Create a Logical Set
Required Roles: Requests Operator, Cataloger, Catalog Manager, Catalog Administrator, Electronic/Digital Inventory Operator, or Repository Manager
Important: This process allows you to create logical item sets useful for keeping track of your B&T holdings1, items with on Loan, Lost or Missing statuses2, or shelf lists of LC ranges3.
In Alma, a logical set is a saved query, and is dynamic. Each time an item is added to the collection that fits the parameters of the query, it will be added to the logical set. If you export the set on different days, the items within the set may be different. The other type of set you can create in Alma is an itemized set, it is a static set, and it will only change if you add or remove items from it.
To create a logical set:
In the Admin dropdown menu, click Manage Sets.
On the Manage Sets page, click Add Set button and Logical in the dropdown menu.
On the first Set Details page:
- Set Name: Mandatory
- Description: to give more details
- Notes: might be useful to add what the set is used for
- Set content type: Mandatory. If you want to just know what your items on your shelves are, choose Physical Items.
- Private: Choose No if you want to share.
- Status: Choose Active.
- Everything after Status is generated by the system.
Click Next button.
In next screen, click Advanced button to do an advanced search.
Boolean operators apply.
In the first drop-down menu, you can choose from 3 different factors, each containing a wide choice of limiters:
- Title: Limiters include information included in the bibliographic record.
- Holdings: Information from the holding record.
Physical Item: Information from the Item record, including Item Description, Current Location, and Process Type (where you should find Lost and Missing)
1. The search that tracks your B&T leased books.
Since we want B&T books at MEC, we want the Item Description (which carried over from Aleph) and the Current Location in MEC.
In the first box choose the limiter that you need, here we are looking for the various Locations that B&T books might be assigned. In the right box, choose your library and click on the arrow to the right. The various locations in the libraries will appear.
I am choosing Uncatalogued (carried over from Aleph), Circulating (to which B&T books should be located when created in Alma), and the brand-new Display. All these locations can be placed in the same search box.
Once your search terms are populated, click on the plus-sign to add the next search row.
Since MEC put “lease” in the Item description field in Aleph, those records which transfer from Aleph will have “lease” in Item Description in Alma. (Records created in Alma may be different, and you can add an OR operator with a different Item field.)
Once you have finished adding your search terms, click Search.
View your search results, if they reflect reality, click Save:
As you add or return your lease books, this list will change to reflect the current collection.
You can export the results into an Excel spreadsheet by clicking the export icon.
2. The search that tracks checked out items, like your iPads. Can also be used to track missing or lost items by changing the process type.
Item description is from the Physical Item section. Note: this search does not work with data from the Title section.
3. The search that creates an LCC range shelf list.
1. On the first page of creating the set, you need the Set content type set to Physical Items.
2. All the various Permanent call number limiters are found in the Holdings section of the drop-down menu.
3. The Current location limiter is found in the Physical item section of the drop-down menu. (You may also use Current library limiter which will include all the locations within your library.)
Note: With Physical content type set to Physical Items, the exported list will include the Call Number.
