OCLC Multi Match List Page

Automatically generates a daily Excel report of all OCLC multi-match bibliographic records from the previous day’s NZ import jobs. 

 

 

 At a glance 

 

 

 Status: Active 

 

 

 Environment / Tags: Network Zone 

 

 

 Applies consortium-wide?: Yes (The workflow operates in the Alma Network Zone and reports on Network Zone import jobs.) 

 

 

 Runs on: Alma Network Zone (NZ) 

 

 

 Trigger: Scheduled — runs daily at 10:30 PM 

 

 

 Primary outcome: Generates a spreadsheet listing all OCLC multi-match bibliographic records from the previous day’s import jobs. 

 

 

 Who receives results: No direct notification; results are written to a shared Excel workbook. 

 

 

 

 Why this exists 

 When OCLC import jobs encounter multi-matches , Alma cannot automatically determine which existing record should be updated. These records require review. 

 This workflow creates a structured, review-ready spreadsheet listing all multi-match records from the previous day’s OCLC import jobs, including: 

 

 

 OCLC number 

 

 

 Network ID 

 

 

 Institution holdings 

 

 

 Import profile type 

 

 

 Title 

 

 

 This supports consortium-level quality control and faster resolution of ambiguous matches. 

 

 What it does 

 

 

 Runs nightly. 

 

 

 Identifies specific OCLC import jobs by job ID. 

 

 

 Retrieves completed job instances from the previous day. 

 

 

 Excludes FTP-related job variants. 

 

 

 Retrieves all multi-match records from those jobs. 

 

 

 Splits comma-separated Network IDs into one row per record. 

 

 

 Retrieves full NZ bib records for each match. 

 

 

 Parses MARC XML to extract: 

 

 

 First 035$a OCLC number 

 

 

 All AVA fields (institution holdings) 

 

 

 

 

 Produces one row per holding per bib. 

 

 

 Removes duplicate institution holdings. 

 

 

 Creates a new dated worksheet in Excel. 

 

 

 Appends formatted rows to a structured table. 

 

 

 

 Where it runs 

 

 

 Alma IZ(s): 

 

 

 Alma Network Zone 

 

 

 

 

 Systems touched: 

 

 

 Alma APIs (read-only for job data and matches; read/write for bib retrieval) 

 

 

 Microsoft Excel (Office 365) 

 

 

 

 

 Reports / queries used: None (operates directly on Alma job APIs) 

 

 

 

 How it works 

 Logic overview 

 1. Schedule & Date Setup 

 

 

 Runs daily at 10:30 PM . 

 

 

 Calculates yesterday’s date . 

 

 

 Uses that date to retrieve completed job instances. 

 

 

 

 2. Identify Relevant Import Jobs 

 

 

 Uses a hard-coded list of OCLC import job IDs. 

 

 

 Retrieves job instances submitted yesterday. 

 

 

 Keeps only those with status COMPLETED_SUCCESS . 

 

 

 Filters out instances whose name contains “w/FTP:” . 

 

 

 ⚠️ If import profile IDs change, this workflow must be updated. 

 

 3. Retrieve Multi-Match Records 

 

 

 Calls Alma’s job matches endpoint with population = MULTI_MATCHES . 

 

 

 Extracts: 

 

 

 Incoming record ID 

 

 

 MMS Ids (comma-separated list) 

 

 

 Job name (used to determine import type) 

 

 

 Submission date 

 

 

 

 

 Determines Import Type (Deleted, Merged, New, Updated) using pattern matching on job name. 

 

 

 ⚠️ If naming conventions change, import type detection may break. 

 

 4. Separate Network IDs 

 

 

 Splits comma-separated MMS IDs into one row per Network ID . 

 

 

 This is required for downstream bib-level processing. 

 

 

 

 5. Retrieve and Parse Bib Records 

 For each Network ID: 

 

 

 Retrieves the full NZ bib record. 

 

 

 Parses MARC XML using regex to extract: 

 

 

 First 035$a beginning with (OCoLC) 

 

 

 All AVA fields: 

 

 

 subfield 0 → MMS Id (institution-level) 

 

 

 subfield a → Institution code 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Returns one row per AVA field (institution holding). 

 ⚠️ Assumptions: 

 

 

 MARC structure remains consistent. 

 

 

 Only the first (OCoLC) number is used. 

 

 

 Regex-based MARC parsing may fail if XML structure changes. 

 

 

 

 6. Normalize and Deduplicate 

 

 

 Merges import metadata with parsed MARC data. 

 

 

 Removes duplicate rows based on MMS Id (institution holding). 

 

 

 Prepares structured fields for Excel. 

 

 

 

 7. Excel Output 

 For each run: 

 

 

 Creates a new worksheet named with yesterday’s date ( yyyy-MM-dd ). 

 

 

 Waits 15 seconds (ensures Excel sheet creation completes). 

 

 

 Appends a header row. 

 

 

 Creates a table. 

 

 

 Appends all processed rows. 

 

 

 Columns written: 

 

 

 Network Id 

 

 

 OCLC Number in Alma 

 

 

 Incoming Record Id 

 

 

 Title 

 

 

 MMS Id 

 

 

 Institution 

 

 

 Import Profile 

 

 

 Import Date 

 

 

 Network IDs and MMS IDs are written as text to prevent numeric reformatting. 

 

 If results exist 

 

 

 A new worksheet is created for the date. 

 

 

 Each multi-match record appears as one row per institution holding. 

 

 

 Spreadsheet becomes a permanent audit record for review. 

 

 

 If no results 

 

 

 A new worksheet is still created. 

 

 

 Only the header row is present. 

 

 

 No data rows are appended. 

 

 

 

 Artifacts produced 

 

 

 Excel workbook: OCLC Multi Match List 

 

 

 One worksheet per day. 

 

 

 Structured table with normalized fields. 

 

 

 No emails or additional reports are generated.