What's New: Changes in the Library Catalog
The Libraries have installed an update to the software that runs the library catalog. While you won't see many visual changes (the appearance of the catalog has not substantially changed), there are some differences in the way it works:
- Keyword searching has changed, and multiple words are no longer searched together as one phrase. Instead, multiple words are AND-ed together, like in Google. To search for an exact phrase, enclose your search words in quote marks. For example, global warming and "global warming" get different results.
- Keyword search results are now ranked by relevancy to bring the "best" results to the top. Results will appear in up to 5 groups, from most relevant at the top to least relevant at the bottom. See these search tips for more information.
- On search result pages, more information is shown for each item: uniform title, main title, main author, and publisher info, plus the location, call number, and status.
- You can now place multiple requests at one time: save items, by clicking the Save checkbox next to items on the search results screen, or by clicking Save Record when viewing the record for an item; click View Saved, then Multiple Requests. Fill in your name, WU ID number, and PIN, and choose a pickup location.
- Search results screens now show up to 50 items per page instead of 12.
Please note that this updated software has not yet been installed on the MOBIUS catalog. A multiple keyword search in that catalog is still searched as a phrase, not AND-ed, and the search results do not use the new relevancy ranking.
Date of announcement: 8/29/07