- Liana Giovando to translate this into a BN.
There are a number of ways in which eResources can be activated in Alma – much depends on the package, the source or availability of electronic records and your current link resolver. The following information has been provided for your convenience. Read https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Implementation_and_Migration/Migration_Guides_and_Tutorials/E-Resource_Activations and https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Implementation_and_Migration/Migration_Guides_and_Tutorials/Electronic_Resource_Migration_General#Ebook_Central_Activations_(EBC) for more complete detail. Initial migration efforts are intended to populate your Institution Zone (IZ) with electronic records. However, Ex Libris also provides groups with an opportunity to configure distributed access to electronic resources through the Network Zone – an option that has the potential to minimize ongoing local handling of eResource metadata system-wide.
Initial migration:
Depending upon your collection, your library may need to use one or more of the following approaches to populate your Institution Zone (IZ) with eResource metadata. The first two options are largely dependent upon the availability of metadata in the Central KnowledgeBase.
SFX or 360Link: are supported by the Ex Libris migration. Link resolver information is exported, processed and activated in your Institution Zone (IZ). Your instance of Alma is populated with records from the Central KnowledgeBase. These records will be fully discoverable in Primo. Metadata will be updated as the Central KnowledgeBase is updated.
Other link resolvers (e.g., EDS, Full Text Finder): are not supported by the Alma migration process and require the completion of an e-Activation worksheet – a spreadsheet that will be loaded to Alma. This spreadsheet has a number of tabs that will allow you to select full and selective packages. By uploading this spreadsheet, Ex Libris is able to populate your instance of Alma with records from the Central KnowledgeBase. These records will be discoverable in Primo. The metadata will be updated as the Central KnowledgeBase is updated.
ILS: the P2E (Physical to Electronic) process is used to migrate local electronic records that are not found in Alma’s CZ/Central KnowledgeBase or for local reasons are not to be migrated via the link resolver form (e.g., choices about metadata quality). Notes about P2E (Physical to Electronic Processing) can be found below.
Go to https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Implementation_and_Migration/Migration_Guides_and_Tutorials/Electronic_Resource_Migration_General#Sources_for_Electronic_Resource_records to review additional sources of electronic records, such as ERM, PQIS activations and eBook Central etc. Visit for additional context.
Note about Community Zone Records: Provider Zone records (in Community Zone) is a sub area within the Community Zone that allows providers to upload content directly. Go to https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Content_Corner/Supporting_Resources/Provider_Zone_Documentation to learn more. To know which databases are available in the Community Zone (CZ), download the latest Alma Static Collection spreadsheet at https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Content_Corner/Supporting_Resources/Alma_Community_Zone_Collection_List.
Ongoing record handling:
Libraries may find that the factors below may have an impact on their decision to create local workflows to handle/load eResource metadata:
Availability of up-to-date eResource metadata in the Central KnowledgeBase should eliminate the need to manually update metadata for a number of collections. Note that metadata for some streamed video collections may be lacking in the CKB.
Alma's ability to centrally manage records in the Network Zone (NZ) may allow libraries and OCLS to coordinate ongoing efforts to update metadata for the group. To determine if the Network Zone (NZ) can successfully be used to manage/update eResource metadata visit https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/010Alma_Online_Help_(English)/100Managing_Multiple_Institutions_Using_a_Network_Zone/03_Managing_Records_in_Consortia/070Configuring_Distributed_Access_to_Electronic_Resources_from_the_Network_Zone. View following video resources for additional context: http://exl-edu.com/01_Alma/Alma_Collaborative_Networks_(Alma_Consortia)/Alma_Collaborative_Networks-Introduction/story_html5.html?lms=1 and http://exl-edu.com/01_Alma/Alma_Collaborative_Networks_(Alma_Consortia)/Shared_Bibliographic_Records_in_the_Network_Zone/story_html5.html?lms=1
The Quality of metadata for a given collection in the CKB. While usually robust, there may be some collections for which the metadata is weak. Libraries may opt to coordinate load at the NZ level or load locally.
For information on joint acquisition workflows involving central negotiated licenses on behalf of consortial members and their related electronic ordering of negotiated licensed material, see the guide https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/010Alma_Online_Help_(English)/100Managing_Multiple_Institutions_Using_a_Network_Zone/06_Acquisitions_in_Consortia/01_Central_License_Negotiation. Visit https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Materials/050Alma_FAQs/E-Resource_Management/E-Resource_Workflows for more general information on managing eResources.
Overlap analysis:
For libraries wishing to compare content from one collection to the next, visit https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/010Alma_Online_Help_(English)/Electronic_Resource_Management/080_Advanced_Tools/020Overlap_Analysis.
Notes on P2E (Physical to Electronic Processing):
This applies to records that cannot be migrated using an e-Activation worksheet (above) – usually content that does not belong to an eResource package or is not available in the CKB. Due to Alma’s database structure, local catalogue records for these electronic resources are migrated as physical resources, then changed into electronic resources via https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Implementation_and_Migration/Migration_Guides_and_Tutorials/Physical_to_Electronic_(P2E)_processing. In brief, this may involve the following steps:
--Ensure the links for locally catalogued eResources in your source system are active.
--Consistently identify/tag catalogued eResources in your source database (If not done already). You’ll be mapping these tags to locations and identifying these locations as electronic resources on the Alma Location mapping tab. The bibliographic records for these collections will be sent to Ex Libris along with the rest of your MARC records.
--Creation of an input file (csv format) of bib record numbers that correspond to the eResource collections that you are migrating from your source system (e.g., from MARC 001). The migration specialists will match this file to the corresponding recently imported bibliographic records in Alma to create electronic portfolios.
--Once migrated, Ex Libris may guide you to run a job in Alma to update your proxy prefix if changes are made to local authentication policies. Running this job in Alma will update user access via Primo.