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Migrating from Alma to Koha: Data Export and MARC Review Considerations

Data export and MARC review considerations for libraries planning an Alma to Koha migration.

May 19, 2026 2 min read

Migrating from Alma to Koha: Data Export and MARC Review Considerations

An Alma to Koha migration requires careful planning because the source environment may contain bibliographic records, holdings, item data, electronic resources, authority data, and local metadata.

This article focuses on catalogue data preparation and MARC review.

Define the migration scope

Before exporting, decide what should move to Koha.

Possible data areas include:

bibliographic records;
item records;
holdings data;
electronic resource records;
authority records;
local fields;
notes;
identifiers;
patron and circulation data if in scope.

MARCReady focuses on catalogue record quality, MARC repair, and structured catalogue file preparation.

Export representative samples

Create sample exports before a full migration.

Include:

print books;
serials;
e-resources if relevant;
records with multiple holdings;
records with multiple items;
local fields;
multilingual records;
records with complex subjects;
older records.

Review MARC fields

Check:

020 ISBN;
022 ISSN;
035 system control numbers;
100/110 main entries;
245 title;
264 publication fields;
300 description;
5XX notes;
6XX subjects;
7XX added entries;
8XX series;
9XX local fields.

Review holdings and item data

Make sure the export contains enough data for Koha to represent library-owned materials.

Check:

barcode;
library/branch;
location;
item policy;
call number;
copy number;
item status;
electronic vs physical record handling.

Clean before importing

Use MARCReady to review a sample for:

malformed MARC;
incomplete Leader and 008;
ISBN issues;
encoding problems;
duplicate fields;
empty subfields;
local fields that need review.

Test in Koha

A sample import should confirm:

records stage correctly;
items are created;
branches and locations map correctly;
matching rules behave as expected;
OPAC display is acceptable;
search works for title, author, ISBN, and subject.

Recommendation

For complex Alma exports, do not rely on one export and one import. Plan sample testing, field review, MARC cleanup, and staged import testing before setting a final migration date.