Summarizing Serials: How and When to Use Alma’s Automation Tasks for Summary Holdings Statements

Prior to Texas Christian University’s migration to Alma and Primo VE in 2024, I discovered a lack of consistency in the institution’s serials holdings records, specifically regarding formatting and the presence of an easy-to-read 866 field and summary statement. To solve this issue, I researched and implemented the use of Alma’s automation tasks for summary holdings, which involved creating and updating prediction patterns, editing item records, and setting normalization rules so that a summary statement could be automatically generated. Doing so meant that whenever a new issue was added to the collection, the staff member receiving it only had to save the holdings record to update the summary statement rather than editing it manually. In this session, I will demonstrate how I set up this process and present tips and tricks I learned along the way to ensure the best results in the catalog for our patrons.