Managing Electronic Collections in Alma presented at the 2016 GaCOMO in Athens as part of the Pre-Conference sponsored by TSIG and the Cataloging Functional Group of GIL.

1. Alma/Primo Best Practices from the
Georgia Vanguards’ Perspectives:
Managing Electronic Collections
by
Jessica Lee
jessicalee@valdosta.edu
and
Guy Frost
gfrost@valdosta.edu
Valdosta State University

2. Why is this important?
1. URLs or 856 links in the bibliographic record and/or the
holdings record do not work as they do in Voyager
2. 856s are moved or migrated into portfolios associated
with a collection, package, database, or standalone (e.g.,
LC’s TOC, Publisher’s descriptions, Ga. Docs, etc.)
3. Generic URLs from the Internet (e.g., LibGuides) do not
fall into this category so no portfolio was created upon
migration

3. Example: Libguide
In Alma, it looks like there is a Online Resource; click on the Holdings
And then clicking the ID
It appears that the URL is hot linked; here the link does work

4. New Primo (Patron) View
Note: No items exist -- Note also: No URL displaying
- Alma and Primo are Item-Driven - it’s looking for the information at the item
level; there is also NO difference between signing in

5. Primo View vs. Voyager & GIL-Find
Primo view
The issue information is populated in Alma
as seen below.

6. Primo View vs. Voyager & GIL-Find
Current holdings for electronic content in Voyager.
Instead of an 866, you would fill out a webform in Alma which would populate the
information in Primo.

7. Community Zones Record
Voyager eJournal record
Print Record with Suppressed
eJournal content (suppressed at the
holdings level only)

8. Types of Electronic Content in Alma
Alma provides several ways to manage your electronic content
Alma > Resource Management > Create Inventory
Add Local Electronic Collection
- Where you begin creating your Electronic Collection
- Add Local Portfolio allows you to add stand alone titles or titles to a growing collection
(e.g., Theses and Dissertations) you’ve created; Portfolio = discrete Item (e.g., URL)
- Content can be either:
- Electronic content not part of the Community Zone
- Electronic content that is part of the Community Zone (e.g., electronic journals selectively
purchased from packages)
Add Digital Representations (e.g.: jpgs, TIFFs, etc.)
- Note: Alma documentation lumps Theses and Dissertations here; Valdosta will not

9. Types of Collections at VSU
Electronic collections that will be created post migration:
- Electronic Theses and Dissertations (Vtext)
- Digitize resources in the Institutional Repository (Representative Sample)
- Slavery Papers and Speeches (Vtext)
- Civil Rights Collection (Vtext)
- Others (Vtext)
- Selections from Electronic Packages (Representative Sample)
- Sage
- Wiley
- Springer
- ScienceDirect
- Finding Aids in Archon (Archon)
- Other (e.g., a general collection of ebooks (Vtext)
Allows the managing “title by title” of select ejournal subscriptions
Note: All of these will be managed by Valdosta. What we create is what we will have to maintain on our
own.

10. Local Electronic Collection
This example is for ejournal purchased from Taylor & Francis
Note: This collection is currently inactive, thus shows that it is “Not Available”
- You can tell it is inactive because the icon is grayed out
- You can also see the “number of titles” added to this collection

11. Identifying Electronic Collections In Alma
You can retrieve all of your Electronic Collections in your Alma instance by just
using Alma’s truncating symbol: the asterisk (*)
Note: Be sure to select “Electronic collection”

12. Creating the Collection
Under: Alma > Resource Management > Create Inventory
- Click “Add Local Electronic Collection”
Note:
- The Admins must “Turn” these functions on if not displaying
- Remember: A Portfolio is an individual title not a collection
- You MUST have a collection already created to use this option

13. Opening Screen - Define your Collection
Name of Collection
Name of Repository
Public Description in
results lists
Collection type
- Selective
- Aggregator
Library associated with
collection -
SAVE IT WHEN DONE

14. Electronic Service Editor - Making a Date
This Tab is
Self Explanatory
- Turn everything on
Service Description tab
- Repeats what you
just recorded in the
first tab

15. Electronic Service Editor - Linking Information Tab
Select:
- Dynamic URL
- Free
- No Crossref
- No Crossref
- No Proxy
Note: this is for content you do not pay for

16. Electronic Service Editor - The Remaining Screen
You can
- Add Portfolios (titles) from here
- Add notes if desired
- Add Group Settings
- View the History of the Collection (who did what when)
SAVE IT WHEN DONE

17. Electronic Collection Editor
This is a chance to Review what you have done
Note there are “0” Portfolios (titles)
The Icon Shows the Collection as Active
Other information here relates to Databases

18. Repository Search
The Collection you created displays showing
Note is shows as inactive

19. Adding your First Portfolio
This example will show importing a record from
OCLC using the “Search External Resources” option

20. Metadata Editor [MD Editor]
There are a variety of
parameters that can be
used for searching
This example uses the
OCLC number

21. There’s always an Hourglass ...
The Record is retrieved
Select Import

22. The Bib Record is displayed
Note to the left it shows you
are working on this title

23. Attaching This Record to Your Collection
Under: Tools > MARC Bibliographic >
Add Local Portfolio
The Next Step is Important!

24. New Portfolio
Divided into Five Areas
- Descriptive Information
- General Information
- Coverage Information
- Inventory
- Notes

25. Descriptive Information
Use the Existing title if feasible; otherwise, create a title

26. General Information
Select: Part of an Electronic Collection; the “Electronic Collection” should open up
Click the Search Icon
Make sure you are searching “Electronic Collection”

27. Results are displayed
Your results should have
arial buttons to select;
Pick the one you need
and hit select on the
bottom right corner

28. Coverage Information
If relevant, fill in the information

29. Inventory Information
- Add your URL to the
- Select the appropriate “Electronic material type”

30. Notes
Add notes if you want Click the “GO” Button
Bottom Right Corner

31. Not Done Yet
More things need to be done
1. You must release the Record from the Metadata Editor
2. You must make sure it is activated
3. You should test it in Alma
AND… more importantly...
1. You (or your Catalog Manager) must request that Job Run for Primo

32. Releasing the record
Release the record from your Work File

33. Check Your Work: Searching
Make sure you change the pulldown
menu to “Electronic collection”

34. Checking Your Work: Testing the Link
Test the access 1.) and 2.)

35. Success

36. Creating local collections for paid content
With Alma, we need to change our way of thinking and how to manage 856s and
electronic content.

37. Building Local Collections
What is a Selective Package? – Only the
portfolios that you select from a package are
activated.
Automatically activate portfolios will make sure
that your portfolios display in Primo.

38. Adding Portfolios
It’s better to use an existing title from the IZ, NZ, or CZ for purchased
content. This way you can link your portfolio to a complete bibliographic record.
When creating a title from scratch. The fields are limited and not as robust as what
can be found in the IZ, NZ, and CZ.

39. Use Existing Titles for Paid Content

40. Use Existing Titles for Paid Content
You can set up the EZProxy prefix in the Alma configuration menu and select the
proxy when adding purchased content instead of adding the proxy to the URL.

41. Success!
Local collection is activated! If the icon was grayed out, this collection would not
be activated.

42. Bibliography
Managing Electronic Resources:
https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/Alma_Online_
Help_(English)/Resource_Management/050Inventory/020Managing_Electronic_R
esources
Contains:
- Adding a Local Electronic Collection (creating collections)
- Managing Local Portfolios (add a single instance)