Simpson Library Technical Services

Check if Alma contains items with certain ISBNs

You can load an excel spreadsheet of International Standard Book Numbers to check if we already have that item.

Prepare a spreadsheet of ISBNs. Make sure the column header is labeled ISBN.

1. From the Alma menu > Administration column > Manage Jobs and Sets >Manage Sets.
2. Click on "Add Set" and choose "Itemized" from the dropdown menu.
3. Fill in the set details by performing these steps: 
   • Add a "Set name" and "Description" (optional).
   • Click on "Set content type" and choose "Physical Items" from the dropdown menu. 
   • Define who can see the set by selecting either "Yes" or "No" for the "Private" option.
   • Make sure the "Status" is set to "Active
4. In the section called Add Contents from File to Set, check to see that the From File radio button is selected.
5. Click the file button, browse and attach the excel file.
6. Click Save.

The action of adding the items to a set automatically runs a job and creates a report.  You do not have to run a job.

To see which items match items in the Alma Repository:

1. Locate the set
2. Click on the more menu (the three dots) and select members.
3. Click the export button.
4. Open the excel spreadsheet that was downloaded.
5. Information that shows matches is located in column T.