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Part I - Alma Analytics

Alma Acquisitions (Open Source) requires data to be generated in Alma Analytics first. This data will then be requested via the Alma Analytics API and finally imported into the application.

graph LR
A[Alma Analytics API] --> |1. requests data from| B[Alma Analytics];
B --> |2. requests data from| C[Oracle Analytics Server]
C --> |3. sends data to| B;
B --> |4. sends data to| A;
A --> |5. finally, sends data to | D[Alma Acquisitions Open Source];

Important

Before attempting to run this application and importing data, you must make sure that your Alma Analytics data configuration is properly setup.

Note

Alma Analytics refreshes its data only once a day, furthermore it is build on top of Oracle Analytics Server (OAS)1. For performance and usability reasons, this application stores and consumes data from a database, rather than relying on on-the-fly requests via the Alma Analytics API.

Creating a 'Latest Acquisitions' query in Alma Analytics

Important

Alma Acquisitions (Open Source) expects exactly the following columns. You can use other columns, but you will have to edit the views in resources\views and the JavaScript in public_html\js\datatable.js to accommodate your customizations.

In Alma Analytics, create a new 'Analysis'. In the 'Criteria' tab, add the following columns:

(Bibliographic Details)

  • MMS Id
  • Title
  • Author
  • Publisher
  • Publication Date
  • Resource Type
  • Creation Date
  • Subjects

(LC Classifications)

  • Start Range

As 'Filters', add the following:

  • (Advanced SQL Filter) "Bibliographic Details"."Creation Date" >= TIMESTAMPADD(SQL_TSI_MONTH, -6, CURRENT_DATE)2
    Advanced SQL filter AND
  • MMS Id is not equal to any MMS Id in Acquisitions Process Types3
    MMS Id AND
  • Resource Type is equal to / is in Book - Electronic; Book - Physical; Book chapter - Electronic; Journal - Electronic; Journal - Physical4 Resource Type AND
  • (Physical Items)Bibliographic Lifecycle is equal to / is in In Repository5
    OR
  • (E-Inventory)Bibliographic Lifecycle is equal to / is in In Repository[^6]

Your criteria should look like this: Latest acquisitions criteria in Alma Analytics

Creating an acquisitions list for a specific subject in Alma Analytics

To create an acquisitions list that includes items from a specific subject, start by following the steps in the previous chapter. In the 'Criteria' tab, add a new AND to your filters and choose any filter that may fit your case. For example, if you are creating a acquisitions list for Russian Studies, you might want to add a filter like: Subjects contains any Russia.

Russian Studies filter

You can add as many filters as you need.

Tip

At Leiden University Libraries, the filters for a specific acquisitions list are defined by the Subject Specialist and implemented in Alma Analytics by one of the Alma System Managers.

  1. ExLibris <2022> Introduction to Analytics and Terminology. (Accessed: 1 June 2022) ↩

  2. SQL_TSI_MONTH, -6, CURRENT_DATE will collect all the acquisitions in the previous 6 months from the current date. You can edit the amount to fit your needs. ↩

  3. MMS Id is not equal to any MMS Id in Acquisitions Process Types filters items that are not yet available to the library users. ↩

  4. Resource Type is equal to / is in Book - Electronic; Book - Physical; Book chapter - Electronic; Journal - Electronic; Journal - Physical are the type of materials we want to show our users. ↩

  5. (Physical Items)Bibliographic Lifecycle is equal to / is in In Repository and (E-Inventory)Bibliographic Lifecycle is equal to / is in In Repository prevent displaying empty records to the end users. ↩