Working with Record Templates
- Cataloger
- Cataloger extended
- Catalog Manager
- Catalog Administrator
Private, Shared, and Community Zone Templates
Templates may be private or shared among catalogers:
- Private templates are only available to the user who is logged in.
- Shared templates can be used and edited by any user who has permission to work with templates.
- Both private and shared templates can be contributed to the Community Zone, where templates can be shared between institutions. For information on contributing templates to the Community Zone, see Contributing to the Community Zone - Normalization, Merge, and Indication Rules.

Icons in the Templates List:
Icon | Description |
---|---|
![]() |
Private institution template. Only the user currently logged in can use and edit this template. |
![]() |
Shared institution template. Any user who has permission to work with templates can use and edit this template. |
![]() |
Network template. Network templates are always shared. Any network user who has permission to work with templates can use and edit this template. |
![]() |
Community Zone template. CZ templates are always shared. Any CZ user who has permission to work with templates can use and edit this template. |
Out-of-the-box (Default) Templates
Out-of-the-box templates (also called 'system' templates) are the templates that were provided by Ex Libris. These templates have the indication '(Default)' by their name. When an out-of-the-box template does not meet your requirements, use the "Duplicate" option to make a copy and modify the copy to match your requirements.
In addition to the MD Editor usage, the default template is applied to records added by automated processes such as records added using an API or through purchase requests.
Out-of-the-box templates are identified as "Default" in its template properties (see below). Note that such templates must contain default values for any mandatory fields/subfields (see Editing Fields) to ensure that automatically-created records have the minimum required information.
For holdings records, the Default holdings template can be used outside of the MD Editor, such as when placing orders through Acquisitions or doing a repository import of holdings records, if the use_marc_record_holdings_template customer parameter is set to true; see Configuring Other Settings for more information.
The Default template is applied to records before normalization processes are applied to these records. See Working with Normalization Processes
Using the Form Editor When Creating Templates
The form editor for the 006 and 008 fields presents only the relevant options for the current type of record as identified by Type of record (position 6) and Bibliographic level (position 7) in the LDR field. You may need to change the LDR for these positions to be able to view the options that you want to incorporate into your template for the 006 and 008 fields.
Working with Existing, Locally Created Templates
Option | Available for | Description |
---|---|---|
New Record from Template |
Institution templates
Network Zone templates |
Select to create a new bibliographic record from the template.
If you select a Network Zone template, by default the record is created in the Network Zone. To create the record locally, select File > Options New > Placement of new records and templates options and select Local within this dialog box.
|
Edit | Institution templates | Select to edit the template (available only for local templates. |
View | All templates | Select to view the template in cases when you cannot edit it. |
Duplicate | All templates | Select to duplicate the template, so you can modify the copy and create another template based on this template. |
Set as Default | Shared institution templates | Select if you want the template to serve as the default template for newly created records. The Default option is not available when Private is selected. |
Contribute to CZ | Institution templates Network Zone templates |
Select to contribute this template to Community Zone (if you have this capability). |
Make Private | Shared institution templates | Select to make the template private. Only the template creator can change template access from Shared to Private. Alma moves the template made private from the Shared folder to the Private folder. |
Share Template | Private Institution templates | Select to share template with other users in your institution (available only for local templates). |
Properties | All templates | Select to view and modify the template properties, such as its name. |
Delete | Institution templates |
Select to delete the template (available only for local templates). |
Editing Template Properties
Use the procedure below to edit template properties for an existing template:
- On the MD Editor page (Resources > Cataloging > Open Metadata Editor), select the Templates tab.
- Enter the template name in the search box.
- Select the template whose properties you want to modify and select the Properties option. The Template Properties dialog box appears
Template Properties Dialog Box
- Modify the following template properties to match your requirements:
- Name – You may rename the template. This is a required field.
- Description – Enter or modify the description to more specifically identify the template. This is especially useful when contributing templates. See Contributing to the Community Zone - Rules and Templates for more information.
- Private – Select this option to restrict access to the template. Only the template creator can change template access from Shared to Private. The Default option is not available when Private is selected.
- Shared – Select this option to make the template available to other users.
- Default – Select this option if you want the template to serve as the default template for newly created records. The Default option is not available if you have selected the Private access option.
- Select Save.
Creating a New Template
- Open an existing record in the MD Editor (under the Records tab).
- Select File New > Save as Template. The Save as Template dialog box opens.
- Enter/select the following:
- Name (required)
- Description
- Private or Shared template
- Default if you want this to be the default template that opens when creating a new record.
- Select Save. The new template is saved under the Templates tab and appears with the local institution icon.