Hello everyone! If you are wondering why you haven’t heard from us, we have had no real updates to bring you over the last few weeks, as Innovative has been working on some deep dives with e-resources integration. This week, we do have some new developments in Vega Discover to share.
While the pace may seem slow, there is progress, and we are working to create a catalog that is revolutionary! With your help, we will build a catalog that is consortia-friendly, has an interface that exposes all types of resources, and is embodied in a unified and intuitive platform that patrons will find both useful and engaging at once. The platform will support policies and parameters that not only leverage our shared collections, but also successfully manage efficiencies and respect our local policies. Our work ensures that, from the ground up, our vision is part of the development and consortia are not an afterthought shoehorned into a product that is fully baked.
There are big things to come over the next few months and into 2023. MHLS will be a test site for consortia e-resource integration, particularly with Hoopla and OverDrive advantage accounts. Innovative is also working on the Vega LX Starter Kit, previously called “Connect.” The Vega LX Starter Kit will change how we send notices from Sierra and manage online registration. It will be featured in our Fall Sierra user group meeting. This will not be available to sites of our size or complexity until Spring of 2023, but we are angling to have test access sooner.
What has been added recently?
Innovative has released some new features which we have enabled. Below are a few items that we would like your feedback on. As you review these features, you could ask yourself:
- Does it work the way you expect it to?
- Are there enhancements that would improve this feature?
- What added value to staff or patrons does this provide?
While you are reviewing, any comments you would like to share on any items, or other improvements that you think would enhance the experience, can be reported in the form linked at the top of any Vega page. We do take all of your comments and ideas to Innovative, who we meet with almost every week in one Vega forum or another.
Syndetics Unbound, NYT, and Vega widgets merged into one view
The widgets previously split between the “Related” and “Details” tabs of the Full Record for titles in Vega have been merged into a single view. A best logical order has been applied to the display of these widgets in the following order: Series, Library Lists, NYT Bestsellers, Reading Level, You May Also Like, Related Resources, Topics, Reader Reviews, Professional Reviews, Awards, Book Profile, About the Author, Contributors. All Syndetics and NYT showcase widgets can be toggled on or off in the Vega Staff Admin settings. In the future, we will be able to rearrange the entries into an order that we prefer.
Additional links in the top toolbar
The toolbar located on the top of each page has been expanded to include up to 7 links. We have updated the links on https://mhud.na.iiivega.com/ (the PPLD test site) to match the links in our Encore catalog. We have requested the ability to add even more links and further customization, which Innovative plans to accommodate.
Patron notification preference
A notification preference option was added to the Patron Settings in the Vega Staff Admin. We have the ability to turn on or off the setting to allow patrons to change their notification preferences and to select which options they can choose from. Currently, we can provide or hide access to Email, Phone, or Mail, and we have hidden Mail as an option. We do not have the ability to edit the labels or eliminate the “none” option, but we think this is an issue and have reported it to Innovative for further review. When a patron updates their preference, it will also update in Sierra.
New roadmap links
https://portal.productboard.com/iii/15-vega-product-portal/
This is the new link to see what has been recently updated as well as what is in development for Vega. The product portal is now divided into the various parts of the Vega Library Experience (LX). Vega Discover is the main product right now, which we are helping develop, but you can also take a peek at the planning for LX Starter, Program, Promote, and Mobile.
Other product roadmaps can still be found here: https://portal.productboard.com/iii/6-innovative-product-status-board-new – for Sierra, Decision Center, Mobile Worklists, and Phone Alerts.
Bug fixes
New Materials facet rolling filter
A fix was applied to the New Materials Facet that makes the filter a rolling filter. Now, when applying this filter to a search or saved search, each time the search query is run again, the New Materials filter will apply from the date the search was run to update results.
Bookshelf obscures search
A display problem was fixed where the bookshelf covered the header-level search popup when fully open.
Facet shows “!” for large record sets
A problem was fixed where facet counts for searches that retrieved over a million search results were showing a count of “!” instead of the actual count.
Let us know if you have any questions or feedback about anything covered here. Thank you!