Alma Lookup Service
External Lookups
As part of the new Linked Open Data (LOD) editor, Alma introduces a new Linked Data Lookup Service that enables catalogers to search and link entities from authoritative external sources directly within the cataloging workflow.
What Is the External Lookup Service?
The lookup service communicates in real time with external Linked Open Data APIs, retrieving live data from trusted sources. When a cataloger uses a field configured for external lookup, Alma sends a direct API call to the selected source with the search input from the cataloger and the relevant information is displayed about each entity based on what the source provides.
This enables catalogers to:
- Search for authoritative entities
- View detailed metadata
- Select and link entities to their records with confidence while cataloging
Supported Sources
Alma supports the following sources:
- Library of Congress Authority Services:
- LCSH (Library of Congress Subject Headings)
- LCSH KIDS
- LCFGT (Genre/Form Terms)
- LC NAMES
- Description Authentication Action
- Cultural Heritage Organizations
- Wikidata
- LOC Controlled Vocabularies (as described in the Field Configuration)
Based on customer feedback and the terms of use of each source’s API, the list of supported sources will expand over time.
How the Lookup Service Appears in the Editor
When using the LOD editor, when a field is configured for the input type of vocabulary, external or internal lookup, if it is not yet populated with data, it appears with the default label Click to launch lookup.
Once the field is selected, a sliding panel opens. The External Lookup and Vocabulary fields open a sliding panel to search and select the relevant term:
The cataloger can:
- Type a search term to begin the lookup.
- Change the source using a filter at the top of the panel (relevant only for external lookup, not for vocabulary or internal lookup).
- View live results from the selected source.
- Select the input value from the source.
This makes the lookup experience dynamic and responsive, putting authoritative data at the cataloger’s fingertips.
If a field configured for external lookup is already populated with a selected value, the next time the lookup panel is opened for that field, it defaults to the source of the selected input, even if that source is different from the field’s originally configured default source.
For external lookup fields, the lookup service opens with the default source selected in the field configuration.
Vocabularies do not have the same flexibility to change the source during cataloging to provide consistency of controlled lists used for specific fields, and the need for flexibility is not the same as with authority control. For more information, see Field Configurations.
Wikidata-Specific Features
When using Wikidata as the lookup source:
- A language filter enables you to choose the preferred language for labels. The first 20 languages supported by Wikidata are displayed in the list, and can be searched using the search bar available at the top of the dropdown list.
- Results include the following fields in the display:
- Label
- Source
- Variant Labels
- More information (containing a linked URL that opens in a new tab)
- Description as provided by Wikidata
Library of Congress Sources
For Library of Congress sources, results include the following fields in the display:
- Label
- Source
- Variant Labels
- More information (containing a linked URL that opens in a new tab)
Searching Within the Lookup Service
The lookup service sends direct API requests to each linked data service configured in the service.
Responses for each source or vocabulary are returned based on the accuracy of the cataloger's search input. The results are displayed and ranked based on relevance, not alphabetical order.
Results from Library of Congress sources can appear out of order if matched by a variant label but sorted by authorized label.
Tips for searching in the different sources
- Asterisk (*) wildcards may be used to represent any number of characters and can be placed in any part of the search string.
- Question mark (?) wildcards may be used to represent a single character.
- Typing just an asterisk (*) in the search bar returns a random 50 results.
- In a vocabulary search, a minimum of three characters is required for the search to return relevant results; in an authority search, one character is enough.
- When switching to a different source, the service is activated again and automatically searches the value currently in the search bar.
- When selecting a different language for responses from Wikidata, the search is performed both on English labels in the variant labels available within Wikidata, and in the selected language.
- Some vocabularies have more than 50 values, but only 50 results are returned at a time, based on the search string.
- The Library of Congress supports searching with the Boolean AND, OR, NOT (both sources and vocabularies).
For more information on Library of Congress API Services, see Technical Center: Searching/Querying.
For more information on Wikidata API Services, see MediaWiki API help.
Using the Internal Lookup When Cataloging
The Internal Lookup enables catalogers to link one entity to another within the Alma repository. Therefore, when selecting an internal lookup field, the sliding panel that opens is the persistent search, works or all titles, depending on the field.
- bf:instanceOf is part of the instance record and opens a work search in the sliding panel.
- bf:hasInstance is part of the work record and opens an all titles search in the sliding panel.
- bf:relatedTo and all its sub-properties can be part of a work or an instance, and opens the search that matches the entity being cataloged (for a work, a work search opens, and for an instance, an all titles search opens.
Once a title is selected, Alma adds both the label and the URI of the selected entity to the current field being edited in the record.
Internal Lookup currently supports linking only between BIBFRAME records. When using the All Titles persistent search, the sliding panel opens with a default advanced search filter set to Record Format = LC BF Instance. You can also use the Record Format facet when searching with the simple search to narrow results. Linking between BIBFRAME and MARC records is not supported at this time.