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This is the third section of the items & holdings module of the Alma Overviews course. The video is at the top of the page, followed by the script.

In this video, you'll review:

In this video, we're going to look at the ways you can move items from one holdings record to another, and holdings from one bib record to another. We'll start with moving holdings records to a different bib.

A word of caution: Alma treats these actions differently than other ILSs have in the past. Specifically, it always wants to clean up the database, so it's looking to delete unused holdings and bib records. Make sure you know what options you're choosing when you move the last item or last holding record, and how you want the relevant holdings or bib record to be treated when you do.

Also, in Alma, most

Moving Holdings

Important Notes

When you're moving holdings records, there are several pieces of information to keep in mind:

• Moving a holdings record does not change the bib record at all.

• When moving a holdings record, any items attached to the holding will also move.
• If there is an active request on any item on the holdings record, you will not be able to relink the holdings. You'll first need to handle the requests or move all the items.
• When you're moving a holdings record, the steps you follow depend on whether that title had a one time or continuous order. In Alma, one-time orders are connected to materials at the title level, but continuous orders

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• are attached at the holdings level. When you move a holdings record for a continuous order, it may break the link between

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• the order and the items, which causes problems with predicted items and other processes.

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• You can move holdings records for continuous orders, but make sure you understand the effects of that move before you do it.

We will now go over methods for moving holdings and moving items.

Because of time, I am only going through the basics. There is more documentation about these two topics on the wiki: https://wiki.harvard.edu/confluence/x/4Z5dDQ

For those of you who perform Fulfillment tasks, please be certain to check this information, because there is an important warning there about using a Fulfillment tool in Alma when moving the last item on a holding. 

The methods we'll discuss should only be used when the holding that needs to be moved is one of multiple holdings attached to the bib record. If there is only a single holding attached to the bib record, use Merge Records and Combine Inventory as you learned in your Cat 2 training. 

Moving Holdings

Important things to know

• This method will not touch the bib record of the holding that is moved.  The bib record will continue to be active.

• Any items attached to the holding will also move.
• If there is an active request on an item, you will not be able to relink the holding.  You'll need first to handle the requests or move all the items first.
• I am showing you one method here, but if a PO line is involved, the best method is to relink the PO line. This is because PO lines related to the holdings record will not move using the method I will demonstrate. You need to follow separate instructions for relinking a PO line, which are taught in Order Maintenance: https://wiki.harvard.edu/confluence/x/eQGfDQ. When you relink a PO line to a different bib record, the corresponding holdings and items will also move.

To move a holding when it is one of multiple holdings on a bib record

Let's say you realize that your library's holding is attached to the bib record for the 1st edition, but the book owned is really the 2nd edition.  You need to move your holding to the right bib record, and leave intact other holdings on the record for the 1st edition.

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• Similarly, it helps to know if the holdings you're moving is the last holdings on a bib record.

  • If it is, best practice is to use the Merge Records and Combine Inventory process. See the Working with Bib Records segment of the Cataloging module for more on that.

  • If the holdings record is not the last one on the bib, use either of the methods below.

First, let's look at Continuous titles.

Relinking a POL to a Different Bibliographic Record - Continuous Orders

If you are working with a serial or other continuous order, it's safest to move the holdings and items by relinking the order to a different bib record. This will move the corresponding items and holdings to that new bib record. You might do this if your item matched an existing bib record better than the one imported for the order, or if the POL is linked to a bib record for a single volume that’s actually part of a multivolume work with a separate bib record.

To relink a POL:

1. Start with a Titles search, like Physical Titles and The Economist
2. Click on the number next to Orders
   
3. Find the order and click on Relink. This will bring up a search for other bib records for that same title.
4. Find the bib record you want to link the order to
5. Click on that result in the list to relink
6. Once you confirm the relinking, the order, holdings, and any items will all move to a new bib record together (I hit Cancel instead)
   

When you relink the bib record, the bib reference on the Description tab of the order record will also automatically update to the new information as well.

Next, let's look at moving holdings in the Metadata Editor.

Moving Holdings Records in the Metadata Editor - One Time Orders

If you want to move your library's holdings for a title - and any associated items - to a new bib record, you can do that in the Metadata Editor. Before you start, it's helpful to have information about the new bib record ready (like its OCLC number or its title) to facilitate searching for that record later in speed up the second half of the process. Example: Practice record to beat all practice records. 2nd edition.

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To move a holdings record:

1. Search for the physical title or physical item for the holdings record you want to move
   
2. Click on Holdings to open the List of Holdings
   
3. Choose Relink from the row action item list
   
4. The MD Editor opens with the holding holdings on the left and a search panel on the right.   I will use Use the search panel to locate the "target" bib–the  bib, the new bib record you want to which I want the holding to be attached.
5. My bib search results appear with "View" and "Relink" options.  I'll click on "Relink." 
6. Let's look at the results.  Once I have the holdings link the holdings and item to.
   1. If you have an OCLC number, use Any Field and Contains Phrase.
      
7. The search results will have View and Relink options; choose Relink.
8. With the holdings highlighted in the left pane, I can click on the icon "View Bibliographic Record" icon to display the bib to which the holdings is now linked.I should release
9. Edit the holding record from the MD Editor unless I'm going to edit it. Trainer: relink WID holdings back to 1st edition before next class.

Moving items

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1. holdings record if needed and then Save and Release

Now that we've seen how to move holdings records between bibs, let's look at how to move item records between holdings records. Let's start with moving an item to an existing holding on the same bib record.

Moving Items

Moving an Item to an Existing Holding on the Same Bib Record

Let's say we you are sending half of a serial set (v. 1-2) from the stacks to HD.   WeYou'll need to move items from the stacks Stacks holding to the HD holding. I've already edited Best practice is to first edit the holdings records to reflect the transfer before moving the items.Once you've done that:

1. First, I'll search the repository for the item to be moved. Example: Dastardly annual madness.
   
2. For the results list, I'll click "Items" for the bib record with multiple holdings.  The List of Items will appear.
3. I'll select the item I want to move by using the checkbox.  Then I'll click on "Change Holdings."
4. The list of holdings appears.  I'll select the holdings to which I want to move the item, and then I'll click "Select."
5. To review the results, I can click on the "View All Holdings" link. To the right of the holdings I want to see, I click on the ellipsis, and select "View Items."
6. If the result were a holding with zero items (not in this example), I can select the row with that holdings, click "Delete Holdings," and click "Confirm" in the confirmation dialogue box. Instructor: move items back to WID WIDLC holdings for next class.
   

Moving an item to a holding on a different bib record

Let's say we learn that a serial title changed with vol. 2, not vol. 3, so we need to move the item for vol. 2 to the bib record for the later title. Other Harvard libraries own the earlier title, so more than one holding exists on that record.  Example:  former title = Advances in wonderment; later title = Advances in wonderment and fun. The holdings record has already been updated.

1. First, I'll search for the Widener item for v. 2 that needs to be moved. Right now it is attached to the former title, so I'll do a Physical Title search for that title.
2. From the results list, I'll click on "Items" for the bib record (with multiple holdings). The List of Items will appear.
3. I'll select the item I want to move by using the checkbox. Then I'll click on "Relink to another Bib."
4. In the pop-up screen, I'll search for the bib record to which I want to move the item. If I have the OCLC number, I can search for "Other System Number."
5. I'll select the bib record I want from the list. The list of of holdings for that bib appears.
6. In this case, I want to move the item to an existingholding, so I'll show you that.  I will use the checkbox to select the target holding, and chose "Select" in the upper righthand corner.I get use the physical items or physical titles search to find the items you're moving
   
7. Click on Items to see the full List of Items for that title
   • If this is a very large record with a lot of items and multiple holdings, you could also click on Holdings first, find the holdings record you want to move things from, and click on View Items. To make it even shorter, click on Received Items. Now we're just working with items that have been received on one particular holdings.
     
8. Select the item or items you want to move by ticking the checkboxes next to them in the list
9. When you've selected all of them, click on Change Holdings
10. Select the holdings record you want to move the items to and click Select

Once the items have been moved, you can review the results by going back to the holdings records, go to your destination holdings, and View items there.

If you have moved all items from a Stacks holding to an HD holding, you have the option of deleting the stacks holding from this same list. Tick the box of the row for that holdings record, click Delete Holdings, and click Confirm. Deleted unused holdings records cleans up the database and speeds up large batch updates.

Now let's look at moving an item to an existing holdings on a different bib record. I'll use The Economist again.

Moving an Item to an Existing Holding on a Different Bib Record

Let's say a journal was accidentally received on the English edition when in fact it's the Korean edition.

1. Click on Items to see the List of Items
   
2. Select the item you want to move using the checkbox, then click on Relink to another Bib
3. Click on Select from a bib to search for the bib record you want to move the item to; again, it's helpful to have specific information like the OCLC number on hand.
   
4. Select the bib record you want from the list to see the list of of holdings
5. Use the checkbox to select the target holding and choose Select in the upper right corner
6. You'll see a message that the item was successfully relinked.

Moving an

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Item to a

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What if I want to move the item to a new holding, rather than an existing holding, on the bib record for the later title?  Let's move the item for Schlesinger's vol. 2 from the earlier title to the later title.  There is no holdings record for Schlesinger attached to the later title.

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New Holding on a Different Bib Record

Finally, from this same spot, I can show you that if you needed to move an item to a new holdings record on a new bib record, you'd follow these exact same steps:

1. Search for the Title
2. Click on Items to see the List of Items
3. Find the item you want to move
4. Tick on the tickybox
5. Click on Relink to another Bib
6. Search for the bib record you want to move it to
7. Instead of selecting an existing holdings, click on Add new holdings
8. The MD Editor will open with a blank holdings record
9. At minimum, you need to add the 852 information - open the form, choose the location and shelving location
10. Continue adding any relevant holdings information
    
11. When you're done, Save & Release the record
    
12. Select the Back button in the upper right corner. This will take you back to your relinking page.
    
13. Your new holding is now in the list , but notice it has 0 items attached. The little circle next to your holding is already filled in. of holdings, with the circle to select it already selected
14. Click on Select.
15. You'll see a blue message that the item record for v. 2 was successfully relinked to the new holding on the later record.

Trainer: move item records back to source record for next class and delete newly-created SCH holdings record.

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1. new bib
   

For either of these last two scenarios, if you move the last item off of a holdings record, Alma will ask you how you want to treat the holdings record: suppress or delete it. Best practice is to delete a holdings record with no items attached, per the Policy for Suppression and Deletion.

Using the Scan In Items Feature

There is one more option for moving items, but it does not give you as much control as the preceding two options.

1. Go to Fulfillment >> Scan In Items
2. Click on the Change Item Information tab
3. Choose Permanent for the Change Type to change the location and move the item to a new holdings record
   
4. Scan in the item barcode to complete the move

Do not use Scan In Items to move the last item on a holdings record to a new holdings record. If it was the only item on the old holding, Alma will automatically delete the old holding and create a new one, which will only have a couple of fields from the old holdings - all other fields are lost. Instead, use one of the relinking options to move the holdings with all fields intact.

Closing

This has been the Items and Holdings module of the Alma Overviews Online Course. For more information, read the Items and Holdings documentation on the Alma wiki, or any functional area training that deals with items and holdings.