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Personalize your Discovery interface

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Learn how to add a logo, custom links, chat widget, and a custom notification to your WorldCat Discovery interface.

Change or add a logo

To change or add a logo to your WorldCat Discovery interface, sign in to OCLC Service Configuration and navigate to WorldCat Discovery and WorldCat Local > User interface options.

Under Logo Settings, enter the following information:

Field Action
Logo image URL

If your WorldCat.org currently does not have a logo image, or if you would like to replace the current logo image, provide a URL to an image of your institution’s logo. The logo image cannot exceed 80 pixels in height and 275 pixels in width. Match the background color of this image to your logo background color to mimic a screen-width banner.

 Note: Images larger than this will automatically be resized.

For the best user experience, we recommend configuring a secure image (beginning with "https://”). If the logo image uses “http://” but your user is accessing your customized URL via a secured URL, the logo image will not display in the header. In this case, users will see your text from the Alt-text for the logo field in place of the logo image.

After adding your logo, click test URL to confirm your choice.
Home page URL Type the URL for the page where the user is sent when they click the logo image.
Logo alternative text

Type text that will appear when the cursor hovers over the logo.

 Note: Make sure that the colors used for Alt-text for the logo and Text to appear with logo are descriptive, and the colors are a good combination with the banner color.

Add custom links to your banner

To add custom links to your WorldCat Discovery banner, sign in to OCLC Service Configuration and navigate to WorldCat Discovery and WorldCat Local > User interface options.

Choose up to 7 custom links to appear in the banner. Provide the URLs, link type and accompanying text for up to 7 custom web links (e.g., links leading to your library home page, Ask a Librarian, or the patron account)
There is a 25-character limit on the text for each link.

 Note: If you wish to allow remote access outside your IP address, one of your custom links must be to your remote access page, and you must choose remote access login as the link type.

Custom link How to configure
Custom link: Display Chat Widget

Create this link if you want to provide a link to a chat widget.

You must use Custom link 1. The chat widget will open in a new window when the Chat link is clicked in WorldCat Local.

  • Link type: Select library contact info
  • Display Chat Widget: To display the chat widget for patrons, select Yes.

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.

 Note: When using Custom link 1 to provide a chat widget, you will not be able to use the test URL option. The test URL option will display an error for the Chat code as this is not a URL. If using Custom link 1 for a URL, the test URL option will work as expected.  
Custom link: A to Z list

Create this link to allow patrons to discover electronic journals held within the WorldCat knowledge base.

  • Link type: Select other
  • URL: Use the URL as shown in WorldCat Discovery and WorldCat Local > A - Z List and OCLC Link Resolver. Enter the following URL format: http://[library].on.worldcat.org/atoztitles
  • Display text: Create a custom text label of your choice
    • Optional. To include translated display text:
      1. Click Add Translations. The text is expanded to display additional fields.
      2. Select a Language from the drop-down list and enter Custom Text in the text field.
      3. Optional. Click Add Translations to add additional translations.
        • Translated language options include Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Maori, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Swedish, Thai and Traditional Chinese.
Custom link: Proxy

Create this link if you have a proxy service that allows off-site staff users outside your IP address to access restricted library content and services.

  • Link type: Select remote access login
  • URL: Enter your library's proxy URL. Use this format if your library uses EZproxy: http://ezproxy.oclc.org/login?url=
    You might need to check Append current URL to the end of this link
  • Display text: Create a custom text label of your choice
    • Optional. To include translated display text:
      1. Click Add Translations. The text is expanded to display additional fields.
      2. Select a Language from the drop-down list and enter Custom Text in the text field.
      3. Optional. Click Add Translations to add additional translations.
        • Translated language options include Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Maori, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Swedish, Thai and Traditional Chinese.

When a resource is selected from WorldCat Discovery that requires remote authentication, staff will see a box that says Authentication Required and includes a link to sign in. Patron accounts should sign in with their username and password and do not need to remotely authenticate to view restricted content. Refer to Enable end-user sign in for more information.

For more information, see EZproxy documentation. If your library's authentication is managed through a service other than EZproxy, you will want to confirm the URL format with the proxy vendor.

See Collections/databases in WorldCat Discovery that require authentication before searching to view databases that require this configuration.
Custom Link: Other Provide additional custom web links for your institution.

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.

  1. Sign in to OCLC Service Configuration.
  2. Navigate to WorldCat Discovery and WorldCat Local > User interface options.
  3. 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

WorldCat_Discovery_Custom_Notification.png

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

To configure a Custom Notification:

  1. Enable the Display customized notification setting.
  2. Enter the text of your Notification Message.
    • 500 character limit.
    • Optional. Type ${Link!} to display the Notification Link Display Text in your Notification Message.
  3. Optional. Add Translation for the Notification Message.
    1. Select the desired language from the drop-down.
    2. Add Custom Text to display when the user has selected this language in the WorldCat Discovery interface.
  4. Enter the Notification Link Display Text.
  5. Optional. Add Translation for the Notification Link Display Text.
    1. Select the desired language from the drop-down.
    2. Add Custom Text to display when the user has selected this language in the WorldCat Discovery interface.
  6. Enter the Notification Link URL.
  7. Click Save.