Polaris to Alma Migration Guide
Polaris is an integrated library system produced by Innovative Interfaces, Inc. (III). This document serves two purposes:
- A step-by-step guide to filling out the Polaris to Alma Migration Form.
- An explanation of the migration rules for Polaris to Alma that do not require any customer input.
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 on how to fill in individual tabs on the migration form.
- 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 in 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.
Related Documentation
- This document is intended to complement the Polaris 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 Polaris 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 Polaris is detailed in the corresponding document Polaris to Alma Data Delivery Specification.
- It is recommended that you view the Introduction to the Alma Configuration Process video session before completing your 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.
Inventory
Alma uses bibliographic, holding, and item records. Polaris has bibliographic and item records. During Alma migration, MARC holding records are generated from information in the Polaris item record and optionally from embedded information in the bibliographic record such as a serial holdings statement in an 866 tag.
Bibliographic Records
Bibliographic records are migrated as is and each bibliographic record may be modified in the following way during migration:
- Australian customers have ALL bibliographic records marked for Libraries of Australia Publish, if relevant.
- OCLC records (records with an 035 |a with an OCLC-official prefix)are marked for OCLC publish, if relevant.
- The LDR position 9 (character coding scheme) is set to a indicating Unicode.
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 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). These are mandatory and must be filled in.
Default: N/A
Time Zone: Select your time zone from the drop-down list. If your time zone is not listed, contact your Ex Libris project manager.
MARC Organizational Code
Code: MARC_OC
Default: None; this is not mandatory
Options: Enter your MARC Organizational code, which is 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 (Polaris bibliographic system number) to the 035 $a field:
(MOC)<Polaris record id>-<customer code>
<(MOC)> is the MARC Organization code specified here. <customer code> is the customer code specified in the CUSTOMER_CODE question above.
For example: (AbC)u12345-01abc_inst
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 Polaris catalog contains records imported from SFX or another electronic resource 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 Polaris 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.
Do you use internal system numbers in $w of Linked Entry fields?
Indicate if you use internal system numbers in fields 76x-78x to link bibliographic records to each other.
Code: LINKED_ENTRY_W
Default: No
Options: If you answered Yes to this question, the internal system numbers in the subfield w of the specified tags are converted from the Polaris system number to the Alma system number.
Internal record designation for Linked Entry fields $w
Code: LINKED_ENTRY_PREFIX
Default: Blank
Options: If you answered Yes to the previous question and the internal system numbers have a prefix, enter the value to be matched to identify the local system number. If the system numbers in $w do not have a prefix, or if you answered No to the previous question, leave this question 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, Polaris may store the information in bibliographic fields 76x-78x. If the number in the $w of the linking tags is the internal Polaris 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 instead 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 holdings 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, select bc here. If you have many items in 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 holdings 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.
Further Information: See the Determining Groups of Holding Records and the Changing the Holdings Record Grouping sections.
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 Alma 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, then 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 (e.g. PQ-12345), include it in the string. If you are not merging institutions, leave this question blank.
See also MERGE_PATRON_PREFIX and FUND_PREFIX
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. This is 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: The Polaris owning branch, which is the higher level of location, is comparable to the Alma library. Use the Alma Libraries tab in the Polaris Migration Form to indicate your list of Alma libraries. The actual mapping from the Polaris owning branch to the Alma library is done in conjunction with the Polaris assigned collection and shelf location in 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. It is not mandatory to use an error library. You may also choose to use one of your regular libraries plus a lower-level error location for the items that encounter errors during the mapping process.
Alma Location Tab
Use this tab to map your Polaris assigned collection and shelf location to libraries and locations in Alma. Filling in this tab is mandatory. Polaris has three levels of location:
- Owning Branch
- Assigned Collection
- Shelf Location
Since Alma has only two levels of location, library and physical location, assigned collection and shelf location are combined into a single field for mapping purposes. Therefore, the Alma Location tab maps this way:
Owning Branch, AssignedCollection-ShelfLocation -> Alma Library, Alma Location
Include ALL locations of ALL types, including electronic types that may ultimately be deleted in Alma. They still need to be provided in the Alma Location tab mapping.
Polaris Owning Branch: Value from the Owning Branch field in the item extract from Polaris. When there is a temporary library in the Assigned Branch, that value is used here too.
Polaris AssignedCollection-ShelfLocation: Value from the Assigned Collection and the Shelf Location fields in the item extract from Polaris. This field is a compound field and should be separated by only a hyphen. For example if Assigned Collection = Education Department and Shelf Location = Stacks, then the value in this column should be Education Department-Stacks.
Alma Library Code: The library that contains this library/location combination in Alma. This code must be present in the Alma Library tab, column A. The match is case-sensitive.
Alma Location Code: The new location code for this library/location combination in Alma. It can be a maximum of 10 characters. You can use this form to collapse locations if desired, for example refa and refb in Polaris 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 indicators. (http://www.loc.gov/marc/holdings/hd852.html). If we cannot determine the call number type from the item using the Shelving Scheme tab, 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 Polaris code to an easily identifiable code such as XXX or unused just in case any stray items are still in your Polaris 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 holdings 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. Ex Libris recommends 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.
| Polaris Collection | Alma Library Code | Alma Location Code | Alma Location Desc | Alma External Loc Desc | Electronic Location (Yes/No) | Suppress from Externalization |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALMA_ME_ VALUE_NOT _FOUND | MAIN | UNASSIGNED | Problem location from Migration | Problem: See Library Staff | Yes |
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
Collapsing Location Codes: This mapping table can be used to collapse location codes – that is, two or more location codes in Polaris 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 Polaris code to an easily identifiable code such as XXX if any stray items are still in your Polaris database.
If you collapse location codes, you may have lines in the table such as the following:
| Polaris Location Code | Polaris Collection Code | Alma Library | Alma Location Code | Alma Location Name | Alma External Loc Name | Electronic Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAIN | reserves | MAIN | RESERVES | Reserves | Reserve | No |
| MAIN | reservesElec | MAIN | RESERVES | Reserves | ReserveElec | Yes |
| MAIN | reservesShort | MAIN | RESERVES | Reserves | Reserve | No |
| MAIN | reservesPerm | MAIN | RESERVES | Reserves | Reserve | 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 Polaris MaterialType and Loan Type to the Alma Item Policy. Polaris requires two different values in order to determine the correct item type in Alma. 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. The item type is a factor that may be used to differentiate between items when determining how items circulate.
Polaris MaterialType: The value in the Material Type field of the Polaris item.
Polaris Description: The description of the Polaris Material Type, for information only. This column is not used during the mapping process.
Polaris Loan Type: The value in the Loan Type field of the Polaris item.
Polaris Description: The description of the Polaris LoanType, 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.
Alma itemPolicy 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 itemStatus in Polaris to an item status in Alma.
Polaris status: The itemStatus field in Polaris. List all statuses in this tab except those statuses that indicate no status (see explanation below).
Description: A short description of the status in Polaris, if desired, for note purposes while filling out this form. This column is not used for migration.
Base Status: 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, NewBooks 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 Polaris 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.
If you want the status notes to be changed to actual statuses in Alma after migration, you can search for values in Internal Note 1 and then move the items to the appropriate location or department. Alternately, the list can be used as a configurable criterion for suppressing items from display in the GetIt services screens in discovery systems. See Appendix A – Post-Migration Process Statuses for more information.
Statuses that indicate no status: A common status that indicates no status is Available. If you list the Available status here, all items get a note that says Available. When an item becomes not available, for example it goes out on loan, Alma does not remove that Available note from the item and it may be confusing for operators to see a loaned item with a status note of Available.
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.
Shelving Scheme Tab
Use this tab to migrate the Polaris ShelvingScheme to the Alma Shelving Scheme (Call Number Type). This tab is optional. Do not use an ALMAME_VAL_NOT_FOUND line here, because if the shelving scheme in Polaris is empty or this map is not filled out, use the Call Number Type column on the Alma Location tab to determine the 852 first indicator for a holding record.
Polaris ShelvingScheme: The value in the ShelvingScheme field of the Polaris item.
Alma 852 1st indicator (scheme): The Alma value for the 852 first indicator (shelving scheme). A description of the options can be found at http://www.loc.gov/marc/holdings/hd852.html. Call number type 7 is not supported on conversion.
Further Explanation - Inventory
Bibliographic Records
Bibliographic records are migrated as is and each bibliographic record may be modified in the following way during migration:
- Australian customers have ALL bibliographic records marked for Libraries of Australia Publish, if relevant.
- OCLC records (records with an 035 |a with an OCLC-official prefix)are marked for OCLC publish, if relevant.
- The LDR position 9 (character coding scheme) is set to a indicating Unicode.
Determining Groups of Holding Records
The permanent location and call number in Alma is only stored in the holding record. All items attached to the holding record have the same permanent location and call number. On migration, the call numbers for any new holding record created are generated from the first item found in the group of equivalent items. By default, a group of equivalent items is determined by the location of each item attached to the same bibliographic record. For example, if a bibliographic record has five items:
- 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 holdings record’s call number, the differing call number is stored in the item’s Item Call Number field.
Changing the Holdings Record Grouping
You can decide which 852 subfields are used to determine what makes items belong to the same group. The 852 subfields as mapped from Polaris are: $b Owning Branch $c Assigned Collection-Shelf Location $(khim) Call Number. By default, the migration programs compare $b and $c, but you may decide to change this based on items in your collection.
When the holdings record group is based only on $b (library) and $c (location), some item call number information is not reflected in the holdings record call number if the call numbers differ from each other in the same library/location. However, the differing call number is stored in the item’s Item Call Number field, so the call number is not permanently lost.
For example, if there are four items on the same bibliographic record with the following call numbers, all in location main:
item 1 $b main $c stacks $h PN 567 $i .M4
item 2 $b main $c stacks $h PN 567 $i .M457
item 3 $b main $c stacks $h PN 567 $i .M457
item 4 $b bio $c flr1 $h PN 567 $i .M457
When only $b and $c are used to determine a holdings record group, two holdings records for the above items are created:
Holdings record $b main $c stacks $h PN 567 $i .M4
item 1
item 2 (with PN 567 .M457 stored in ItemCallNo)
item 3 (with PN 567 .M457 stored in ItemCallNo)
Holdings record $b bio $c flr1 $h PN 567 $i .M457
item 4
When the holdings record group is based on more subfields, for example $b $c $h $i, three holdings records are created:
Holdings record $b main $c stacks $h PN 567 $i .M4
item 1
Holdings record $b main $c stacks $h PN 567 $i .M457
item 2
item 3
Holdings record $b bio $c flr1 $h PN 567 $i .M457
item 4
Decide which 852 subfields will be used to determine holdings record groups by answering the question in the Questionnaire tab of the Polaris Migration Form, Indicate which 852 subfields to use to determine unique holdings records.
Item Barcodes
While Polaris may allow item barcodes to be duplicated, Alma does not. The item barcode must be unique in Alma – though it may be left empty.
The item barcode is migrated according to the following rules:
- If the barcode is empty, leave it as is.
- 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 based on 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.
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 Poalris Field Mapping Form, map the identifiers exported from Polaris 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 and FUND_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.
Poalaris patronCode: The Polaris patron code, found in the patronCode field of the patron extract.
Polaris Description: A description of the Polaris patronCode, 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 Polaris, or you can use different codes. You can also collapse groups if desired, for example, having Freshman and Sophomore from Polaris 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 Polaris User Profile. This column is not used during migration.
Further information: See also the following question in the Questionnaire tab, regarding internal and external users:
- Which identifier should be used as the patron's Primary Identifier?
User Campus Tab
The Alma User Campus field is used to determine a patron’s affiliation for ILL or cross-campus borrowing. If your library maintains the Organization field in Polaris for a similar purpose, map the Organization value to the Alma Campus Code value with this map.
This mapping table is optional.
Polaris Organization: The Polaris Organization as found in the Organization field of the patron extract.
Polaris Organization description: A description of the Polaris organization, for informational purposes only. This column is not used in the mapping.
Alma campus code: The Alma campusCode desired. You may map the codes 1-to-1, or you may use this map to collapse codes if desired.
Alma campusCode Description: A description of the Alma campusCode, for informational purposes only. This field is not loaded into Alma
Comment: Use this field to add any comments about the campuses.
User Stat Categories Tab
Use this tab if you use statistical categories in your patron records and you want them to migrate to Alma. In Polaris, it is possible to have multiple fields that contain statistical codes. Some examples are: HOME_INST, DEPT and SCHOOL.
Before filling out this tab, use the Millennium (III) to Alma Field Mapping form, Patrons tab, to specify which fields from Millennium are migrated to statistical categories in Alma. There, you can include a label before each category to distinguish between categories in different fields. For example, you can have LAW in DEPT and LAW in SCHOOL. Use a prefix to distinguish between the two, for example, DEPT: LAW and SCHOOL: LAW.
Millennium Statistical Category: List all of the values from all of the fields you chose to put into the statistical category mapping. For example, if you used all three fields HOME_INST, DEPT, and SCHOOL, list all values from all three fields in Millennium. Include the label applied if it is important to distinguish between values in different fields.
Statistical Category Description: A description of the individual categories, for information only. This field is not used in the mapping to Alma.
userStatCategory Code: The Alma Statistical Category code desired. This code is used to retrieve groups of patron records with various reporting tools.
userStatCategory Description: The description of the Alma Statistical Category Code. This value is loaded into the code table for userStatCategories. This description can be easily updated after migration.
Fine Fee Type Tab
Outstanding fines/fees, with either a positive or negative balance but not zero, are migrated to Alma.
Polaris FeeReasonCode: List all of the values from the FeeReasonCode field in the Polaris fine/fee extract.
Polaris Description: A description of the FeeReasonCode value, 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 Polaris 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 Polaris patron extract, containing either “INTERNAL” or “EXTERNAL”.
- Identify patrons as internal or external by user group on the Polaris 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 Polaris Field Mapping Form to map a local Polaris 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 Polaris Migration Form.
Loans
Active loan transactions are migrated from Polaris to Alma. Completed loan transactions are not included in the migration to Alma.
Fines/Fees
Only open fines/fees are migrated to Alma, meaning those with an outstanding balance owed. We check this by checking if TxnCode field = ‘Charge’. TxnCode = Waive or Credit transactions are not migrated, because these indicate that the fine/fee is completed or paid in full.
Acquisitions
Even though vendor and order information is not migrated to Alma, the migration programs still need some basic information about your Acquisition department in order to set up the Acquisition environment so it is ready for you to use post production.
Customer Input
Questionnaire Tab
Complete the following in the Questionnaire tab:
Migrate Acquisitions
Code: ACQ_MODE
Options: Select Yes or No depending on whether or not you have contracted with Ex Libris to migrate any Acquisitions data. Even if the answer is No, continue to answer the following questions.
Default currency for Ledgers/Funds
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.
- 2014-2015 – Select this option if the date of conversion is later than the fiscal period to which you want your orders to migrate. For example, if the migration date is July 3, 2014, and the previous fiscal period ended on June 30, 2014, select this to put all of your orders in the fiscal period that ended on June 30, 2014. Select this option if you want to run fiscal period close in Alma instead of in your old system.
- 2015-2016 – If the date of conversion is earlier than the start date of the desired fiscal period, select this option. For example, if the migration date is June 15, 2014, and the next fiscal period begins on July 1, 2014, select this option to put all of your orders in the next fiscal period. Select this option if you want to perform the fiscal period rollover in your legacy ILS prior to conversion.
Accrual Accounting
Code: ACCRUAL_ACC_FY
Default: No, do not make an additional fiscal year
Options: If your library uses accrual accounting, you can instruct Ex Libris to make an additional fiscal year. When an additional fiscal year is created, it will be after the current fiscal year. For example, if the current active fiscal year is 2016, then the additional year, also active, will be 2017. The options are the following:
- No, do not make an additional fiscal year.
- Yes-No Funds ¬ make an additional fiscal year but leave it empty. The library will then need to create funds for this fiscal year after go-live.
- Yes-duplicate funds – make an additional fiscal year and also fill it with funds that are the same codes as the funds in the current fiscal year. No allocations are made.
Fund Prefix
Code: FUND_PREFIX
Default: none/blank
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 fund codes in Alma after migration. Provide a string to be used to prefix all fund codes in the database. A hyphen is NOT provided. For example, if your fund code is SCIENCE-MONO, and you put UWS- here, the final fund code is UWS-SCIENCE-MONO. Leave this question blank to leave the fund code as is.
See also BIB_KEY_PREFIX and MERGE_PATRON_PREFIX
Physical to Electronic (P2E) Processing
This section describes the process of correctly categorizing resources as electronic in Alma. In Polaris, all resources are stored as physical in the database, even if the record represents an electronic item. During migration, all records are initially converted to Alma as physical. A second process converts records that you identify as electronic to the electronic format. It is up to you to provide a list of records that are identified as electronic, 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> a
s 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 Holdings or Bib field stores electronic link information
Code: P2E_LINK
Options: Provide a 3 digit Marc field code + subfield: 856u. Only one field/subfield is allowed.
Recommendation: 856 u
Default: If this is left empty, no tag is used.
Which Holdings or Bib field stores electronic link public note
Code: P2E_NOTE
Options: Provide a 3 digit Marc field code + subfield: 856z. Only one field/subfield is allowed.
Recommendation: 856 z
Default: If this is left empty, no tag is used.
Which Holdings or Bib field stores electronic provider name information
Code: P2E_PROVIDER
Options: Provide a 3 digit Marc field code + subfield: 856m. Only one field/subfield is allowed.
Recommendation: 856 m
Default: If this is left empty, no tag is used.
For the questions on the Questionnaire tab, only one field/subfield is allowed per question.
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 Polaris Migration Form.
Further Explanation – P2E
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 the local system 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 may 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.