Release Date: May 24, 2023
The following release notes are for the MAY 24, 2023 release of WorldCat Discovery.
This release of WorldCat Discovery includes the following enhancements as well as a bug fix:
Many of these changes are a direct result of your feedback.
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.
WorldCat Discovery libraries using WorldShare ILL are invited to configure the new WorldShare ILL request form. This new form is highly customizable to support library and patron needs.
For more information on how to configure this new experience, please see the WorldShare ILL release notes, May 2023.
This form replaces the WorldCat Discovery Request Form for WorldShare ILL customers using WorldCat Discovery. The WorldCat Discovery Request Form will be officially retired on July 31, 2023. We recommend you configure the new WorldShare ILL form in advance of that date so your library can benefit from the new experience as soon as possible.
If you are unable to switch to the new form in advance of July 31st, we will move your library to the new form on that date to ensure continuous access to ILL for your library and its users.
This release of WorldCat Discovery includes configuration and display of four additional MARC fields:
To configure these fields in WorldCat Discovery, navigate to Service Configuration > WorldCat Discovery and WorldCat Local > Item Detail Settings > Reorder Data Fields.
These MARC fields are all in the “Promote to View” column in Service Configuration by default, so will display for your library upon release without any action. However, your library can further configure these fields in a few ways:
The next sections include more specific information about these new MARC fields, as well as examples of how they will be displayed in WorldCat Discovery.
This release includes the ability to configure and display the MARC 026 “fingerprint identifier” field.
The screenshot below shows the fingerprint identifier on an item detail page in WorldCat Discovery.
The fingerprint identifier will display in two ways in WorldCat Discovery, depending on which MARC data has been populated in the bibliographic record:
Also included in this release is the ability to configure and display the MARC 340 “physical medium”.
The screenshot below shows the “physical medium” display on an item detail page in WorldCat Discovery.
For the MARC 340, the following subfields will display in the order they are entered: $a, $b, $c, $d, $e, $f, $g, $h, $j, $k, $l, $m, $n, $o, $1, and $6.
For MARC records with multiple 340 entries, each entry will be separated by a blank line. Additionally, each subfield will be displayed on a separate line.
Note: the $1 will display as a clickable link.
With this release, libraries can configure and display the MARC 545 “biographical or historical data”.
The screenshot below shows the “biographical or historical data” display on an item detail page in WorldCat Discovery.
The MARC 545 will display $a, $b, $u, and $6 in the listed order if data exists in those subfields. If there is a $u present, it will be displayed as a clickable link for the user.
Libraries will also be able to configure and display the MARC 585 “exhibition note”.
The screenshot below shows the “exhibition note” display on an item detail page in WorldCat Discovery.
The Exhibition Note will display $3 and $a (in listed order) on the item details page.
Note: We plan to implement the $5 for the MARC 585 with the June release of WorldCat Discovery, to enable users to see the institution an exhibition note applies to. Please monitor release notes and Community Center communications for the date of this release and additional details about how the $5 will display for the MARC 585.
With this release, a rounded result count will display consistently on search results in WorldCat Discovery.
The result count at the top of the page and the selected count in Search Results Display will match one another as a user chooses to “Show all,” “Hide duplicates,” or “Group editions and formats.” Additionally, these counts will update with one another as the user narrows their search further.
Previously on search results, books would sometimes show as held at Level 1 if another book in the edition cluster was locally held. When a user clicked through to the item details page, they would be presented with alternate information showing the book as not held at the user’s library. With this release, this issue will no longer surface on search results.
More product information can be found here.
Support information for this product and related products can be found at:
If you have additional questions, please contact OCLC Customer Service by calling 1-800-848-5800 or 1-614-793-8682 Monday – Friday 7 a.m. – 9p.m. ET, or email support@oclc.org. For support enquiries in the UK and Ireland, please contact the Support Desk by calling +44-(0)114-281 60 42 or e-mailing support-uk@oclc.org. Support is available between the hours of 09:00 and 17:30 (UK Time).