TLC to Alma Migration Guide
- A step-by-step guide to filling out the TLC Migration Form.
- An explanation of general migration rules which do not require any customer input
Recommendations for Using this Guide
- Inventory
- Fulfillment
- Physical to Electronic
- Questionnaire Tab – Instructions for individual questions asked on the Questionnaire tab of the Migration Form.
- Individual Tabs – Instructions for 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.
Related Documentation
- This document is intended to complement the TLC 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 key concepts and architecture, and the requirements (including the migration-related approach) described in Getting Ready for Alma and Discovery Implementation, as well as the Electronic Resource Handling in Alma Migration document. Additionally, knowledge of the concepts and architecture of TLC.
- The format and structure of the data exported from your legacy ILS is detailed in the corresponding document TLC 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.
Inventory
Customer Input
Questionnaire Tab
Institution Code, Customer Code, Institution Name, Customer Name, Time Zone
MARC Organizational Code
List Prefix for bibs from SFX or other management system
Do you use internal system numbers in $w of Linked Entry fields?
Internal record designation for Linked Entry fields $w
Indicate which 852 subfields to use to determine unique holding records
Limit exported records by location
Bib Key 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
Alma Location Tab
Incoming Library code | Incoming Location Code | Alma Library Code | Alma Location Code | Alma Location Desc | Alma External Loc Desc | Suppress from Externalization |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ALMAME_
VALUE_NOT _FOUND |
ALMAME_VALUE_NOT_FOUND | MAIN | UNASSIGNED | Problem location from Migration | Problem: See Library Staff | Yes |
Alma Location Name and Alma External Location Name
Alma 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 |
Alma Library | Alma Location Code | Alma Location Name | Alma External Location Name |
---|---|---|---|
Library A | archstk | Archives | Archives |
Library A | archref | Archives | Archives |
- The Alma library is placed in the 852‡b field.
- The Alma location is placed in the 852‡c field.
Collapsing Locations
Incoming 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 |
Other Item Information
Further Explanation – Inventory
Bibliographic Records
- 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) is marked for OCLC publish, if relevant.
- The LDR position 9 (character coding scheme) is set to 'a', indicating Unicode.
Determining Groups of Holding Records
- Item 1, 2 in Location A
- Item 3, 4 in Location B
- Item 5 in Location C
Changing the Holding Record Grouping
Attaching Items to Existing Holding Records
Holding record B: $b PER $c CURRENT $h Shelved by title
Suppressing Bibliographic Records in the OPAC
Boundwiths
Item Barcodes
- 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 from Bib Fixed Fields
Fulfillment/Patrons
Customer Input
Questionnaire Tab
Enter a two-letter code for the default conversational language for your users
Which identifier should be as the patron's Primary Identifier?
Currency for patron fines
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
Patron Name Order
First M Last or First Last
Last, First M or Last, First
User Group Tab
- Which identifier should be used b as the patron's Primary Identifier?
User Stat Categories Tab
User Block Tab
Fines and Fees Tab
Further Explanation – Fulfillment
Internal/External Patrons
Identification Numbers
Alma Identifier Type | Typical TLC fields |
---|---|
UNIV_ID | Alternate ID |
BAR | Borrower ID |
ADDL_ID_1 | |
ADDL_ID_2 | |
ADDL_ID_3 | |
ADDL_ID_4 |
Loans
Acquisitions
Customer Input for Empty Acquisitions Environment
Questionnaire Tab
ACQ mode
Default currency for Ledgers and Funds
Fiscal Period Cycle Pattern
Which year do you use to name the fiscal 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.
Current Fiscal Year
- Determine by date of conversion – The conversion program uses the fiscal period that includes the date of conversion.
- Select a year from the dropdown box.
Accrual Accounting
- 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.
Physical to Electronic (P2E) Processing
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
- 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.