WorldCat Discovery release notes, 18 June 2025
Release Date: June 18, 2025
Introduction
This release of WorldCat Discovery includes the following enhancements as well as bug fixes:
- View Accessibility Content and Accessibility Note on the item details page with MARC 341 and MARC 532 fields
- View a modernized place hold form
Many of these enhancements are the direct result of your feedback.
Recommended actions
For this release, we recommend that you review the following so that you can adjust your policies and workflows and train your staff.
Recall feature removed from WorldCat Discovery
The recall request feature will be removed from WorldCat Discovery with this release.
Enhanced recall functionality is now available in WMS Circulation, allowing libraries to manage recalls with greater control and flexibility.
For setup details and feature information, see the WMS Circulation release notes, May 2025.
New features and enhancements
View Accessibility Content and Accessibility Note on the item details page with MARC 341 and MARC 532 fields
Overview
Users can now view accessibility-related information on the Item Details page in WorldCat Discovery through the addition of MARC 341 (Accessibility Content) and MARC 532 (Accessibility Note) fields. These updates help users quickly identify whether a title includes specific accessibility features.
Details
When available in a bibliographic record, these fields display as follows:
MARC 341: Accessibility Content
This field highlights the types of accessibility features included in a title. Displayed subfields (in order):
• $3 – Materials specified
• $a – Content access mode
• $b – Textual assistive features
• $c – Visual assistive features
• $d – Auditory assistive features
• $e – Tactile assistive features
The default display label is “Accessibility Content,” but it can be optionally configured as “Access Mode and Assistive Features.” This field is promoted by default and can be reordered in settings.
MARC 532: Accessibility Note
This field provides a summary of the item's overall accessibility. Displayed subfields (in order):
• $3 – Materials specified
• $a – Summary of accessibility
The default display label is “Accessibility Note,” but it can be optionally configured as “Accessibility Summary.” This field is also promoted by default and can be reordered in settings.
Configuration
To adjust the display order of these fields, go to: Service Configuration > WorldCat Discovery and WorldCat Local > Item Detail Settings > Reorder Data Fields.
View a modernized place hold form
Overview
The Place Hold form in WorldCat Discovery has been modernized to align with the look and feel of other updated areas of the site. While the form functions the same, this update improves visual consistency and prepares the page for future enhancements.
Details
Users will notice minor styling changes that improve accessibility, spacing, alignment, and overall consistency with other modernized pages in WorldCat Discovery.
Functionality remains the same overall.
Configuration
No configuration changes are required. The updated form will appear automatically for all users.
Bug fixes
Consistent availability of sort order across languages
The availability table now retains the correct sort order when switching between English and Chinese interfaces. Previously, changing the interface language caused the sort order to shift unexpectedly.
Correct subfield order for MARC 700, 710, and 711 fields
The display order of subfields in the MARC 700, 710, and 711 fields now follows the correct sequence. Previously, these fields showed subfields in the wrong order, which did not align with MARC formatting standards.
Incorrect holdings display for Central Index records
Users will no longer see Central Index (CI) records incorrectly displaying availability at Level Two or Level Three when no holdings exist at those levels. Previously, some CI articles appeared to be held at Level Two or Three, even when the item's true availability was only at Level One or not held at all. This occurred because the system was incorrectly checking journal-level group holdings instead of the specific item-level holding.
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.
