Reading workflow

Reading state is independent of saving. A paper can be saved to your Library without entering the Reading list, and a paper can be in the Reading workflow without changing its rating.

See Paper lifecycle for the underlying model.

States

State	Meaning	Where it surfaces
(none)	No reading intent set.	Saved tab and normal library views.
reading	You're actively reading it.	Reading list tab and the landing-page summary.
done	You've finished it.	Reading history.
excluded	You evaluated it and decided not to read it.	Reading history and Library filters.

How to set reading state

• On any paper card or row, use the Reading status control.
• In bulk, select rows in the Saved tab and use the bulk action menu.
• You do not need to change the paper's rating to move it through the reading workflow.

The Reading list tab

Library → Reading list groups papers by their current reading status:

• Reading
• Done
• Excluded

This keeps active reading work separate from long-term curation.

Why the axes are separate

ALMa keeps three ideas apart on purpose:

• Saved: I want to keep this paper in my curated collection.
• Rated: I think this paper is good, bad, or neutral as a signal.
• Reading: I am reading this paper, have finished it, or decided not to.

Tools that collapse those ideas into one list usually end up with a library full of ambiguous rows. ALMa keeps each control honest by mapping it to one state dimension only.

Done is not Excluded

These two look similar because both leave the active reading queue:

• Done means you actually read the paper.
• Excluded means you decided not to.

Neither one removes the paper from the Library. That decision belongs to the membership axis, not the reading axis.