Koha to Alma Migration Guide
Overview
Koha is an open source Integrated Library System. Support is provided by various companies but it is possible for libraries to operate Koha with no external support.
This document serves two purposes:
- A step-by-step guide to filling out the Koha Migration Form.
- An explanation of the migration rules for Koha to Alma which do not require any customer input.
Related Documentation
- This document is intended to complement the Koha Migration Form - an Excel spreadsheet that is read by the migration programs. It provides further information regarding the migration process and the steps required for migration to Alma.
- Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of Alma and Koha key concepts and architecture and the requirements (including the migration-related approach) described in Getting Ready for Alma and Discovery Implementation, as well as Electronic Resource Handling in Alma Migration.
- The format and structure of the data exported from Koha is detailed in Koha to Alma Data Delivery Specification. The data structure is validated with the Excel-based validation tool, also described in this section.
- It is recommended that you view the Introduction to the Alma Configuration Process video session before completing the migration form, as the mapping and migration of libraries and locations have implications for subsequent configurations.
Ex Libris migrates your acquisitions and course data only if this service is purchased by your institution and is stipulated in your contract with Ex Libris.
Recommendations for Using this Guide
This document is divided into four areas:
- Inventory
- Fulfillment
- Acquisitions
- Physical to Electronic
Each area has the following sections:
- Questionnaire Tab – Instructions for individual questions asked on the Questionnaire tab of the migration form.
- Individual Tabs – Instructions for how to fill out individual tabs on the migration form. (Examples: Alma Library Tab, User Group Tab, PO Line Type Tab).
- Further Explanation – Explanations of migration processes that need more explanation and/or do not need customer input.
We recommend that you look at the Questionnaire tab section and the individual tabs in each area to assist in filling out the migration form.
If you have further questions about any of the data input or about the migration in general, see the more detailed explanations in the Further Explanations sections.
Inventory
Alma requires bibliographic, holdings, and item records. Koha has only bibliographic records and items. On migration, a holding record is created based on information in the Koha item record. See the MARC Holding Records section for more information.
Customer Input
Questionnaire Tab
Institution Code, Customer Code, Institution Name, Customer Name, Time Zone
Codes: INST_CODE, CUST_CODE – these are filled in by Ex Libris
INST_NAME, CUST_NAME – these are mandatory and must be filled in.
Default: N/A
Options: This question is mandatory.
INST_NAME and CUST_NAME: Fill these fields in with your institution’s name and your customer name (this is only different from the institution name if you are part of a consortium).
List Prefix for bibs from SFX or other management system
Code: SFX_PREFIX
Default: ‘(SFX)’
Options: string. If not indicating a link resolver management system, leave blank.
Further Information: If your Koha catalog contains records imported from SFX or another electronic resources management system and you are also migrating bibliographic records directly from SFX or the other management system, this may result in duplicate bibliographic records in Alma. You can enter a prefix here so that the migration programs can identify these bibliographic records and not migrate them to Alma to avoid creating duplicate SFX records in Alma. The migration programs do not make any attempt to physically merge the two records into one.
The default response to this question is (SFX), but you can enter any prefix that represents the bibliographic records that you want to exclude from loading into Alma. The migration programs search for the string in the 035 $a field of the MARC record. If you do not want to exclude any such records, leave this field blank.
If the migration programs identify bibliographic records containing the prefix in the 035 $a and the records in Koha are connected to a purchase order line and/or physical items, these bibliographic records are still migrated so that the purchase order and/or items can be migrated, but they are automatically suppressed in Alma to avoid end-user discovery duplication.
MARC Organizational Code
Code: MARC_OC
Default: None; this is not mandatory
Options: Enter your MARC organizational code, which will be used to construct the former system number in Alma. Only one code is allowed.
Further Information: The migration moves the value in the exported record’s 001 field (Koha bibliographic system number) to the 035 $a field:
(MOC)<Koha record id>-<customer code>
<(moc)> is the MARC Organization code specified here. is the <customer code> specified in the CUSTOMER_CODE question above.
For example: (AbC)123456-01abc
Do you use internal system numbers in $w of Linked Entry fields?
Code: LINKED_ENTRY_W
Default: No
Options: If Yes, the internal system numbers are converted from the Koha system number to the Alma system number.
Internal record designation for Linked Entry fields $w
Code: LINKED_ENTRY_PREFIX
Default: blank
Options: If there are internal system numbers in $w, indicate if they have a prefix that is used to identify these numbers (for example, (abc)12345). If the system numbers in $w do not have a prefix (for example, 12345), leave this question blank. If No for the LINKED_ENTRY_W question, then leave blank.
Further information on LINKED_ENTRY_W and LINKED_ENTRY_PREFIX: When bibliographic records are related to each other, such as a journal title that is superseded by a second journal title, Koha may store the information in bibliographic fields 76x-78x. If the number in the $w of the linking tags is the internal Koha system number, these numbers must be changed to the Alma representation of the system number. If your library does not use the internal system number to link and rather relies on more general identifiers such as the ISBN, ISSN, or shared cataloging DB (OCLC or DLC), these numbers are not modified.
In Alma, the system numbers in the $w field (along with $z and $x) are used to link two related bibliographic records together using the related records process. Related records can be found by clicking the More Info link on the Alma Search Results page.
Indicate which 852 subfields to use to determine unique holding records
Code: 852_SUBFIELDS_FOR_HOL
Default: bc (library and location only, not call number)
Options: To group all items on a single bibliographic record by library/location only, indicate bc here. If you have many items on the same bibliographic record in the same library/location but different call numbers WITHIN that library/location, and you want each of them to have their own distinct holding record, specify additional call number subfields. Acceptable subfields: bchijklmp.
The library and location codes are matched after the Alma Location Mapping has been performed, meaning the match is done on the Alma version of the library/location codes.
See sections: Determining Groups for Holding Record Creation/Matching, Changing the Holding Record Grouping/Matching
Move 852$c to Another Subfield
Code: MOVE_852C_SUBF
Default: k
Options: optional
Further Information: If you have data in your Koha holdings record 852 $c, it must be moved to a different subfield to accommodate the two levels of location in Alma – Alma library and location, which are in 852 $b and $c. Decide to which subfield you want the $c information moved. If nothing is specified or the response is incorrect (such as Yes or No instead of specific subfield), the default subfield is $k. Subfield $c is only moved for the relevant 852 tag. This means that if there are multiple 852 tags in the same holding record, the $c is only moved for the first 852 tag to make room for the sublocation in $c in Alma.
Limit exported records by location
Code: LIMIT_BY_LOCATIONS
Default: No
Options: If your export contains all of the data from a shared database, and you want to only migrate a part of that export to Alma, the migration programs can filter the data according to locations listed on the Location tab. In this case, the ALMAME_VALUE_NOT_FOUND line on the Location tab is not used. Inventory and Acquisitions are filtered by locations on the Location tab, and Fulfillment is filtered based on campus codes in the Campus Code tab. Use this option only if agreed upon with your Ex Libris project manager.
Bib Key Prefix
Code: BIB_KEY_PREFIX
Default: empty
Options: If you are combining data from two or more separate databases into a single combined institution in Alma, indicate a prefix here that will be used to distinguish the former system numbers in Alma after migration. For example, the different systems likely had completely different bibliographic records for system number 12345 and you want to be able to search for the specific bibliographic record from your own institution after go-live. The prefix does not include a hyphen so if you want a hyphen in the number (for example, PQ-12345), include it in the string. If you are not merging institutions, leave this question blank.
See also the MERGE_PATRON_PREFIX in Fulfillment.
Move 001/003 to 035 or 035
Code: 001_035_935
Default: 035
Options: If your incoming bibliographic records have a number in the 001, then the migration programs move it elsewhere as (<003>)<001>. For example: (OCoLC)12345. To move to the 035, which is the default, then select 035 in the dropdown. If you are part of a consortium and are using OCLC numbers to determine matching records when linking to the NZ, you may wish to move this number to the 935 so that the moved number does not interfere with another matching key you may be using. If you are not linking to the NZ, then this question is likely not useful. Default: 035
Use subfield indicators in item call number (AltCallNo)
Code: ITEM_CALLNO_SUBFIELD
Default: Yes
Options: When generating an Item Call Number field (also known as AltCallNo), you can decide if the string contains subfield indicators. Default = Yes
Yes = $h PZ3.A93 Pr16 $i A975
No = PZ3.A93 Pr16 A975
For more information on when an Item Call Number is generated, see the section Changing the Holding Record Grouping, which depends on the question 852_SUBFIELDS_FOR_HOL.
Add $9 LOCAL to specified tags
Code: NZ_LOCAL_TAGS
Default: empty
Options: Add $9 LOCAL to specified bib tags, for use in consortia where an IZ environment links to an NZ. Tags marked as Local will be kept in the IZ, and not moved to the NZ.
Format for this input: tag + indicator. Use # for any/wildcard, and b for the space character. Separate with semicolon.
Example: 59###; 69###;960##;970##;090b#
Alma Library Tab
Use this tab to create a list of Libraries in Alma. At least one library is mandatory.
Alma Library Code: Maximum 10 characters. Mixed case is valid, but not recommended. Do not use special characters or spaces. Allowed: - and _ (hyphen and underscore). Not allowed: !@#$%^&*()+=/?><.,\|]}[{`~ or the space character.
The Alma Library Code may not be the same as the Alma Customer Code nor the Alma Institution Code .
Alma Library name: Maximum 255 characters. Visible to the public.
Address lines: Alma allows you to specify address, phone, and e-mail information about each library. It is mandatory for a library to have a shipping/billing address in order to place orders in Alma. The migration process sets the designated address provided with all possible types in Alma (shipping, billing, claiming, etc.). At least one address line is mandatory.
Email: An email address is mandatory. The migration process sets the email address provided with all possible email address types in Alma.
Phone: The phone number must contain dashes (nnn-nnn-nnnn). A phone number with no dashes is not accepted by the migration program. Not mandatory.
Default language: Indicate the language of patrons and/or staff members if it differs for each library. Use two-letter codes as defined in ISO 639-1. Consult the codes at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ISO_639-1_codes.
Further Explanation: Both Koha and Alma have two levels of location. Koha uses holding library and collection code and Alma uses library and physical/shelving location. Locations in Koha are generally analogous to the physical/shelving locations in Alma. Libraries are higher level units that contain groups of locations. Alma libraries serve as higher-level repositories for physical records and also determine policy groupings for their management and fulfillment. The lower-level physical location does not determine policy for an item and is only the physical shelving location or collection. All physical resources in your institution must belong to a library.
During the migration process, group your Koha locations into library groupings. The first step is to determine the list of libraries, using this tab. Next, map locations into Alma libraries and locations using the Alma Location tab.
If you use an error library (for example “EMPTY”) in the ALMAME_VALUE_NOT_FOUND line of the Location Mapping tab, be sure to list that library here on the Library tab.
Alma Location Tab
Use this tab to map your Koha locations to Alma libraries and locations. Mandatory.
Include ALL locations of ALL types, including electronic types that may ultimately be deleted in Alma. They still need to be provided in the Location tab mapping.
Koha holding library code: Value from the Location field in the item extract, 952 $b, in the embedded item tag in the bibliographic record. The ALMAME_VAL_NOT_FOUND line is required to catch any location codes you may have missed.
Koha collection code: Value from the collection field in the item extract, 952 $8, in the embedded item tag in the bibliographic record. The ALMAME_VAL_NOT_FOUND line is required to catch any location codes that you may have missed.
Alma Library Code: The library that will contain this location in Alma. This code must be present on the Alma Library tab, column A. The match is case-sensitive.
Alma Location Code: The new location code for this location in Alma. It can be a maximum of 10 characters. You can use the same location codes in Alma that you used in Koha, but this is not required. You may also use this form to collapse locations if desired, for example, refa and refb in Koha both map to ref in Alma. Mixed case is valid, but not recommended. Do not use special characters or spaces. Allowed: - and _ (hyphen and underscore). Not allowed: !@#$%^&*()+=/?><.,\|]}[{`~ or the space character.
Call Number Type: List the call number type for any newly created holdings records, based on the values for the 852 first indicator. (http://www.loc.gov/marc/holdings/hd852.html). If we cannot determine the call number type from the item record itself, we use this as a default for all items in the location.
Alma Location Name: A description for this location as seen/used by library staff members. The same location name cannot be used for different locations in the same library, but the same location name can be used for different locations in different libraries. See the examples in the Further Information section below for what is acceptable and not acceptable. Maximum 255 characters.
Alma External Location Name: A description for this location as seen/used by the public. The same name can be used for as many different locations as desired. For example, the location names may be Archives A and Archives B, but the external location names can both be Archives. Maximum 255 characters.
Electronic Location? (Yes or No): Used by the P2E migration process to determine if a holding/item/order should be converted to electronic. See the Physical to Electronic (P2E) Processing section for more information.
Suppress from Externalization? (Yes or No): Indicate if the location should be suppressed from being visible to the public. The items are not marked as suppressed, but no holdings or items with this location code are exported to Primo.
Further Information: Do not leave the Alma Location and Library Code fields blank. If you want to stop using a location code after migration, map the Koha code to an easily identifiable code such as XXX or unused just in case any stray items are still in your Koha database.
ALMAME_VALUE_NOT_FOUND
The ALMAME_VALUE_NOT_FOUND line must be included at the top of the list of locations, in case any location codes were overlooked when completing this map. For example, you may think that you do not have any items left in a certain collection, so you leave it off the location map. However, there may be one or two items left, or a stray holding record, etc.
By default, the location code for the ALMAME_VALUE_NOT_FOUND line is UNASSIGNED, which is the default catch-all in Alma in production mode. We recommend that you select your primary/largest library as the library code for the line, for example MAIN as in the example line below. In this case, the items inherit the configurations for the MAIN library. You may also decide to use a completely new library, such as EMPTY. However, if you use a library that is new, like EMPTY, then be sure to also include it on the Library tab.
| Koha Location code | Koha Locn Desc | Alma Library | Alma Location Code | Alma Location Desc | Alma External Loc Desc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALMAME_ VALUE_NOT _FOUND | MAIN | UNASSIGNED | Problem location from Migration | Problem: See Library Staff |
Post-migration, search for items in the UNASSIGNED location and correct the records appropriately.
Alma Location Name and Alma External Location Name
The Alma Location Name column contains the names of the location codes that are displayed in the staff interface. The names cannot be repeated in the Location Name column when the location codes both belong to the same library, but you can use the same name for two different locations, if these locations belong to different libraries. The Alma External Location Name column contains the names of the location codes that are displayed to library patrons. These names can be repeated within the column without regard for libraries. For example:
The following is acceptable:
| Library | Alma Location Code | Alma Location Name | Alma External Location Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| Library A | stacks | Main Stacks | Main Stacks |
| Library B | stacks | Main Stacks | Main Stacks |
| Library A | archa | Archives A | Archives |
| Library B | archa | Archives B | Archives |
| Library A | archstk | Archives Stacks | Archives |
| Library A | archref | Archives Reference | Archives |
The following is not acceptable:
| Library | Alma Location Code | Alma Location Name | Alma External Location Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| Library A | archstk | Archives | Archives |
| Library A | archref | Archives | Archives |
The Alma library and Alma location are put in the following places in the migrated or newly created MARC holdings record:
- The Alma library is placed in the 852‡b field.
- The Alma location is placed in the 852‡c field.
Collapsing Locations
This mapping table can be used to collapse location codes – that is, two or more location codes in Koha can map to a single location code in Alma. The Alma location and library code fields may not be empty. If you want to stop using a location code on migration, map the Koha code to an easily identifiable code such as XXX if any stray items are still in your Koha database.
If you collapse location codes, you may have lines in the table such as the following:
| Koha Location Code | Alma Library | Alma Location Code | Alma Location Name | Alma External Loc Name | Suppress from Externalization | Electronic Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| reserves | MAIN | RESERVES | Reserves | Reserve | Yes | No |
| reservesElec | MAIN | RESERVES | Reserves | ReserveElec | Yes | Yes |
| reservesShort | MAIN | RESERVES | Reserves | Reserve | Yes | No |
| reservesPerm | MAIN | RESERVES | Reserves | Reserve | Yes | No |
The two values in bold italic above (ReserveElec as the External Location name, and Yes for Electronic location) are not used in Alma. Since the locations are being collapsed, the first line for the RESERVES Alma location is used, and all subsequent lines below it use the values from the first line.
Item Type Tab
Use this tab to migrate the Koha Item Type ($y) to the Alma Item Type. This tab is optional. The item type in Alma is not required, so if you leave this tab blank, no item policies in Alma are created.
Koha Item Type ($y): The value in the item type field of the Koha item. The item type is used to differentiate between items when determining how something circulates.
Koha Description: The description of the Koha item type, for information only. This column is not used during the mapping process.
Alma itemPolicy: The Alma value for the item type. This sheet can be used to collapse item types if desired. Do not use special characters, for example, slashes (/) or spaces in the code.
Alma Description: This description is loaded into Alma as the display text for the item types. These values can be changed after migration. Maximum 255 characters.
You can optionally include an ALMAME_VAL_NOT_FOUND line at the top of the map. If this line is included, any value not found or any blank value is assigned the value in the ALMAME_VAL_NOT_FOUND line. If the ALMAME_VAL_NOT_FOUND line is not included, any value not found, including blanks, is left as blank in Alma.
Item Base Status Tab
Use this tab to map your item statuses to Alma. This tab is not mandatory if you do not want to migrate your item statuses to Alma. There are three different fields which indicate a status in Koha: $4 damaged, $0 withdrawn, and $1 lost. We will use all three fields to determine a base status in Alma.
STATUS (combination of fields $4-$0-$1): The value in the status fields from the Koha item extract. The status typically indicates what is happening to the item, such as in binding, in repair, lost, etc. In Koha we will use three fields as indicated. Separate the values by hyphens, and use * to indicate that any status will match. For example, *-*-1 means: $4 any value, $0 any value, and $1 = 1. This will map to the status “Lost”.
Description: The description of the STATUS code(s). The text in this column is written to the internal note 1 in the item in Alma. Maximum 255 characters.
baseStatus: In Alma, the base status indicates whether or not the item is on the shelf. Indicate whether or not an item with this status is on the shelf. For example, lib use only is on the shelf (1), but withdrawn is not (0).
Further information: Alma has a process type that indicates the status of an item depending on the Alma workflow (item is on loan, item is sent to the bindery, etc.), but the process type is dependent on the corresponding Alma workflow. For migration, all item statuses that are indicated as not on the shelf (0) from Koha are given the process type of TECHNICAL. Further, the item status description field is written to internal note 1 for all items where there was a status, regardless of the shelf/not on shelf designation.
Include any status that may indicate no status, for example Available, but leave column B blank. This migrates the item to Alma with no status at all, which is how Alma indicates that an item has no status. If any status is in your data but is NOT included in column A, it is given a note of Unknown status.
Post migration, you can search for and re-route items with values in the internal note 1 to the appropriate handling or department in Alma. This process can also be used as a configurable criterion for suppressing items from display in the Get It services screens from discovery systems. See Appendix A - Post-Migration Process Statuses for more information.
Material Type Tab
Use this tab to migrate any incoming Material type to the Alma Material type. The material type is not mandatory; if no material type is indicated for an item, one will be generated based on information from the bib fixed fields.
Incoming Material Type: The value in the material type field of the incoming item.
Material type Description: The description of the material type, for information only. This column is not used during the mapping process.
Alma Material Type: The Alma value for the material type. Material types in Alma are fixed. You cannot add any new types to the list. Select the appropriate material type from the drop-down list.
If this field is not provided in the extract, Alma migration assigns the item material type based on the fixed fields in the bib as described in section Material Type from Bib Fixed Fields below.
Shelving Scheme Tab
Alma generates a first indicator for the 852 based on the Shelving Scheme tab.
Koha $2 classification: The values in the Shelving Scheme tab as delivered in the extract from Koha. The commonly used values are included in the tab, but you can make additions or changes as necessary.
852 1st Indicator: List the value that should be used in the 852 first indicator field when generating a holding record from the item. For a list of possible values and their description, see http://www.loc.gov/marc/holdings/hd852.html. Note that 7 is not supported on migration. Mandatory.
Description: A description or note for this shelving scheme value, if you need to make a note while deciding the first indicator value. This column is not used in migration.
Do not use an ALMAME_VAL_NOT_FOUND line here, because if an item has a shelving scheme that is not listed or does not have a shelving scheme value, the shelving scheme is taken from the Call Number Type column on the Location tab of the Koha Migration Form.
Further Explanation – Inventory
Bibliographic Records
Bibliographic records are migrated as is and each bibliographic record may modified in the following way during migration:
- Suppressed bibliographic records as described above in the Suppressed Bib Tab of the migration form.
- Australian customers will have ALL Bibliographic records marked for Libraries of Australia Publish, if relevant.
- OCLC records (records with an 035 |a with an OCLC-official prefix) will be marked for OCLC publish, if relevant.
- The LDR position 9 (character coding scheme) is set to a indicating Unicode.
Alma requires a MARC holding record for all items. During the migration process, the Alma library and Alma location are put in the following places in the MARC holding record:
- The Alma library is placed in the 852‡b field.
- The Alma location is placed in the 852‡c field.
If the MARC holding record is migrated from Koha, the 852 $b field is replaced with the newly-mapped $b and $c subfields. Use the questionnaire question MOVE_852C_SUBF to preserve any information that was in 852 $c in the Koha holding record. If the MARC holding record is created based on information from the item, then additionally the $h and $i subfields are filled with the call number from the Koha item field (item tag subfields $a and $b).
For Koha customers who are exporting MARC holding records, the migration process attaches migrated items to the MARC holding record. For Koha customers who are not exporting MARC holding records or are exporting partial MARC holdings records, the migration process creates MARC holding records based on information in the Koha item records.
Determining Groups for Holding Record Creation/Matching
If an existing MARC holding record from Koha is found that matches the location or call number of the item, the item is linked to the MARC holding record. Otherwise, a new holding record is created for each group of item records that share the same location or call number. The permanent location and call number in Alma is stored only in the holding record. All items attached to the holding record inherit the permanent location and call number from the holding record. For example, if a bibliographic record has five items with no associated holding record:
- Item 1, 2 in Location A
- Item 3, 4 in Location B
- Item 5 in Location C
The migration program generates three different MARC holdings records, one for each location A, B, or C. The items for each location are then attached to the newly created holdings record. If there are any call numbers that differ from the holding record’s call number, the differing call number is stored in the item’s Item Call Number field.
Changing the Holding Record Grouping/Matching
As part of the migration process, the customer must decide which criteria to use to group or match items to existing holdings and also to determine if multiple items belong on the same holding record. The 852 subfields as mapped from Koha are: $b Library $c Home Location $h Call Number Level 1 $i Call Number Level 2. By default, the migration programs compare $b and $c, but the customer can decide to change this to also include $h and $i based on items in their collection.
For example, if there are four items and a single holding record on the same bibliographic record with the following call numbers:
item 1 $b main $c stacks $h PN 567 $i .M4
item 2 $b main $c stacks $h PN 567 $i .M4
item 3 $b main $c stacks $h PN 567 $i .M4 2010
item 4 $b bio $c flr1 $h PN 567 $i .M457
holding record A $b main $c stacks $h PN 567 $i .M4
When only $b and $c are used to determine a holding record group, the following is the result in Alma:
Holding record A (migrated) $b main $c stacks $h PN 567 $i .M4
item 1
item 2
item 3 (original call number stored in ItemCallNo field in the item)
Holding record (generated) $b bio $c flr1 $h PN 567 $i .M457
item 4
When the holding record group is based on more subfields, for example $b $c $h $i, the following is the result in Alma:
Holding record (migrated) $b main $c stacks $h PN 567 .M4
item 1
item 2
Holding record (generated) $b main $c stacks $h PN 567 $i .M4 2010
item 3
Holding record (generated) $b bio $c flr1 $h PN 567 $i .M457
item 4
Decide which 852 subfields should be used to determine holding record groups by answering the question in the Questionnaire tab of the Koha Migration Form, Indicate which 852 subfields to use to determine unique holding records.
Call Number Type
The 852 field has a first indicator that indicates what the call number type is. You need to indicate what class scheme to use when holding records are created using information from the item. Fill in the Call Number Type column on the Alma Location tab of the Koha Migration form to indicate the class scheme per location.
The available call number types can be found at http://www.loc.gov/marc/holdings/hd852.html.
Supported on migration:
# - No information provided
0 - Library of Congress classification
1 - Dewey Decimal classification
2 - National Library of Medicine classification
3 - Superintendent of Documents classification
4 - Shelving control number
5 - Title
6 - Shelved separately
8 - Other scheme
Not supported on migration:
7 - Source specified in subfield $2
Item Barcodes
While Koha allows item barcodes to be duplicated, Alma does not. The item barcode must be unique in Alma, although it may be left blank.
The item barcode is migrated according to the following rules:
- If the barcode is empty, leave as empty in Alma.
- If the barcode exists, but is not unique:
- First item barcode encountered – migrate as is.
- Second and subsequent item barcodes encountered – migrate as <item barcode>-<item id>
- .
Material Type
The material type in Alma is a description of the type of material the item is such as book, map, issue, DVD, compact disc, etc. It is controlled by a fixed list of physical resource material types in Alma. Each item in Alma must have a material type specified. The migration automatically assigns a material type on migration, based on the bibliographic record LDR and 007 fields. There is no customer input required for this part of the migration as the Alma types are fixed. The material type in migration is derived from the resource type which is constructed by Alma based on the bib header information. To see a description of how the resource type is determined, see the Resource Type Field description.
Areas/Fields Not In Scope
Boundwiths: We do not expect to receive items from Koha that are linked to multiple bibliographic records. If your library has cases where two or more bibliographic records are linked to the same item, consult your Ex Libris project manager.
Fulfillment
Customer Input
Questionnaire Tab
Complete the following in the Questionnaire tab:
Enter a two-letter code for the default conversational language for your users
Code: PATRON_LANG
Default: en
Options: Use the two-letter codes as defined in ISO 639-1. Consult the codes from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ISO_639-1_codes. Additionally, the language code zh-tw (Taiwanese Mandarin) is accepted.
Which identifier should be used as the patron's Primary Identifier?
Code: PATRON_PRIMARYID
Default: UNIV ID
Options: Using the Koha Field Mapping Form, map the identifiers exported from Koha to the following list: UNIV ID, BARCODE, ADDL ID 1, ADDL ID 2, ADDL ID 3. Then, select the identifier to be used as primary for all patrons.
Further information: The identifier selected here is used as the match point for externally managed patron records to match with an external authentication system such as LDAP or Shibboleth. Additionally, this identifier is the primary identifier for internally managed patrons. It is highly recommended to use the Primary Identifier as the identifier for authentication. Notice that Primary Identifier is not case-sensitive, as opposed to all other identifiers, which are case-sensitive.
See also: Identification Numbers, Internal? Question on the User Group tab.
Currency for patron fines
Code: CURRENCY
Default: USD
Options: Use the three-letter code (for example, USD, EUR, GBP) for the currency used for patron fines. For a list of valid codes, consult http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_4217.
Merge Patron Prefix
Code: MERGE_PATRON_PREFIX
Default: No
Options: If you are combining data from two or more separate databases into a single combined institution in Alma, then indicate a prefix here that will be used to distinguish the incoming patron record original IDs. This prefix is only added to the internal patron identifier, it is not added to barcodes or usernames or UNIV_ID. If you are not merging institutions, leave this question blank.
See also: BIB_KEY_PREFIX
User Group Tab
The user group is used to distinguish groups of patrons from each other in determining different levels of circulation policies. Typical user groups are faculty, staff, and undergrad.
If patrons are being migrated, then this mapping table is mandatory.
Koha patron group: The incoming Koha patron group code, found in the patron group field of the patron extract.
Koha Description: A description of the Koha patron group, for informational purposes only. This column is not used in the mapping to Alma user group.
Alma User Group Code: The mapped group code in Alma. You can use the same codes that you used in Koha, or you can use different codes. You can also collapse groups if desired, for example, having Freshman and Sophomore from Koha both map to Undergrad in Alma. Do not use special characters, for example, slashes (/) or spaces in the code.
Alma User Group Description: The description of the Alma User Group. This description is loaded into the Alma code table as the description displayed in the user interface. This description can be changed easily after migration.
Internal? Y or N: Alma categorizes users as either external or internal. External patrons are managed and authenticated by an external system, such as through a regular load from the bursar’s office/campus student information system. Internal patrons are created and managed internally. Examples of internal patrons would be minority cases where community borrowers or alumni use library services. If you select Yes, all of the patrons in the Alma userGroup are categorized as internal. If you select No, all of the patrons in the Alma userGroup are categorized as external.
External users are fully external (except patron notes), including all user identifiers, authentication, and address information.
Notes/Comments: Add any notes or comments for the Koha User Profile. This column is not used during migration.
Further information: See also the following question in the Questionnaire tab:
- Which identifier should be used as the patron's Primary Identifier?
See also the sections on internal/external patrons.
User Stat Categories Tab
This tab is used to migrate the statistical categories in your patron records (if you have them) to Alma. In many legacy ILS systems, it is possible to have multiple fields that contain statistical codes, usually named patron category or something similar.
Before filling in this tab, specify in the Patrons tab of the Koha to Alma Field Mapping form which fields from Koha are migrated to statistical categories in Alma. You can include a label before each category to distinguish between categories in different fields. For example, you can have LAW in USER_CATEGORY1 and also LAW in USER_CATEGORY2. If desired, use a prefix to distinguish between the two, for example, CAT1:LAW and CAT2:LAW.
Incoming patron category: List all of the values from all of the fields that you want to put into the statistical category mapping. For example, if you listed three different three fields that have a patron category in the field mapping form, then list all of the values from all three of those fields here. Include the label applied if it is important to distinguish between values in different fields.
Source Description: A description of the individual categories, for information only. This field is not used in the mapping to Alma.
Alma Stat Category: The Alma Statistical Category code desired. This code is used to retrieve groups of patron records with various reporting tools.
Alma Stat Category Description: The description of the Alma Statistical Category Code. This value is loaded into the code table for userStatCategories. This description can be updated after migration.
Further Information: Alma has a Statistical Categories field in the patron record that can be used to retrieve statistics on groups of patrons.
Campus Code Tab
This mapping is not mandatory if you do not maintain separate patron campuses.
Koha patron campus: The value of the patron campus as found in the campus field of the patron extract.
Koha patron campus Description: A description of the location field, for informational purposes only. This column is not used in the mapping.
Alma Campus Code: The Alma campusCode desired. You may map the codes one-to-one, or you may use this map to collapse codes if desired.
Alma Campus Code Description: A description of the Alma campusCode, for informational purposes only. This field is not loaded into Alma.
Further Information: The Alma User Campus field is used to determine a patron’s affiliation for ILL or cross-campus borrowing. If your library maintains the location field in Koha for a similar purpose, map the location value to the Alma Campus Code value with this map.
Fine Fee Type Tab
The Fine Fee Type indicates why a patron has to pay a fine. Some common examples are: Overdue material, Lost material, Registration fee.
Incoming Fine Fee Type: List all of the values from the corresponding field in the fine/fee extract.
Description: A description of the fine fee type, for assistance in filling out this form. This column is not used in the mapping routine.
Alma Fine Types: Possible values in Alma are listed in the drop-down list.
Further Information: Outstanding patron bills from Koha are migrated to Alma Fines and Fees. Only the currently owed amount is migrated. If any partial payments have been made before conversion, they are not reflected on migration to Alma.
Further Explanation – Fulfillment/Patrons
Internal/External Patrons
Alma categorizes users as either external or internal. External patrons are managed by an external system, such as through a regular load from the bursar’s office/campus student information system. Internal patrons are created and managed internally. Examples of internal patrons are community borrowers or alumni. Use one of the following two ways to define a patron as internal or external:
- Provide a field called INTERNAL_EXTERNAL in the Koha patron extract, containing either “INTERNAL” or “EXTERNAL”.
- Identify patrons as internal or external by user group on the Koha Migration Form, User Group tab, Internal? Yes or No column. For example: all faculty are EXTERNAL and all community borrowers are INTERNAL.
Identification Numbers
The migration program allows for six different types of user identifiers: University ID, Barcode, and Additional ID 1, 2, 3, and 4. Select one of these identifier types as the primary ID – the primary unique identifier that the patron uses to authenticate via Primo. Internal patrons authenticate with the primary ID and a password via the Alma authentication service, and external patrons use the primary ID as the match point with an external authentication system. Use the User Identifier section in the Koha Field Mapping Form to map a local Koha identifier to the Alma expected identifier types. Then, select an Alma identifier type to be the Primary ID using the PATRON_PRIMARYID question on the Questionnaire tab.
When selecting the primary ID, the first identifier found in the field is used as the primary ID, and all subsequent identifiers are kept in the userIdentifier section. The primary ID must be unique, so if there are duplicates, the first unique ID found is migrated as is, and the IDs for the second and subsequent patrons with the same ID are given a suffix of -1, -2, etc. The original identifier is stored in the non-unique userIdentifier field so that the patron can still be retrieved using that identifier.
The primary ID that you select is not also written to the patron identifier section in the Alma patron record. The identifiers that are NOT selected as the primary ID are written to the patron identifier section in Alma.
When an identifier is written to the identifier section and there are multiple instances, the first one found for each type is active and the subsequent ones are inactive.
If the identifier selected for the primary ID is not present, the migration program creates an identifier for the patron based on the patron original ID, prefixed with ID. The migration programs do not fill in the primary ID with a non-selected identifier.
Select BARCODE, UNIV_ID or ADDL ID 1, 2, 3, or 4 as the primary ID type for all patrons in the Questionnaire tab of the Koha Migration Form.
Loans
Active loan transactions are migrated from Koha to Alma. Completed loan transactions are not included in the migration to Alma.
Acquisitions
Although no acquisition information is expected from Koha customers, there are still some questions that should be answered so that Alma is prepared for acquisition use on go-live.
Customer Input
Questionnaire Tab
ACQ mode
Code: ACQ_MODE
Options: Select Yes or No depending on whether or not you have contracted with Ex Libris to migrate any Acquisitions data.
What is your currency?
Code: ACQ_CURRENCY
Default: USD
Options: List the currency used for all of your funds. Orders can have other currencies and be translated to the default currency, but funds must have a single base currency.
The currency should be a three-letter code, as listed in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_4217
Fiscal Period Cycle Pattern
Code: FISCAL_PERIOD
Default: 01-07-1 (fiscal period starts on July 1 (01-07) and lasts for one year (-1).
Options: To have functioning ledgers, fiscal periods are required. Specify your fiscal period as DD-MM-C (Day-Month-Cycle). For example, a one year fiscal period starting on January 1 is indicated by: 01-01-1. A one year fiscal period starting on July 1 is indicated by: 01-07-1.
Alma currently supports one-year fiscal period cycles.
Which year do you use to name the fiscal year?
Code: FISCAL_PERIOD_NAME
Default: second
Options: Specify if the fiscal period is named with the first year or the second year.
- second – if fiscal period runs July 1 2014 through June 30 2015, then the fiscal year is named 2015.
- first – if fiscal period runs July 1 2014 through June 30 2015, then the fiscal year is named 2014.
If your fiscal period runs from January 1 through December 31, this question is not necessary.
Current Fiscal Year
Code: CURRENT_FISCAL_PERIOD
Default: determine by date of conversion
Options: This question is important around the fiscal period close, depending on whether or not you have run fiscal period close in your legacy ILS or if you will run it in Alma after migration. If you do not know how to answer this, select determine by date of conversion. The options are:
- Determine by date of conversion – The conversion program uses the fiscal period that includes the date of conversion.
- (year) – select the name of the current fiscal year, based on the previous two questions.
Physical to Electronic (P2E) Processing
In Koha, all resources are categorized as physical in the database, even if the record represents an electronic item. All records are converted to Alma as physical initially. A second process converts records identified as electronic to the electronic format. You provide a list of records that are identified as being electronic, as part of the data delivery, in the following format:
123475,portfolio
12345,package
12346,DB
The words portfolio, package, and db are not case-sensitive; therefore, both portfolio and Portfolio are acceptable.
If you provide a bibliographic record in the P2E file, the migration programs will generate an electronic resource for the bib, even if there is no valid URL. An example of an invalid URL might be an 856 tag with an indicator which does not match the specific indicator in the question P2E_LINK, below. For example, if you say that we use 85641u for the P2E_LINK, and you provide a bib record *without* a 85641u but that bib record is in the p2e file, then we will generate a local e-resource without any link at all (an empty resource). Be careful which bibs are placed in the bib file.
Further, the P2E process attempts to identify an order related to the identified inventory for conversion to electronic. Similarly to items and holdings, orders are initially migrated as print and are transformed to electronic through the p2e process. See the guide https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Implementation_and_Migration/Migration_Guides/Electronic_System_Migrations/Electronic_Resource_Handling_in_Alma_Migration for more information.
Customer Input
Questionnaire Tab
For each of the following three questions (P2E_LINK, P2E_NOTE, and P2E_PROVIDER), you can use indicators in the following manner:
- Specific indicators: 85641u – only tags with 41 as the indicator is used.
- No indicator (# is used for a blank character, for example: 8564#u) – only tags with 4<blank> as an indicator are used.
- All possible indicators: 8564*u – tags with 4 as the first indicator are used. The second indicator is not taken into account.
The space character operates the same way as an asterisk (*), for example: 8564 u is the same as 8564*u.
-
Special Request: If you need to specify multiple specific indicators, for example 85641 and 85642, it cannot be coded in the migration form but your ExL representative can make a special request to the migration team.
Which Holding or Bib field stores electronic link information
Code: P2E_LINK
Options: Provide a 3 digit MARC field code + subfield: 856u. Only one subfield is allowed.
Recommendation: 856 u
Default: If this is left empty, no tag is used.
Which Holding or Bib field stores electronic link public note
Code: P2E_NOTE
Options: Provide a 3 digit MARC field code + subfield: 856z. Only one subfield is allowed.
Recommendation: 856 z
Default: If this is left empty, no tag is used.
Which Holding or Bib field stores electronic provider name information
Code: P2E_PROVIDER
Options: Provide a 3 digit MARC field code + subfield: 856m. Only one subfield is allowed.
Recommendation: 856 m
Default: If this is left empty, no tag is used.
Alma Location Tab
Electronic Location Column
Identify which locations indicate an electronic holding or item record. A single bibliographic record may contain holdings for multiple locations, but only the holdings/items for electronic locations need to be identified. Identify the locations in the in the Electronic Location? column in the Alma Location tab of the Koha Migration Form.
Further Information
If you have multiple 856 links in a single bibliographic record identified as electronic, a different inventory link for that bibliographic record is created for each URL found in the record. In addition, if you have two item records with different electronic locations attached to the same bibliographic record, a different inventory link is created for each location, as well.
For more information on the electronic migration approach to Alma, refer to Electronic Resource Handling in Alma Migration.
Appendix A
Post-Migration Process Statuses
The process statuses (codes) from Koha are mapped to the indexed internal note 3 field of the Alma item. These items are considered not available after migration when process = Technical – Migration.
These fields are currently indexed in the item keyword and advanced searches.
When searching for physical items, a staff user can search by item process status code with the general keyword search and then by facet if before searching, Process type = Technical – Migration and with the advanced search filter when Process type = Technical – Migration.
In order to give items
real Alma statuses or remove the Technical – Migration status, scan the barcode of the item to various configured departments (via receiving, for example), request a move to various departments/temp locations, or just scan the item for return, which removes the status from the item.
You can also use the Scan In API, described here: https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com...le-of-barcodes.
Additionally, it is also possible to configure the GetIt (Primo) services to display or not display items with this process status in the GetIt Item list.