Discovery updates 5/10/2019

Created by Emily Toner
Last updated: May 14, 2019
2 min read

Yesterday on May 9th, Paley Library officially closed in preparation for the move to Charles Library. Along with that momentous occasion, the Library Search team released a set of important updates. For details, see the Blacklight 3/9/219 release notes.

First and foremost, this release includes changes to address the library discovery needs for the Summer 2019 semester, when the majority of the main campus collections will be inaccessible. We’ve temporarily changed the item displays to make it clear which collections are not available pending the move and have updated the request feature accordingly. We’ve also made improvements to the EZBorrow lookup feature in the Library Search, so that patrons can more easily request items from other institutions.

In addition to these interim changes, the Library Search dev team has also completed several long-term goals that we have been working over the course of the spring semester. We’ve upgraded the core Blacklight application that we use (see https://github.com/projectblacklight/blacklight), which among other things has improved the overall look and feel of the site. We’ve also updated the availability displays for physical items, including the addition of a “See More” button replacing the scroll bar and pagination features for a better user experience.

Behind the scenes over past couple of months, we’ve also made improvements to our indexing processes for Alma records and to our overall infrastructure. This included the introduction of Airflow and an in-depth auditing of publishing/harvesting process for Alma incremental updates. This work will continue to develop over the course of the summer (see the “TACOCAT” proposal for details on one project we’re working towards).

Between now and the opening of Charles Library, we will continue to coordinate our goals with the priorities for the new building, including the preparations for introduction of the ASRS and the launch of new website. We will be:

  • Updating the request functionality in the Library Search for ASRS retrievals

  • Integrating Databases A-Z and new web content into the Library Search and updating the “bento-box” display for all collections

  • Adding a basic call number browse, while starting to investigate new options for the exploration of our records and collections

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.