Tag: filtering

“New” confusion

Observation: The word “date” is used in the facets and sort-by menu to help filter search results. It refers to publication date, although that is not specified. “New Materials” is also used, to refer to cataloging date. It is not intuitive for patrons to understand what these terms mean. Using labels like “release date” and “new to the library” may work better.

Additionally, when searching or filtering by New Materials (cataloging date), the roll-up logic means that even if a patron filters to only one format, if the work has been recently cataloged in any format, the result will still be returned. This could be very confusing. If the patron doesn’t care about eBooks and has already set a facet to limit to the format book, the results should not include entries where the selected format does not contain a new bib record. It will look like the facet isn’t working. 

Reported: 05/15/2022, updated 06/21/2022

Status: MHLS may be able to change the labels for these facets to make them clearer and more informative.

Resolution: TBD

Order and arrangement of the ‘Refine Results’ sidebar filters

Observation: Some opinions about the arrangement of the sidebar so far include:

  • Location should be near the top. Staffers using the platform often need to search for materials within the building as a patron wants to walk away with a book today, and it is awkward to try to limit by location.
  • Location should be organized alphabetically.
  • Format should be organized alphabetically.

Reported: 12/2/2021, updated 4/21/2022

Status: Mid-Hudson is working on customizing the interface to rearrange the sidebar. Please let us know if you have opinions about the order, language/labels, or any other features of the sidebar by emailing techsupport@midhudson.org or filling out the feedback form.

Resolution: If changes can be made by MHLS, we will update soon.

The current sidebar filter order

Format and Locations currently ordered by most results

Confusion around terminology

Observation: “Concepts” and “Persons” may be confusing to average patrons. This is especially so with “persons,” which includes many entities that are not people such as Hoopla, OverDrive, Scholastic, and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. “Topics” and “Contributors” are also used, and it is unclear how they relate to concepts and persons.

Another suggestion is to change the heading “Reader reviews” to “User reviews” since books are not the only items in the card catalog. The same problem also applies to “Reading History.”

Reported: 12/13/2021, updated 4/12/2022

Status: Many of these labels are customizable. MHLS will work on developing more user-friendly labels for various sections of the catalog. Please let us know if you have opinions about language/labels, or any other features of the sidebar by emailing techsupport@midhudson.org or filling out the feedback form.

Resolution: TBD.

Many concepts called variations of "Human-animal relationships."
The topic "Human-animal relationships" found on a resource page. Is this the same as one of those concepts?
A confusing list of persons.