resources. Filling out this column will complete the task for the June 4 Deadline.

Columns G through K are used to meet the July 23 Deadline, the mapping of your Voyager locations into Alma. These columns are highlighted in orange.

• Column G- Alma Library: In this column, you will enter the name for the "Library" in Alma that the location is a part of. Further explanation of "Library" in Alma is under the "July 23 Deadline Instructions" section.
• Column H- Alma Location Code (maximum 10 characters): In this column, you will enter the code this location should have in Alma. Further explanation for the Code is under the "July 23 Deadline Instructions" section.
• Column I- Alma Location Name (maximum 255 characters): In this column, you will enter the name this location should have in Alma. Library staff will see the Location Name within Alma. Further explanation for the Location Name is under the "July 23 Deadline Instructions" section.
• Column J- Alma Location External Name (maximum 255 characters): In this column, you will enter the display name this location should have in Primo VE. Patrons will see the External Name in the discovery interface, Primo VE. Further explanation for choosing the Location External Name is under the "July 23 Deadline Instructions" section.
• Column K- Alma Suppress Location from Discovery: In this column, you will indicate if the location should be suppressed from Primo VE or not. Further explanation is under the "July 23 Deadline Instructions" section.

Columns L through O are hidden; their data is combined into column P.

Columns P through V provide details about your current locations in Voyager to help you accomplish these tasks.

• Column P- Happening Location: A "happening location" in Voyager is one that library staff log in at to perform workflow activities.
  • This column will contain "ACQ" if staff log into this location in Voyager to perform Acquisitions workflow activities.
  • This column will contain "CAT" if staff log into this location in Voyager to perform Cataloging workflow activities.
  • This column will contain "CIRC" if staff log into this location in Voyager to perform Circulation workflow activities.
  • This column will contain "MEDIA" if staff log into this location in Voyager to perform Media Scheduler workflow activities.
  • If a location is available as happening location for more than one Voyager client, then each type will appear in this column.
• Column Q- Bib Count (bibs with mfhds in location): Contains the total number of Bib records associated with Mfhds cataloged for this location in Voyager.
• Column R- Suppressed bibs: This is the total number of Bib records in Column Q- Bib Count (bibs with mfhds in location) that are suppressed from patron view in the OPAC.
• Column S- Bibs with 1 or more 856: The "856" is a URL in the record. This column contains the number of Bibs in the location, where there is more than one URL saved in the Bib. Use this column to help you determine if a location contains e-resources.
• Column T- Mfhd Count: Contains the total number of Mfhd records cataloged for this location in Voyager.
• Column U- Suppressed Mfhds: This is the total number of Mfhd records in Column T- Mfhd Count that are suppressed from patron view in the OPAC.
• Column V- Mfhds with 1 or more 856: The "856" is a URL in the record. This column contains the number of Mfhds in the location, where there is more than one URL saved in the Mfhd. Use this column to help you determine if a location contain e-resources.
• Column W- Item count: Contains the total number of item records that have this location set as their Permanent Location in Voyager. Generally, locations with items suggest that the location is probably not an electronic location. Item counts may also suggest whether a location is used frequently enough to be retained in Alma.

June 4 Deadline Instructions:

• By June 4, 2019, identify which locations are used for electronic resource holdings at your institution. We need to know this in order to provide a comprehensive list of potential electronic resources in your database.
• To do so, enter a "YES" in "Column F- Electronic Location (confirm with YES by June 4)."
• After updating your spreadsheet's Column F and uploading it to Box, your library's Alma/Primo VE contact should send an email to CARLI Support.
• If your library does not have any electronic resources cataloged in Voyager, enter NO in the top row of the Electronic Location column, and return the spreadsheet by the deadline.
• Tips:
  • CARLI staff have highlighted rows in yellow that we thought could be your electronic locations. Verify that we have this correct.
  • If a location has Bibs and Mfhds, but no Item records, it may be an electronic resource location.
  • If a location has many Bibs noted in "Column S- Bibs with 1 or more 856", it may be an electronic resource location, especially if the holdings records do not contain 856 fields.
  • If a location has many Mfhds noted in "Column V- Mfhds with 1 or more 856" it may be an electronic resource location.
  • When reviewing 856 data in bibs or holdings to determine if a location should be flagged as electronic, URLs to the content described in the record--not URLs with links to tables of contents or summaries--will be more indicative of true electronic resources.
  • If a location has a mix of electronic resources and physical items, you should flag the location as electronic so that the location can be further reviewed during the Alma P2E process. (Locations with mixed electronic and physical items may also be candidates for additional clean-up in Voyager.)
  • If needed, the CARLI office can provide you with a list of titles within a MFHD location to assist with your review.

July 23 Deadline Instructions:

• By July 23, 2019, establish your location names in Alma by mapping Voyager locations to Alma locations in Columns G through K and upload a completed form to your library's Box folder.
• After uploading your spreadsheet, your library's Alma/Primo VE contact should send an email to CARLI Support.

About Locations in Alma:

• The Item's Location is the primary factor used by Alma in determining whether an item may be charged to a patron, whereas Voyager used the Patron Group and Item Type combination.
  • Exceptions can be configured in Alma to consider the Item Type or Patron Group.
• Each location in Alma has an associated location code, location name, and an optional external display name which together represent the single shelving location in the spreadsheet row.
• All Voyager locations must be mapped to a location in Alma. Do not leave "Column H-Alma Location Code" or "Column I-Alma Location Name" blank.
• Alma does not use HAPPENING locations.
  • If these locations contain no Bib/MFHD/Item records, plan to map these to a single location that will be deleted/suppressed after migration (e.g., "ZZobsolete" or "ZZhappen").
  • If these locations contain Bib/MFHD/Item records (such as reserves shelved at the CIRCULATION DESK happening location, rather than at a separate shelving location), give them a code and name to represent the resources' physical location in the library.
• You may map obsolete and/or empty locations to a suppressed location for future review/deletion in Alma, (e.g., "ZZobsolete" or "Review").
• You may choose to map Voyager location codes to new codes in Alma--for instance if your old codes contained inconsistencies, errors, or if a location was re-purposed--or you may use the same code in Alma.
  • If your Voyager codes contained spaces, commas, or other punctuation, you must update the code used in in Alma.
• You may choose to merge two or more Voyager locations into a single Alma location.
  • To do so, enter the same Alma Location Code and Alma Location Name into "Column H-Alma Location Code" and "Column I-Alma Location Name" for each row you will be merging.
• You may not split the contents of a single Voyager location into multiple Alma locations. You will have the opportunity to make these changes in Alma after going live.
• See the Ex Libris Voyager to Alma Migration Guide section on "Alma Location Tab" if you would like to see the full Location Mapping information from Ex Libris.

Location Codes

• In "Column H-Alma Location Code", enter the Alma location code to which the Voyager location should be mapped.
• Location Codes in Alma are case sensitive.
• Each distinct shelving location in Alma must have a distinct Location Code entered.
• Entering the same Location Code and Location Name in Columns H and Column I for separate Voyager locations will combine the Voyager locations into one Alma location. This is fine if combining the locations in Alma is your goal.
• You may choose to continue using existing Voyager location codes in Alma. Just re-enter the voyager location code in "Column H-Alma Location Code".
• The only punctuation allowed in the Alma Location Code is the hyphen (-) and underscore (_). All other punctuation is prohibited.

Location Names

• The "Column I- Alma Location Name" is the name that library staff will see when working in Alma.
• If the Location Code is unique for the location in Alma, the Location Name should also be unique for that location in Alma.

Location Display Names

• In "Column J- Alma Location External Name", enter the location name Primo VE users will see in the discovery interface.
• Multiple Alma locations CAN have the same "Alma Location External Name."
• See "Column D- location_display_name" to see the OPAC display name currently used in Voyager.

OPAC Suppression

• In column K, enter YES or NO to indicate whether resources added to this location should be suppressed from Primo VE.
• Refer to "Column E- location suppress_in_opac" to see how the location is currently set in Voyager.

Location's Associated Alma Library

• A collection of locations in Alma that exist within the same physical space is considered a "Library." The closest similarity to Voyager are the "Circulation Policy Definitions", which group together all of the shelving locations that circulate from the same circulation desk(s).
• Initially, CARLI instructed libraries to leave the Alma Library column blank. On June 25, 2019, an email was sent to Alma/Primo VE Contacts with instructions for completing the Alma Libraries Spreadsheet in which you define one or more Alma Libraries.  Please review the Directions for Filling out the Alma Library Spreadsheet for more information on what to enter in Column G.

See Also

June 10, 2019: Explanation of the Alma Test Load Location Spreadsheet, due July 23rd

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