WorldCat Discovery release notes, 16 July 2025
Release Date: July 16, 2025
Introduction
This release of WorldCat Discovery includes the following enhancements as well as bug fixes:
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Iterate on complex searches with redesigned Advanced Search: navigating from search results to Advanced Search now retains search selections (all libraries rollover)
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Search relevancy indicators available when te index and hs index searches are executed
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Improved subfield labelling of MARC field 341 Accessibility Content
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View enhanced Central Index clustering, reducing duplication for ~387 million records
Many of these enhancements are the direct result of your feedback.
New features and enhancements
Iterate on complex searches with redesigned Advanced Search: navigating from search results to Advanced Search now retains search selections (all libraries rollover)
The new Advanced Search page is now the default for all users. After a successful opt-in period, we've fully rolled out the redesigned page. The legacy Advanced Search page will no longer be available.
Details
The redesigned Advanced Search offers a cleaner, more intuitive experience that makes it easier for users to build and refine complex searches. It also introduces several configuration options, giving libraries greater control over how the page appears and functions for their users.
With these enhancements, users can now:
• Experience a modern, responsive, and accessible interface with improved navigation, tabbing, and screen reader compatibility
• Build and modify complex queries more easily without needing to start over
• Apply filters that persist when moving between search results and Advanced Search
• Use a broader set of search indexes and limiters tailored to the databases selected
• Easily manage selected databases with clearer visibility into current selections, full database names, and descriptions
• Filter results more precisely by selecting multiple values for format, content type, language, document type, record status and record type
• Choose a sort order for results directly from the Advanced Search page
• Search without seeing the database selector when only one database is configured in Metasearch Content.
New configuration options allow libraries to:
• Set the default search indexes used on the Advanced Search page
• Promote up to five search indexes to appear at the top of the index dropdown for easier access
• Set the default sort order for Advanced Search results
• Customize the page title for the Advanced Search page
• Configure the default order of values in the format filter
Configuration
To customize the experience for your users, you can access the new settings here:
Service Configuration > WorldCat Discovery and WorldCat Local > Search Settings > Advanced search settings
Search relevancy indicators available when te index and hs index searches are executed
We've improved how search results are displayed by adding visual highlighting of matched terms in Primary Title and Sears subject searches. These highlights help users quickly confirm why a record was returned, making it easier to evaluate search results.
Details
When users search using the Primary Title (te:) or Sears subject (hs:) indexes, matched terms from their queries will now appear highlighted:
• On the search results page, matching terms in the title or subject fields are visually emphasized within the result tiles.
• On the item detail page, the same highlights are shown in the metadata sections to provide consistent context.
This example shows highlighting on the search results page for a te: index search
This example shows highlighting on the item details page for a hs: index search
Configuration
No action is needed to enable this feature.
Improved subfield labelling of MARC field 341 Accessibility Content
We’ve enhanced how accessibility-related information from MARC 341 is displayed in WorldCat Discovery.
Separate labelled lines more clearly distinguish between:
• The part of the material to which the accessibility information applies
• The mode required to access the content of the resource without using any of the assistive/adaptive features
• Assistive features and adaptations
Details
When available, Accessibility Content continues to appear in the item detail view and grouped based on its content type:
• Entries without a first indicator show inline without a heading.
• Entries with indicator 0 are grouped under "Primary content."
• Entries with indicator 1 are grouped under "Secondary content."
Each entry now displays relevant subfields on separate labelled lines when present in the MARC record:
• Material ($3)
• Access mode ($a)
• Assistive features ($b, $c, $d, $e)
Multiple entries within the same group are shown with spacing for readability. Subfields are shown in order and maintain original punctuation. If non-Latin script is present (via $6), the corresponding 880 field will also be shown.
Configuration
No action is needed to enable this feature.
View enhanced Central Index clustering, reducing duplication for ~387 million records
Users will now see fewer duplicate records when viewing search results for Central Index records. This update removes over 387 million duplicates, reducing repeated results and improving relevance.
Configuration
No action is needed to enable this feature.
Bug fixes
Improved accessibility for pop-up knowledge cards
The pop-up knowledge card now correctly closes when the Escape key is pressed, and focus moves to the next actionable element after the element that opened the card. Previously, pressing Escape either left the popup open (when opened with a mouse) or incorrectly reset focus to the top of the page (when opened with a keyboard). Screen readers now also announce when additional information is available for authors with linked profiles.
Links with non-Latin characters in 856 $3 or $y now display in Discovery
Links in the "More Information" section of WorldCat Discovery now display correctly when subfields $3 or $y in the MARC 856 field contain non-Latin characters. Previously, these links were missing from the interface if non-Latin script was present and the second indicator was 0.
Links with non-Latin characters in 856 $z now display correctly
Records that include non-Latin characters in the 856 $z field now correctly display under “More Information” in WorldCat Discovery. Previously, these links were missing when non-Latin text was present, even though Latin-script links displayed as expected. The issue only affected 856 fields in bibliographic records and did not impact local holdings records (LHRs), which displayed correctly.
Custom Advanced Search text now displays on My Account page
Custom advanced search display text now correctly appears in the header or footer of the My Account page. Previously, if a library had configured a custom name for the Advanced Search page, that text did not display as expected on the My Account page.
Place hold form is responsive on mobile devices
The Place Hold form now displays properly on mobile screens when users select the "Specific Copies or Volumes" option. Previously, the modernized form was not responsive on mobile devices, making it difficult to view or interact with form fields.
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 OCLC Service Configuration. Please remember that your library must have a valid subscription to these databases in order to enable them.
Below is a list of new database names and providers for reference. The complete list of databases is available at http://www.oclc.org/content/dam/oclc/worldcat-discovery/contentlist.xls
Available in WorldCat Discovery and WorldCat.org
CBS News Video Collection from Alexander Street - The CBS News Video Collection is a database of flagship news programming spanning 6 decades of journalistic coverage, including segments from 60 Minutes, Face the Nation, Eye On America, The Vietnam War, On the Road with Charles Kuralt, Brooklyn DA, and The Twentieth Century. Perfect for history, media studies, journalism, and social sciences students and scholars, this unique product provides an unparalleled look at American and World History events, as they were originally reported.
Paris Legal Publishers from Uitgeverij Paris - Paris Legal Publishers (Uitgeverij Paris) provides information and services tailored for legal professionals. The collection features journals available in both Dutch and English.
Shakespeare's Globe Video Collection from ABC-CLIO - A dynamic database providing students and educators of English and Drama with the unique opportunity to experience productions from the world-renowned Shakespeare’s Globe theater.
Women's History in the United States from ABC-CLIO - A digital resource dedicated to helping students examine women’s contributions, perspectives, and challenges from precontact times to the present.
Available in WorldCat Discovery
Gale In Context: Canada from Gale - Material spans the North American continent and includes Canadian and French first language publications. Discover topics on the First Nations, Confederation of Canada, Métis, Inuit, biographies of Canadian figures as well as information on technology, sports, industry, and more.
OpenAIRE from OpenAIRE - A collection of global open access research outputs.
Important links
Product website
More product information can be found here.
WorldCat Discovery events
Support websites
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.
