Next Generation Melvyl Pilot – Important Changes with May Install
By Ellen Meltzer, Manager, Information Services
The enhancements listed below were brought into WorldCat Local by OCLC over the weekend of 5/17/09, with the exception of the first two items which are being undertaken for the Next Generation Melvyl (NGM) Pilot only. Because several of these require parallel changes on the UC side, you will see them implemented over the next two weeks, rather than immediately. Those that will be phased in are indicated with asterisks: **. These and additional changes are described in the attached PDF (http://libraries.universityofcalifornia.edu/about/oclc_docs/20090517_May_Install_Update_Notice.pdf) file.
For Next Generation Melvyl Pilot Users Only**
We’ve received a significant number of problem reports since the April WorldCat Local release regarding the UC-eLinks button appearing on records without electronic access. We will be changing the configuration so that the UC-eLinks button appears only when electronic materials or articles are available.
Because the Request feature in NGM is still in development, we will be enabling a “Request via UC-eLinks” button to ensure patrons can request interlibrary loan materials for books and journals. When Request is fully available, users will see the Request button you’ve come to know and love in the NGM interface.
Change default sort order**
It is now possible to set the default sort order for WorldCat Local. This is the sort order in which the search results will display; however, users can change the sort order during their session. This new feature allows us to set the default sort order to:
> Location/Relevance(default)
> Relevance only
> Author (A-Z)
> Title (A-Z)
> Date (Oldest First)
> Date (Newest First)
Important: The UC libraries will be changing the default sort to Relevance only. When this feature was tested in usability tests, users voiced a strong preference for seeing the most relevant items on a topic regardless of location vs. the most relevant items at the local campus.
“Ask A Librarian” icon added to tool bar on detailed record**
[Note: For UC patrons, this is currently “Get Help” instead of “Ask a Librarian” and we are investigating how this may work in the future. ]
If your library has configured an “ask a librarian” custom web link as one of the three links that now displays in the dropdown on the global header, a new icon will display on the tool bar (on the detailed record) with the print, cite, email options. When the user clicks on the icon a new window will open taking the user to the URL configured for the link.
Author Names and Links to OCLC Identities
The author links on detailed records will now conduct a search on those author names in the WorldCat Local database itself. Links to OCLC Identities will be moved down to the Details section under a drop-down selector. (This change reverses a feature that was brought in in OCLC’s April Install.)
E-mail Item Now with Editable Subject and Message
For e-mail messages sent from the e-mail option users can now customize the subject and message body fields. Users of this service in Next Gen Melvyl have requested this for some time.
WorldCat Library Profile Pages
You will now be able to view a library profile for each WorldCat library. From the list of libraries on the item details page and from your favorite libraries list in the user profile – you can access this new page with even more valuable information about a library including location and contact info, links to the library’s website, catalog and virtual reference. (Note: This information is pulled from the WorldCat Registry – library staff may want to check your WorldCat Registry information to make sure it is up to date. This is up to the campuses to do individually, separate from this project.)
The library profile will also include a list of recent items added to WorldCat by this library. WorldCat will create this list each month for item holding set the previous month – this list will be ordered by items with the most holdings across WorldCat.
If your library offers the WorldCat Local service, this page will let users know it is available and allow them to execute a search that takes them to your site for availability information and more.