WorldCat Discovery release notes, May 24, 2023

WorldCat Discovery May Release Highlights  

This release of WorldCat Discovery includes the following enhancements as well as a bug fix: 

• Display additional bibliographic data for the following MARC fields:  
  • 026 (Fingerprint Identifier)  
  • 340 (Physical Medium)  
  • 545 (Biographical or Historical Data) 
  • 585 (Exhibition Note) 
• Consistently receive a rounded search result count 

Many of these changes are a direct result of your feedback.

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.  

Configure the new WorldShare ILL request form 

WorldCat Discovery libraries using WorldShare ILL are invited to configure the new WorldShare ILL request form. This new form is highly customizable to support library and patron needs. 

For more information on how to configure this new experience, please see the WorldShare ILL release notes, May 2023. 

This form replaces the WorldCat Discovery Request Form for WorldShare ILL customers using WorldCat Discovery. The WorldCat Discovery Request Form will be officially retired on July 31, 2023. We recommend you configure the new WorldShare ILL form in advance of that date so your library can benefit from the new experience as soon as possible.  

If you are unable to switch to the new form in advance of July 31^st, we will move your library to the new form on that date to ensure continuous access to ILL for your library and its users. 

Display additional MARC bibliographic data in WorldCat Discovery

This release of WorldCat Discovery includes configuration and display of four additional MARC fields:  

• 026 (Fingerprint Identifier)  
• 340 (Physical Medium)  
• 545 (Biographical or Historical Data) 
• 585 (Exhibition Note) 

To configure these fields in WorldCat Discovery, navigate to Service Configuration > WorldCat Discovery and WorldCat Local > Item Detail Settings > Reorder Data Fields. 

These MARC fields are all in the “Promote to View” column in Service Configuration by default, so will display for your library upon release without any action. However, your library can further configure these fields in a few ways: 

1. Reorder these fields to change their display order in WorldCat Discovery item details. 
2. Demote these fields from view, so only users who select “More Item Details” on item details will see them. 
3. Select an alternate display label. Currently, “Physical Medium,” “Fingerprint Identifier,” and “Biographical or Historical Data” each have one display label option. However, “Exhibitions” can have a display label of either “Exhibitions” or “Exhibition Note” depending on library configuration. 

The next sections include more specific information about these new MARC fields, as well as examples of how they will be displayed in WorldCat Discovery. 

Consistently receive a rounded search result count 

With this release, a rounded result count will display consistently on search results in WorldCat Discovery.  

The result count at the top of the page and the selected count in Search Results Display will match one another as a user chooses to “Show all,” “Hide duplicates,” or “Group editions and formats.” Additionally, these counts will update with one another as the user narrows their search further. 

Books no longer incorrectly show on search results as held at Level 1 when another item in the edition cluster is held 

Previously on search results, books would sometimes show as held at Level 1 if another book in the edition cluster was locally held. When a user clicked through to the item details page, they would be presented with alternate information showing the book as not held at the user’s library. With this release, this issue will no longer surface on search results.