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    Search Indexes

    Translatable

    Available Search Indexes

    When you search the Alma repository, indexing provides easy access to the information for which you are searching. See the following pages for details regarding the available indexes:

    All Titles and standard authority searches extract text from a field's subfields according to the alphabetical order of the subfields.

    Searchable Fields Lists

    For your reference, see the following lists of searchable fields:

    Updates

    Every six months, Ex Libris reindexes all inventory data in order to enhance Alma's search mechanism. The semi-annual reindexing generally starts in May and November and finishes in July and January (completion times can vary from institution to institution). The process always starts a day or two after the respective release and takes some number of days for each institution. Since the reindexing job is triggered gradually, institution by institution, the full process may take up to two months. It is recommended that you start testing indexing fixes or any new features that depend on reindexing after the reindexing job is completed as shown in the Alma Help menu.

    The Full Inventory Indexing Job is visible to Admin Users from the link in the Help menu, but not from the Job History.

    Searchable Fields

    The following sections highlight the searchable fields for electronic collections, portfolios, holdings, and physical items.

    Electronic Collections

    The following fields are Electronic Collection searchable fields:
    • Electronic collection name – includes the electronic collection’s Public name, Public name (override), and Alternative title fields
    • Title – the search is performed on the Title index of the bibliographic record. This means that the result appears both if the electronic collection is related to the bibliographic record or if the bib record that matches the title search is included in one of portfolios of that collection.
    • Crossref enabled
    • Collection PO line ID
    • Creation date
    • Modification date
    • Activate from
    • Activate to
    • Free
    • Authentication note (Electronic Collection)
    • Public note (Electronic Collection)
    • Internal Description (Electronic Collection)
    • Service authentication note
    • Proxy enabled
    • Availability
    • Electronic collection PID - searches an internal field
    • License ID
    • Linking level
    • Title service PID - searches an internal field
    • Service type
    • Electronic collection type
    • Creator name
    • Language
    • Category
    • Collection Available for group
    • Collection Available explicitly for group
    • Collection available for
    • Collection available explicitly for
    • Interface name
    • Library
    • Proxy name
    • Available for CDI search activation
    • Provider coverage
    • CDI Collection ID
    • CDI Fulltext Linking
    • CDI Fulltext Rights
    • CDI Newspapers
    • CDI Search Rights 
    • CDI-only full text activation
    • CDI Suppress full text
    • CDI Activation required (This search field is visible for EasyActive customers only)
    • CDI Provider Coverage
    • CDI Type (Alma subscribes to only some titles in this collection)

    When a search is done that uses Electronic collection, the search process checks the keywords on both the electronic collection level and the portfolio level for the selected index. This is true for all indexes that aren't specifically labeled as being electronic collection or portfolio. For example, when you search using Electronic collection and select Title, the search process checks both the electronic collection level and the portfolio level for a match.

    Electronic Portfolios

    The following fields are Electronic Portfolio searchable fields:
    • Notes tab
    • Proxy enabled
    • Access Rights (Electronic Portfolio)
    • Available for
    • Available for group
    • Available explicitly for
    • Available explicitly for group
    • Interface Name
      The Interface Name (Electronic Portfolio) subindex is only relevant for standalone portfolios. For portfolios, under an E-collection, the correct index to use is Interface Name.
    • Internal Description (Electronic Portfolio)
    • Proxy name
    • URL
    • Authentication note (Electronic Portfolio)
    • Public note (Electronic Portfolio)
    • Portfolio PO line ID

    Holdings

    The following fields are Holdings searchable fields:
    • Accession Number
    • Acquisition Note
    • Action note, Action note authorization, Action note note
    • Binding Note
    • Call number prefix
    • Call number suffix
    • Carrier type term
    • Carrier type code
    • Completeness
    • Control Number
    • Creation date 
    • Encoding level
    • General retention policy
    • Has items
    • Holding note
    • Holding PID
    • Lending Policy
    • Library
    • Linkage Number
    • Media type code
    • Media type term
    • Method of acquisition
    • Modification Date
    • OCLC Control Number (035a, 035 a+z, 035z)
    • Other Control Number (035a, 035 a+z, 035z)
    • Ownership and Custodial History
    • Pattern level of enumeration (first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth)
    • Pattern frequency
    • Permanent call number
    • Permanent call number type
    • Permanent physical location
    • Receipt, acquisition, or access status
    • NReproduction Policy
    • Summary holdings
    • Tag Suppressed
    • Textual holdings, Textual holdings - nonpublic note, Textual holdings - public note
    • Type of record
    • URL access status
    • URL text link
    • URL material specified
    • URL method
    • URL non public note
    • URL public note

    Physical Items

    The following fields are Physical Items searchable fields:
    • Barcode
    • Issue year
    • Inventory number
    • Item PID
    • Public Note
    • Fulfillment Note
    • Internal note 1
    • Internal note 2
    • Internal note 3
    • Item description
    • Item sequence number
    • PO Line
    • Alternative call number
    • Alternative call number type
    • Creation date
    • Current library
    • Current location
    • Due back from temp location date
    • Expected receiving date
    • In temporary location
    • Inventory date
    • Is Magnetic
    • Item policy
    • Material type
    • Modification date
    • On shelf date (This is a legacy field not used by Alma, originally an Aleph field)
    • On shelf seq
    • Pages
    • Pieces
    • Process type
    • Provenance Code
    • Receiving date
    • Statistics Note - 1
    • Statistics Note - 2
    • Statistics Note - 3
    • Storage Location ID
    • Temporary call number
    • Temporary call number type
    • Temporary item policy
    • Temporary library
    • Temporary physical location
    • Enumeration A
    • Enumeration B
    • Enumeration C
    • Enumeration D
    • Enumeration E
    • Enumeration F
    • Enumeration G
    • Enumeration H
    • Base status
    • Chronology I
    • Chronology J
    • Chronology K
    • Chronology L
    • Chronology M

    Authorities

    • Corporate Name
    • Meeting Name
    • Name Title
    • Names
    • Personal Name
    • Subject
    • Uniform Title
    • Genre form
    • Classification Caption
    • Classification Caption Hierarchy
    • Classification Scheme
    • Person Names (Classification)
    • Corporate Name (Classification)
    • Meeting Name (Classification)
    • Names (Classification)
    • Uniform Title (Classification)
    • Chronological (Classification)
    • Subjects (Classification)
    • Geographic Name (Classification)
    • Classification Number
    • Geographic Name
    • Other System Number
    • Date
    • Cataloging Institution
    • Cataloging Conventions
    • Geographic Area Code
    • Classification
    • Language Code
    • Related Personal Name
    • Related Corporate Name
    • Related Family Name
    • Related Meeting Name
    • Related Uniform Title
    • Related Chronological Term
    • Related Topical Term
    • Related Geographical Name
    • Source
    • Entity Type (GND)
    • Cataloging Level (GND
    • TBK (GND)
    • NUK (GND)
    • Entity Code (GND)
    • Mailbox (GND)
    • Subject Category Code
    • Attributes of Person or Corporate
    • Geographical Name, Associated Place
    • Field of Activity
    • Corporate Name, Associated Group
    • Subject, Occupation
    • Original Cataloging Agency
    • Modifying Agency
    • Originating System Id