Bind processing using the Items to Bind report and holdings 911 field

Scope

This document outlines how to record serial binding information in a 911 local holdings field and how to use the Items to Bind report dashboard to export spreadsheets for shipments going to the bindery.

For additional information on coding field 911, see Local holdings fields and extensions for UC Berkeley. 911 Serial binding information. For directions on converting legacy binding data from the 952 field to the 911 field see Using exported spreadsheets to create data to put in the 911 field.

Contents

• Populating the 911 serial binding information field
  • Guidelines
  • Creating a 911 field
• Adding new items to bind to the Preservation work order
• Using the Items to Bind dashboard to produce a binding spreadsheet

Populating the 911 serial binding information field

Guidelines

The 911 field can be populated starting with the historical binding information that migrated from Millennium into the 952 field and/or the information currently stored in individual locations’ binding spreadsheets, but most records require some updating to modern terminology when moving to this new, easier to read/use field to operate correctly in the Alma Analytics Items to Bind report. This is the perfect time to fully review the historical notes in a record and add only current information to the 911 field.

Technically, you only need the 911 field to be populated for titles that are given FC (Flush Cut, formerly called B Bind, Berkeley Bind, LC Bind, Buck Bind) binding because those are the only ones that need a spreadsheet sent to the bindery with the information to be printed on the spine. But because it’s often difficult to parse the migrated binding information from the 952 field, and some of that migrated information in the 952 is very out of date, it is recommended to also populate the 911 field for titles that get other binding treatments when you process them to send to the Bindery Prep Department (BPD). This makes it easier to view your set binding information, including notes about treatment, the next time someone needs to bind one of those titles. 

Creating a 911 field:

1. Edit the holdings record in the Metadata Editor (MDE).
2. Hit F8 or choose Editing Actions > Add field.
3. Type 911 in the code field.
4. Tab twice to leave the indicators blank.
5. Populate the field in the following style:
   $$a bind type $$b color $$c bind by $$d bind title $$e processor notes $$f bindery note
   • See Local holdings fields and extensions for UC Berkeley. 911 Serial binding information for guidance on the various subfields.
   • You can use the F9 key to enter the $$ subfield delimiters but you’ll still need to type in the letter for each subfield after the delimiters.
   • Note that while the subfield codes should be in lower case, you can enter/copy over the text in each subfield in whatever capitalization is preferred for your workflows. The Items to Bind report is programmed to uppercase where necessary for the data that gets sent to the bindery.
6. If you are creating this field in a new holdings record, you will populate it manually, but if you are populating it in an existing holdings record, you can do a lot of pre-work in an Excel spreadsheet of exported 952 field information. See Using exported spreadsheets to create data to put in the 911 field.

Adding new items to bind to the Preservation work order

Once you’ve reviewed the holdings record binding directions for the title (creating a 911 field, if there isn’t one yet) and created/updated the item record for the bind unit (including adding a Fulfillment Note if you need to route the item somewhere for extra handling when it comes back from the bindery) you must scan it into the Preservation work order using the proper Status for the bind type you want.

Note that most paperback monos and individual serial issues thick enough to stand on their own are now being sent for CoLibri covering upon arrival instead of getting Mylar or Pam binding. Items sent for CoLibri coverings do not get a Status set for them in the Preservation work order, so if you’re already in the item record getting ready to send it to BPD, you can just choose Preservation in the Process Type field within the item record and you’re done with the work order for that item.

If you receive an item that won’t work well for CoLibiri covering you may send it for Mylar or Pam binding according to your local library best practices and the bindery size limitations for Mylar (¼”-3” thick; 2” max for glossy paper) and Pam (up to ⅜” thick) binding. In those cases, scan it into the work order with the proper Status set.

Scanning items into the Preservation work order: 

1. You must have the Work Order Operator role scoped for the Preservation Department in your Alma user settings. 
2. Set your Location to Preservation Department. 
3. Select Fulfillment > Scan In Items. 
4. On the Scan In Items page, enter the following:
   1. Automatically print slip: No
   2. Set Status To [choose from the options below] 
      • Bindery/Serials = FC bind for most multi-issue serial volumes
      • Bindery/NCO-RB = for BPD use, to send circulating items for new covers or rebinding
      • Bindery/Mylar = Mylar binding, typically for monographs or monographic series that have covers we want to preserve or are awkwardly floppy for standing on a shelf and you’ve determined that CoLibri covering won’t improve their stability 
      • Bindery/Other = Pam binding for skinny or tiny monos, slim serial issues (singles or small sets), Kasemake boxing, etc. 
   3. Done: No 
   4. Scan item barcode: Scan in or paste the item’s barcode and click OK (if not automatic)
5. The item’s Request/Process Type changes to Preservation with the Status listed after it in parenthesis.

Using the Items to Bind dashboard to produce a binding spreadsheet

Data takes time to get from Alma to Alma Analytics. Typically it’s only a day, but it can occasionally take an extra day to see things in Alma Analytics after they’re processed in Alma. For this reason, it is recommended that you get all of your pending bind items into the Preservation work order by the end of the day on Friday, then on Monday morning, use the Items to Bind dashboard to produce your spreadsheet and ship your materials off to BPD. That way the data has a chance to populate in Analytics over the weekend and you won’t have added any new items to your shipment and the Preservation work order before you produce your report. Any new items to bind that you put into the Preservation work order after running the report that Monday will be pending for the next BPD shipment.

1. Click on Analytics in the left-hand navigation bar on your Alma home screen.
2. If this is your first visit, click on Shared With Me under My Analytics.
   1. Click on Items to Bind dashboard (you can use the search bar to narrow down the list by typing in “Items”).
   2. In the right-side detail window, click on the Pin to Analytics Menu button.
   3. Now when you go to the Analytics module you’ll see Items to Bind under My Pinned Analytics below the Search Analytics Objects box.
3. Click on your pinned Items to Bind dashboard link to open the dashboard.
4. Use the selection prompts to find the records you want in your report.
   • Note that you can choose specific items by scanning their barcodes into the Barcode field.
   • Most of the time users will use the other prompts to find the items for their shipment.
     • In the Library field, you can use the drop-down menu by clicking the little arrow to the right of the field or you can click into the field and start typing your library’s code to narrow down the options.
       • Click on your library code to set it.
       • Note that if you’re in BPD using the report to send New Case Only (NCO) or Rebinds (RB), you’re likely sending shipments of mixed ownership, so you’ll skip this field to capture all libraries with materials that are ready to go.
     • In the Added to Preservation work order on or after >= field, you’ll want to enter the date the day you last sent a shipment to BPD/the bindery (e.g., my last BPD shipment was on 7/22/24, so I choose 7/22/24, which will capture anything new that was added starting with Monday the 22nd, after I produced my list of materials that I shipped off on Monday the 22nd, plus anything that’s been added since).
       • You can type the date in with the standard slashed format or use the little calendar/clock icon to the right of the field to choose the date to fill in.
       • If you enter no date, you’ll get a list of all of the items currently/still in the Preservation work order for your location. This can be useful if you want to check on what’s still pending binding, but when you’re making a new list to ship off to the bindery you want to skip all of the items already sent, hence using the date you sent your last shipment to capture items added after you last ran the report.
     • In the Bind type field, click the check box next to all of the bind types you want in your report.
       • Most of the time, branches will just be using this to generate FC bind reports, which are classified under Bindery/Serials, because those are the shipments for which we need to send a spreadsheet to the bindery with spine printing details.
       • You can also use this report to, for example, gather a list of all of the items still in a particular bindery prep status, regardless of when they were added to the Preservation work order. This can be handy for catching items that came back from the bindery and have been shelved, but someone forgot to take them out of the work order.
       • Note that this report cannot be used to keep a count of all items sent to the bindery over time–it only tracks items that are currently in the Preservation work order.
       • BPD will be using the Bindery/NCO-RB (New Case Only-Rebind) Bind type field to produce their spreadsheets of materials going for rebind/recase.
   • Click OK.
5. If there are materials in the Preservation work order that match the parameters you choose, you’ll get a report with the matching items.
6. At the top you’ll see the parameters you chose and a count of the number of items returned.
7. Below that you’ll see the report details in a spreadsheet format.
8. Below the spreadsheet you’ll see several links.
   • Return will take you back to the prompts to start a new search.
   • Export has several options; see #9 for the option you need.
   • Create Bookmark Link will create a static link to the specific results you have on your screen which you can save as a bookmark. This may be of limited utility.
9. Choose Export > Data > Excel.
10. An Excel spreadsheet will be sent to your downloads folder.
11. Open the spreadsheet.
12. Double check that you have all of the items you expected on the report.
13. Make corrections (if needed) for items flagged in the Serial Bind Warning, Item Call Number Warning, or Call Number Warnings columns.
14. Scan through the fields checking for any oddities.
    • There are probably some variations in how things were entered over the years that have not been captured in the programming. If you see a pattern of something that could be programmed into auto-correcting in the report, please email csdhelp@berkeley.edu.
    • BPD, please note that the report is programmed to handle regular LC call numbers, LC-like call numbers, and Harvard-Yenching (HY) call numbers, but there are a variety of other types of call numbers on items that have been sent to NRLF that will have to be manually edited to match what is on the piece.
      • When rebinding a serial record, the 911 field may be missing, so built-in programming for the bind title, and call number formatting (particularly when bound by date) likely need to be manually corrected.
    • Everyone should always double-check the call number field in particular for problems, as well as the midspine data.
    • Discrepancies between the 911-c (bind by) column and the description field in the call number need to be investigated and fixed in the Alma records and corrected on your spreadsheet.
15. Delete the following columns that are only in the report to help you check your work and don’t need to go to the Bindery. 
    • Serial bind title warning
    • Item call number warning
    • Call number warnings
    • 911-a (bind type)
    • 911-c (bind by)
    • 911-e (processor note)
    • Fulfillment Note
    • Request Date
16. Once the extra columns are removed in the step above, your spreadsheet should have only the following columns to send to the Bindery:
    • AUTHOR (monos only)
    • TITLE
    • MIDSPINE
    • CALL NUMBER
    • BARCODE
    • CLOTH COLOR
    • NOTE (for Bindery)
17. Deliver bundles to BPD with the spreadsheet.