Configure patron facing features

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Follow these instructions to customize patron facing features in WorldCat Discovery. Determine whether or not your library needs to modify the initial selections.

WorldCat Discovery configuration options are accessible in the administrative interface, OCLC Service Configuration. If you need help to create an account, see Create a WorldCat account.

Learn more in a training course: WorldCat Discovery configuration: Patron-facing features

Personalize your Discovery interface

Sign in to OCLC Service Configuration, navigate to WorldCat Discovery and WorldCat Local > User Interface Options to:

Enable end-user sign in (for non-WorldShare Management Service libraries)

All WorldCat Discovery libraries can provide sign-in capability for their users. This enables users to save searches and personal lists. See Share records and create citations for more information.

To enable non-WMS logon options, register your library for end user logon capability. The OCLC implementation team will respond to the request and assist with configuration.

Institutions can select from the following implementation options:

Create new accounts with an OCLC method that supports self-creation of authenticated accounts
Use existing accounts with an OCLC link to your institution's existing authentication service, if it is compatible.

Authentication requirements

Method	Authentication requirements	Additional information
LDAP	External-facing IP/server name accessible from outside your network Needs to be secure LDAP (LDAPS or LDAP with StartTLS) Ability to open firewall to list of OCLC IP addresses LDAP server must be running on port 636 Root CA certificate from your LDAP server (if your certificate is self-signed or not issued by a major certificate authority). The implementation team will alert you if a certificate is required. Test account required	Accounts are created automatically when patrons log in to Discovery for the first time Library staff can see patron accounts in WorldShare Admin (names and email addresses) Patrons are greeted with their first name in Discovery upon login
CAS	Permit access from test and production OCLC URLs Supply CAS server URLs GET requests are not currently supported Test account required	Accounts are created automatically when patrons log in to Discovery for the first time Accounts will work to authenticate patrons only. No patron name or email address will be visible with the account. Library staff will not be able to see patrons' names or email addresses in WorldShare Admin. All accounts will display as "Not Supplied" as the name. Patrons will not see their first names in Discovery upon login
SAML (includes Shibboleth, AD FS, Azure, Google SAML, Okta, etc.)	SAML 2.0 or above Exchange or Shibboleth-related metadata between OCLC and your institution Persistent ID which will be presented from Assertion/Subject/NameID from your SAML response OR If you cannot send a persistent ID in the Subject/NameID, provide the name of an attribute that can be set as a unique, persistent value Test account required	Accounts are created automatically when patrons log in to Discovery for the first time Library staff can see patron accounts in WorldShare Admin (names and email addresses) Patrons are greeted with their first name in Discovery upon login For Azure only: Accounts will work to authenticate patrons only. No patron name or email address will be visible with the account. Library staff will not be able to see the patrons' names or email addresses in WorldShare Admin. All accounts will display as "Not Supplied" as the name. Patrons will not see their first names in Discovery upon login
User self-registration (without a connection to an authentication system)	You must require a specific, unique value from each patron (could be an institutional username, barcode, student ID, or email address); this value will be used by patrons when logging in.	Library staff can see patron accounts in WorldShare Admin (names, usernames, and email addresses) Patrons are greeted with their first name in Discovery upon login Not recommended for libraries considering a move to WorldShare Management Services (WMS)

Note: These logon options are not available to Group Catalogs using WorldCat Discovery.

Add a link to your library's OPAC

Enable links so that users can go from a search result to an item record in your OPAC. See:

Configure links to your online catalog

Configure ILL features

Configure WorldShare ILL Request Form

For WorldShare ILL libraries, configure your request form and customize elements of the form for your library users to provide access and request any item via WorldShare ILL from WorldCat Discovery.

For more information, see WorldShare ILL Request Form.

Use the WorldShare ILL Request Form as a blank form to support users who want to place an ILL request without first finding an item. Create a new custom link and populate the URL field with the registered OpenURL resolver your library created when configuring the WorldShare ILL Form. Refer to Custom Links for more information. The blank form will display in the Resources drop-down menu for users.

Add a patron facing ILL button

WorldCat Discovery supports: WorldShare ILL, Tipasa, ILLiad, and OpenURL-compliant forms (OpenURL 1.0).

Sign in to OCLC Service Configuration.
Navigate to WorldCat Discovery and WorldCat Local > Place Hold/Request Buttons.
Follow the instructions to: Add a button that takes your patrons to your interlibrary loan form.
Continue to the next section on this page for instructions to add a proxy and a prompt for patrons' remote access options.

Watch a video

Configure patron-initiated ILL request in WorldCat Discovery

Add a custom chat widget

If your library offers online reference service, configure your custom links to open a chat widget in a new window when the link or chat area is clicked.

Sign in to OCLC Service Configuration.
Navigate to WorldCat Discovery and WorldCat Local > User interface options.
Enter information for Custom link 1:
1. Link type: Select library contact info
2. Display Chat Widget: To display the chat widget for patrons, select Yes.
3. Using a different reference service, such as LibAnswers?
  - You can display a different chat widget by pasting a code snippet in the Chat code box provided
    - Chat code: When copying and pasting a code snippet, ensure that it is copied directly from the source. When the code is copied from an e-mail or text document, carriage returns can sometimes be entered which will cause the code to fail.
    - Display text: Create a custom text label of your choice (limit 24 characters).
    - Click test URL to confirm that the widget appears as desired.

Note: The recommended size for the widget is 185 pixels wide x 275 pixels high. URLs referenced within the chat widget code must utilize HTTPS to avoid mixed content warnings raised by most modern web browsers, which could render the chat widget inoperable.

Add a Custom Notification

Configure a custom message to display to your library users in WorldCat Discovery and in My Account and notify them of important information.

To configure a Custom Notification, see Display Settings, Custom Notification.