WorldCat Discovery release notes, December 2020
Release Date: [December 16, 2020]
Introduction
This release of WorldCat Discovery provides a number of new features and enhancements in addition to some bug fixes:
- A preview of the redesigned WorldCat Discovery interface
- Additional subfield data that displays the heading names and title related fields are now exposed in the record detail
- Specific copy notes on the place hold form will now accurately reflect configuration when enabled/disabled
- Pickup Locations with special characters such as “+” will display correctly in the WorldCat Discovery place hold form
- Non-Open Access links will display correctly and accurately reflect configuration
Many of these enhancements are the direct result of your feedback.
Recommended actions
For this release, we recommend that you review the below checklists and complete the relevant tasks so that you can adjust your policies and workflows and train your staff. These checklists identify updates that we have determined as significant for most institutions. We encourage you to review all of the items in the release notes to determine whether there are other items that might require additional action or follow up by your institution.
Administrative actions
These items require immediate action or decisions:
- Familiarize yourself with your library’s preview of the redesigned WorldCat Discovery interface.
- Review the list of current and planned features for the modernized interface on the Resources page of the new WorldCat Discovery Modernization community site.
- Submit your ideas - Feedback, enhancements, defects through the Community Center Enhancements page with the WorldCat Discovery Modernization tag.
Follow-up actions
In an effort to keep your staff informed of new features and changes, you may also want to consider these items:
| Action |
|---|
|
New features and enhancements
WorldCat Discovery Redesign Preview Available
We are thrilled to announce that all WorldCat Discovery institutions can now access the redesigned interface. This updated interface is designed to provide a frictionless user experience that help users more intuitively find and access your library’s resources. The redesign includes the WorldCat Discovery landing, search results and item details pages.
Landing page
Search Results
Item Details
The modernized interface includes new features such as:
- Compliance with WCAG 2.1 accessibility guidelines
- Indicators of search relevance
- Updated header and footer
- Availability of local editions and formats on search results
- Improved availability display when multiple holdings are present
A list of current and planned features is available on the Resources page of the new WorldCat Discovery Modernization community site.
Access your library’s preview at your WorldCat Discovery URL followed by “/v2”. For example, [library name].on.worldcat.org/v2. For resources on the redesigned interface, please log into the WorldCat Discovery Community Center and click on the Modernization tab. You may also access the new community directly at oc.lc/community-modern. Any suggestions, issues, or feedback should be submitted as an enhancement request with the tag “WorldCat Discovery Modernization”.
Additional subfield data ($b, $c, $d, $k and $q) is now exposed to display the name headings and other existing subfield data
Existing data in subfields $b, $c, $d, $k and $q will be added to the display for the name fields 100,110, 111, 700, 710, 711, 600, 610, and 611 in order to facilitate identification and differentiation of those names. Details regarding this enhancement can be found below.
- Name headings are identified as fields 100, 110, 111, 700, 710, 711, 600, 610, 611.
- WorldCat Discovery will begin displaying subfields $b, $c, $d, $k and $q in these name headings.
- Users will see a hyperlink display in the WorldCat Discovery interface if any of these subfields $a, $b, $c, $d, and $q (for the fields mentioned above) are used. When these hyperlinks are selected a new search will be executed using the Boolean operator “AND” for those subfields present.
- MARC fields 1xx and 7xx that have subfield $n that comes before subfield $t will be part of the "au=" index
- Hyperlinks will be based off metadata in MARC fields 100, 110, 111, 700, 710 and 711 using the "au=" index for subfields a, q, b, c, d, & n. Subfield $e will also be included for only MARC fields 111 and 711.
- Hyperlinks will also be created for metadata in MARC fields 600, 610, 611 using the "su=" index for subfields a, q, b, c, d, k, n, v, x, y, and z. Subfield $e will also be included for only MARC field 611.
Note: This enhancement is available in the current WorldCat Discovery interface.
Current Display
New Display (w December Install)
Additional title-related subfields (700, 710 and 711) is now exposed in the record detail
The following will be displayed in the Description section with the label "Includes:"
Fields 100, 110, 111, 700, 710, or 711 should display and search the following title-related subfields:
- 100 $t (Subfield ǂt is unlikely to be used in field 100)
- 110 $t (Subfield ǂt is unlikely to be used in field 110)
- 111 $t (Subfield ǂt is unlikely to be used in field 111)
- 700 $g, $k, $m, $n, $o, $p, $r, $s, $t
- 710 $d, $g, $k, $m, $n, $o, $p, $r, $s, $t
- 711 $g, $k, $m, $n, $o, $p, $r, $s, $t
Fields 700, 710, and 711 should display but not search subfield $l
This hyperlink has been created on subfield $a for 100, 110, 111, 700, 710 and 711 with searching the "au=" index for subfield $a and searching the "ti:" index for subfields above.
Note: This enhancement is available in the current WorldCat Discovery interface.
Current Display
New Display (w December Install)
Bug fixes
Specific copy notes on place hold form will accurately reflect configuration
Prior to this release, users reported that when they disabled the setting to display specific copy notes on the place Hold form (worldcat.org/config>WorldCat Discovery and WorldCat Local>Place Hold/Request Button Module>Display Specific Copy/Volume request type>Display hold notes field on Specific Copy/Volume), the setting was ignored, and the hold notes fields continued to display on the specific copy place hold form. After this release, this setting will be honored, and when it is disabled users will no longer see hold notes on specific copy requests as in the image below.
Pickup Locations with special characters such as “+” will display correctly in the WorldCat Discovery place hold form
After this release, pickup locations that include a special character such as “+” will correctly display in the WorldCat Discovery place hold form. Prior to this release, those pick-up locations would not correctly display on the page.
Non-Open Access links will display correctly and accurately reflect configuration
Prior to this release, when multiple electronic links were present on a WorldCat record and a user had configured only a certain subset of Open Access links to display in OCLC Service Configuration settings for links from WorldCat records (worldcat.org/config> WorldCat Discovery and WorldCat Local>Full Text and Open Access Links>Links from WorldCat Record 856 and 956 to open access content), non-open access links displayed incorrectly. This will be corrected so only those link types selected in Service Configuration will display.
New Content
This is a list of new databases added to WorldCat Discovery and WorldCat.org since our last update.
You can enable these databases as search options in the Licensed Content and Databases module of the OCLC Service Configuration site. Please remember that your library must have a valid subscription to these databases in order to enable them.
The complete list of databases is available at https://help.oclc.org/@api/deki/files/6370/contentlisttargetID.xlsx
Available in WorldCat Discovery and WorldCat.org
From Brill
- Encyclopaedia Iranica Online - The Encyclopædia Iranica is dedicated to the study of Iranian civilization in the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Indian Subcontinent.
- Neues System der philosophischen Wissenschaften im Grundriss Online - The time of the "philosophical systems" seems to have finally passed since Kant and Hegel.
Available in WorldCat Discovery
From KUBIKAT
- KUBIKAT – Holdings of the Kubikat Consortium www.kubikat.org
Important links
Support website(s)
Support information for this product and related products can be found at:
Include Request ID with problem reports
When reporting an issue with WorldCat Discovery, it is extremely helpful to include the Request ID. The Request ID is found at the bottom of the screen on which the issue occurred. Including this information allows us to directly trace what happened on the request we are troubleshooting.
