Mapping and Migration Form Glossary/Cheat Sheet

Used for mapping existing loans, bookings, holds, reserves, fines, fees, and blocks in current system to patron data in Alma.

Not used beyond migration.

Map to the barcode information in your existing ILS.

This field will be a unique identifier and is typically consistent across all user types.

Barcode is also a common method used in libraries to complete circulation transactions therefore, it is reliable for linking patron data with circulation data.

However, some colleges may find that a username is a more consistent and reliable piece of information.

User’s title in current ILS, SIS and HRIS systems.

Mr, Ms, Dr for example.

Some colleges have EDI policies that advise the removal of gendered language unless necessary.

Your library may choose to include or exclude this data in future SIS loads based on internal business needs.

If your library is reviewing whether to remove gender identifying data in the future, you may choose not to migrate this field with your existing data.

The same considerations can be made for patron gender information.

Privilege expiry date in existing ILS.

Colleges can determine expiry dates and purge dates within Alma.

Expiry dates can be unique for to each library based on internal business needs.

While expiry dates can be determined at the institutions, standardized purge policies may be suggested to the Steering Committee to ensure patron database limit compliance.

Used for mapping users during migration.

Map users that are delivered in current SIS loads to EXTERNAL.

Map users that are created manually in the current ILS to INTERNAL.

Users created within Alma are considered internal because they are created and managed within Alma.

Users created and updated using the SIS load are considered external because account management occurs outside of Alma. The external system that manages incoming patron accounts is considered the parent system, while Alma is the child.

N/A

Used for mapping existing loans, bookings, holds, reserves, fines, fees, and blocks in current system to patron data in Alma.

Not used beyond migration.

Map to the barcode information in your existing ILS.

This field will be a unique identifier and is typically consistent across all user types.

Barcode is also a common method used in libraries to complete circulation transactions therefore, is is reliable for linking patron data with circulation data.

Map any existing identifiers in current ILS to the UNIV_ID or barcode field.

There is information on the Symphony to Alma Data Delivery and Migration Guide to help Symphony colleges migrate identifiers.

If your library chooses to migrate previous IDs and Inactive IDs from Symphony, make sure that you consider which identifiers will be included in the SIS integration. You will may need to reserve identifier fields for SIS and SSO matches.

Alma requires the following for each patron record.

Primary ID - must be unique to each user

SIS match - must exist within SIS if you plan to update your patron files using a fresh load from your student information system on a regular basis.

Authentication match - must exist within SSO

If these values are the same, your library may only need a single identifier. If they are not the same, you can have up to 4 additional identifiers.

Eg, if your college uses the student email as the SSO identity, the SIS match, is unique for each user and is represented by a barcode on your student card, no other identifiers are needed.

The identifiers can be locally configured at each institution.

The network zone uses linked accounts to perform fulfillment activities within the network zone. This eliminates the need for standardization across the network.

As long as each value exists within the record, it does not matter which field they occupy. It only matters that you identify which will be the Primary ID.

If colleges are receiving this data currently, it exists in the “User Cat” fields in Symphony and elsewhere in other ILS systems.

This data will be migrated to the USER_STAT_CATEGORY fields in Alma.

If you do not currently receive this information, your college may want to discuss which fields are relevant for statistical reporting when configuring the SIS integration.

There are 10 available fields for user statistical data.

Many colleges already receive statistical data in their SIS load or through other methods.

For data that is common across the network standardization is recommended. Shared field names will support consistent reporting of statistical data.

Some colleges may not receive all fields listed below. For data that is present, the following field names are recommended:

PROGRAM - Student’s current program affiliation.

FACULTY - Faculty or school responsible for delivering programs to students (eg Liberal Arts and Science or Business).

DEPARTMENT - Staff or faculty department affiliation.

Email is one of the mandatory fields within the patron account.

If email is also used for SSO or SIS integrations, Ex Libris can configure systems so that email does not need to be duplicated.

Core information

Mandatory

Core information

Mandatory