On 11/20, Library Technology Development released a Blacklight update for the Library Search: see the release notes for the full details.
This fall, the core Blacklight team has also been working with Jackie Sipes and the newly created Website & Library Search User Experience Research Group to respond to some of the navigational issues reported with the Library Search, especially when moving between the catalog and articles results. The UX group designed a prototype, which included the following major changes:
A new navigation menu bar so that users can easily toggle between results in Books, Articles, Journals, and More search views
Persistence of basic queries across these search views so that the user does not have to re-execute their search query
Design changes to filters to provide visual cues and expanded search functionality to users
These changes have been implemented by the Blacklight dev team and can be previewed on our test site: libqa.library.temple.edu/catalog (please note that this requires a TU secure ethernet connection to access and may include other work in development). The UX group recently conducted user testing on these updates, and our current plan is to roll out these changes in production before the winter break.
We also continue to work on the other major updates/features currently in development, including the integration of the E-ZBorrow requests and the Databases A-Z list into the Library Search. We are also regularly responding to other issues reported by library staff and patrons. Library staff may continue to provide input about the Library Search via tul-web-support@temple.edu and/or our public feedback form.
Added call number field to Advanced Catalog Search options
Added new record display fields, including SCRC collecting areas and separate mappings for production, distribution, and manufacture information
Modified search relevancy for further boost uniform titles, add more synonyms, and refine ISBN/ISSN searching
Updated date facet styling and labels
Fixed bug related to subject links and binding note displays
Fixed bug so that holdings/items suppressed from discovery in Alma no longer appear in Blacklight
Fixed minor display issues related to My Library Account, request forms, and the availability section
Updated Blacklight to version 6.16
The next release will be in early December with additional updates, outlined in Discovery updates 11/2/2018.
Over the last month, the Blacklight team has made significant progress in addressing outstanding bugs/issues while starting to tackle new features/priorities with the support of the new “Product Owner” Sandi Thompson and other partners. Below is a list of major Blacklight updates in the last month and additional issues/components that we have been working on in October.
Major updates to production site from 9/22 to 11/2
Released major Blacklight update on 10/3: see the release notes for details
Fixed availability display bug for records with 100+ items
Fixed date facet bug in Articles Search
Updated pickup location options for requests when a specific item (ex. journal volume) must be sent from a different location
Updated due date displays in My Library Account from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) to Eastern Standard Time (EST)
Major updates/features currently in development
Navigation updates to user interface: The core Blacklight team has been working with Jackie Sipes and the newly created Website & Library Search User Experience Research Group to respond to some of the navigational issues reported with the Library Search, especially when moving between the catalog and articles results. In particular, we are developing a new menu bar for “Books,” “Articles,” “Journals,” and “More” search results. The group recently conducted user testing on these updates, and we will sharing out more information as we get closer to going live with the changes.
New request options: The core Blacklight team has also begun to develop a more direct integration with E-ZBorrow and is building a proof-of-concept for requesting the purchase of select online materials via Blacklight.
Fixes related to display of physical items and electronic resources, including suppressed holdings, the addition of the summary holdings field (MARC 866), and the addition of electronic service/collection notes
Updates to Alma-Blacklight metadata mappings and ongoing improvements to search relevancy
New approach to citation generation for catalog records, with more accurate results
Note that this list is not comprehensive. We are also regularly responding to other issues reported by library staff and patrons. Library staff may continue to provide input about the Library Search via tul-web-support@temple.edu and/or our public feedback form.