Release Date: February 16, 2022
This release of WorldCat Discovery provides several new features and enhancements, including:
Many of these enhancements are the direct result of your feedback.
This release also includes numerous bug fixes.
Consider auditing your WorldCat Discovery search results and item details pages with the ‘Accessibility Insights for the Web’ tool to ensure that your branding choices are accessible.
On the item details page, users may now search within the availability table to locate and view the entries for certain volumes, years, or copies. This saves them from having to page through numerous sections of the table if it contains many volumes or items.
A new search box at the top of the availability table allows users to search across the data displayed in shelving location, call number and status columns of the table, including volume/issue numbers and dates.
Search availability for volume, year, or item
Availability searched for the year 1823
To better assess accessibility, we are now auditing WorldCat Discovery with a new tool: Accessibility Insights for the Web. You may also add this app to your browser to conduct audits at the institution level to ensure that your branding choices are accessible.
Learn more about the Accessibility Insights for Web tool here: https://accessibilityinsights.io/docs/en/web/overview/
View the presentation from an “Introduction to Accessibility for Web tool for WorldCat Discovery” webinar.
Note: OCLC is committed to inclusive design and accessible products for all. The Accessibility Insights for Web tool is not our legal conformance but provides a great visualization to help institutions make more accessible choices when customizing their branding. Please reference the OCLC accessibility policy to learn more.
The search results and item details pages now pass a “clean” check with this tool, resulting in zero failed instances and a more accessible experience for users.
We plan to audit future pages in the coming quarters. Please reference the WorldCat Discovery product roadmap for further communication.
After you’ve installed the Accessibility Insights for Web app, you should be able to access this extension to your browser and choose “FastPass”:
Previously, there were sub filters nested within each search filter which caused several failed instances. Screen readers were unable to announce every sub filter contained within the search filter. With this install, we’ve updated the search filters so that the sub filters are always expanded. You will only be able to collapse each search filter at the parent filter level.
BEFORE
AFTER
Similar to search results, when the edition and formats section is expanded, the sub filters nested within each search filter caused several failed instances. Screen readers were unable to announce every sub filter contained within the search filter. With this install, we’ve updated the search filters so that the sub filters are always expanded. You will only be able to collapse each search filter at the parent filter level.
BEFORE
AFTER
Some users prefer reduced motion in user interfaces and set this preference in their operating system. For example:
For these users, WorldCat Discovery now displays a static timer icon and text message ‘Loading…’ while elements of a page are loading rather than the standard animated spinners that indicate loading activity.
BEFORE
AFTER
For users navigating the WorldCat Discovery interface with a keyboard, the element on which they are currently focused will now be consistently highlighted using their browser default focus style. Previously, certain interface elements used institutional branding colors when in focus. This did not always signal sufficiently clearly to users that the element was their current focus.
BEFORE
AFTER
The language used on the place hold form “I want to use items from *” was often confusing to users and resulted in resources being sent to the incorrect pickup location. With this install, we’ve updated the text to “I want to pick up at” to reduce user confusion and promote successful delivery of resources.
BEFORE
AFTER
WorldCat Discovery libraries in Germany may now configure a resource sharing button that will direct users to place their interlibrary loan request via one of three regional union catalogues: Bavaria (BVB), Berlin-Brandenburg (KOBV) or Baden-Württemberg (BSZ). These union catalogue request forms provide a gateway for users to place requests into the nationwide cross-network interlibrary loan system, Zentraler Fernleihserver (ZFL-Server) (ZFL).
The new ZFL Gateway button type is available for selection within Service Configuration -> WorldCat Discovery and WorldCat Local -> Place Hold/Request Buttons -> Resource Sharing (Any Level)
Within the availability table on the item details page, item level notes now display only with the appropriate single item. Local Holdings Record (LHR) level notes now display only with items on the appropriate LHR. Previously some item level or LHR level notes were displayed on all items on all LHRs.
To achieve the above correct association of notes, all item level and LHR level notes now display in the availability table call number column.
The following table summarizes note levels, their source data, display location and display context.
|
Notes |
Display location |
Display details |
Source |
1 |
Shelving location note |
shelving location column |
On all items for that shelving location |
Service Configuration > WorldCat Discovery and WorldCat Local > Holding Codes & Shelving Location Messages |
2 |
LHR level notes |
call number column |
On all items in the LHR |
852 $z |
3 |
LHR item level notes |
call number column |
On single item |
876/877/878 $z |
4 |
LHR item structure holding notes |
call number column |
On all items in the LHR |
863/864/865 $z |
5 |
LHR item unstructured holding notes |
call number column |
On all items in the LHR |
866/867/868 $z |
6 |
LHR item level note 2nd LHR |
call number column |
On all items in the LHR |
562 $a |
7 |
Retention notes "committed to retain" (shared print) |
call number column |
On all items in the LHR |
583 $a |
When a local bibliographic data (LBD) 590 local note is coded as private with first indicator value = 0, WorldCat Discovery now honors this setting and does not display the note. 590 local notes coded as public with first indicator value = 1 will continue to display.
Previously private local notes were displayed.
When users change their interface language by selecting from the language menu in the footer of WorldCat Discovery pages, all interface elements will now consistently display in the chosen language. Previously, in certain scenarios, interface elements were displayed in a mix of more than one language. Examples included:
Changes that you make to the OPAC status grid in Service Configuration > WorldCat Discovery and WorldCat Local > OPAC Statuses, Locations and Circulation Policies > Item Availability from OPAC will now save successfully regardless of the language of your status messages.
Previously, some libraries were receiving an error message when saving changes to the OPAC status grid. This occurred when the changes included status messages that exceeded a certain number of characters in length. This tended to happen in certain languages in which words or phrases used for status messages are naturally longer.
Library administrators using OCLC Service Configuration in languages other than English will now see all interface text, instructions and labels in their chosen language when using modules with WorldCat Discovery and WorldCat Local to configure their instance of WorldCat Discovery.
Previously, certain fixed strings of text displayed in English to all users, regardless of their chosen interface language.
If you have created a print serial collection in the WorldCat knowledge base using Collection Manager and have not supplied a title URL for some of the titles in the collection, those titles will now display as plain text rather than linked text in your A-Z title list.
Previously, a print serial title with no title URL displayed as a hot linked title in the A-Z list. Clicking this title simply returned users to the A-Z page on which they had clicked the title.
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 OCLC Service Configuration. 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 here.
Support information for this product and related products can be found at:
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.