Scope
This document lists and defines the material types to use in Alma item records.
For a mapping of material types to common coding used in MARC bibliographic records, see Item material type and MARC bibliographic coding.
For a mapping of material types to item policies, see Item material type and item policy.
Material type definitions
| Category | Material Type | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Audio recording | Audio Compact Disc | An optical disc format designed for digital audio recordings. A compact audio disc is typically 4 3/4 in. in diameter. Includes high-definition digital audio recording disc formats such as SACD and DVD-A. |
| Audio Disc (Analog) | An analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. Includes phonograph and vinyl records such as 78s, 45s, and LPs. | |
| Audio Recording (Other) | A recording medium other than audio disc, audiocassette, or audiotape on which sound vibrations have been registered by mechanical or electrical means so that the sound may be reproduced. | |
| Audiocassette | A container holding a narrow, usually 1/8 in., length of magnetic tape on two reels, one to feed (and rewind) and the other to take up the audiotape. Includes analog and digital recordings such as DAT (Digital Audio Tape). | |
| Audiotape Reel | An open reel holding a length of magnetic tape on which are recorded electrical signals that can be converted to sound using reel-to-reel audio equipment. | |
| Cartographic resource | Atlas | A volume of maps or other cartographic content with or without descriptive text. |
| Globe | A depiction of the earth or other celestial body, real or imaginary, on the surface of a sphere. | |
| Map | A representation, normally to scale and on a two-dimensional medium, of a selection of material or abstract features on, or in relation to, the surface of the earth, another celestial body, or an imaginary place. Includes maps, aerial photographs, remote-sensing images, sections, and views. | |
| Computer file | Computer Data Storage (Other) | A storage medium other than computer disc or floppy disk used to store data files. |
| Computer Disc | An optical disc used to permanently store data files. Includes CD-ROM and DVD-ROM. | |
| Floppy Disc | A 3 1/2 in. or 5 1/4 in. magnetically encoded disk encased in plastic or mylar, used to store computer programs, data, and other digital, machine-readable data. | |
| Equipment | Calculator | |
| Equipment | A set of tools or other objects commonly used to achieve a particular objective. Records for equipment are usually brief and created primarily for the circulation of the object. See 3D Object (Other) for objects that are fully cataloged. | |
| Headphones | ||
| Laptop | ||
| Laptop Accessory | ||
| Laptop Charger | A device used to infuse energy into another object, such as a laptop or mobile device when batteries are low. | |
| Projector | A device used to display images, videos, or other content on a large screen or surface. | |
| Tablet | ||
| Graphic | 3D Object | A three-dimensional artifact, a replica of an artifact, or a naturally-occurring object. Includes art reproductions, dioramas, games, microscope slides, models, realia, and toys. |
| Art Original | A two or three-dimensional work of art created by an artist, for example, a sculpture, as contrasted with a reproduction of it. | |
| Graphic | A two-dimensional pictorial representation, often opaque or transparent, that may or may not be intended to be projected. Includes art reproductions, charts, filmstrips, flash cards, photographs, pictures, posters, slides, technical drawings, and transparencies. | |
| Microform | Microcard | A photo-sensitized paper card bearing a number of micro-images in a two-dimensional array. Includes aperture cards, which contain an inserted piece of photographic film containing one or more micro-images. |
| Microfiche | A sheet of film bearing a number of micro-images in a two-dimensional array. | |
| Microfilm | A film bearing a number of micro-images in linear array. | |
| Microopaque | A card or sheet of opaque material bearing a number of micro-images in a two-dimensional array. | |
| Mixed material | Archival Material | A document or documents organically created, accumulated, or used by an agent in the course of the conduct of affairs and preserved because of their continuing value. The resource may be an aggregation of documents or it may be a discrete item. It may also be a collection acquired and assembled by an archival repository, individual, or other institution that does not share a common provenance or origin but that reflects some common characteristic, for example, a particular subject, theme, or form. |
| Kit | A mixture of various components issued as a unit and intended primarily for instructional purposes. No one component is identifiable as the predominant component of the item. Examples are packages of assorted materials, such as a set of K-12 social studies curriculum material (books, workbooks, guides, activities, etc.), or packages of educational test materials (tests, answer sheets, scoring guides, score charts, interpretative manuals, etc.). | |
| Mixed Material | There are significant materials in two or more forms that are usually related by virtue of their having been accumulated by or about a person or body. Intended primary purpose is other than for instructional purposes (i.e., other than the purpose of those materials coded as Kit). Do not use for archival material. |
|
| Motion Picture | Motion Picture | A series of still pictures on film, with or without sound, designed to be projected in rapid succession to produce the optical effect of motion. Includes motion picture films such as 8 mm, 16 mm, and 35 mm. |
| Music | Music Score | A resource with content expressed through a form of musical notation (e.g., graphical, symbolic, or word-based musical notation). |
| Other | Keys | |
| Other | Used for items during migration. Use for items when no other material type is appropriate. |
|
| Textual material | Book | A print monograph publication of any length. Use for a thesis or dissertation that is intended to circulate. |
| Bound Issue | A serial item that has been assigned a physical circulation barcode. The item may consist of individual issues bound, boxed, or otherwise cased together, or it may be a single issue which stands alone on the shelf. The item is discoverable and (by default) requestable in UC Library Search. | |
| Integrating Resource | A print integrating resource, usually issued as looseleaf with each sheet or section separate and removable. | |
| Issue | A serial item that has not been assigned a physical circulation barcode. It is typically a new, "unbound" serial issue which has not gone through the binding process. The item is discoverable but not requestable in UC Library Search. For an issue that can circulate, see "Bound Issue". | |
| Manuscript | An unpublished print resource. Includes handwritten, typescript, or computer printout materials implicitly or explicitly intended to exist as a single instance. Examples include diaries, letters, logs, manuscript books, marked or corrected galley and page proofs, oral histories, papers, etc. Use for a thesis or dissertation that is not intended to circulate. |
|
| Newspaper | A continuing resource that is mainly designed to be a primary source of written information on current events connected with public affairs, either local, national and/or international in scope. It contains a broad range of news on all subjects and activities and is not limited to any specific subject matter. It may include (although not primarily) articles on literary or other subjects as well as advertising, legal notices, vital statistics, and illustrations. | |
| Video recording | Video Recording (Other) | A recording medium other than videocassette or videodisc on which visual images, usually in motion and accompanied by sound, have been registered. It is designed for playback on a television receiver, or video monitor. |
| Videocassette | A cassette containing a length of magnetic tape on which are recorded electrical signals that can be converted to images using video playback equipment. Includes videocassettes such as Beta, U-Matic, and VHS. | |
| Videodisc | A disc on which video signals, with or without sound, are recorded. Includes videodiscs such as Blu-ray, Laserdisc, and DVD. Also includes video games that do not fit into any other category (e.g., cartridges). |
By abaron on 05-31-2025