As we embark on a new academic year, we thought it would be a good time to let you know about some improvements coming to QuickSearch. Below is a summary of some of the major enhancements that Ex Libris plans to introduce in 2019-2020.
Central index
In Q1 2020, Ex Libris plans to release a new and improved central index. Leveraging the combined assets of its Primo and Summon indexes, Ex Libris’s new, unified Central Discovery Index (CDI) promises expanded content coverage, faster updates, improved deduplication, and better result filtering. In addition to providing an improved search experience for users, the new central index also offers better integration with Alma, making it easier to administer and maintain.
Related items
As part of its effort to build a bigger and better central index, Ex Libris is also developing a graph database that will allow users to explore connections between related items. For example, a record for a book will soon have links to reviews of that book and the individual chapters contained within, creating additional opportunities for exploration and serendipitous discovery.
Browse journals by subject
The Journal Search page will be enhanced to allow users the option to browse journals by subject. Subject categories will be based on Library of Congress Classification and offer researchers an easier way to identify and locate journals in their area of study.
Enhanced personalization
Users will be given more control over their search experience with customizable preferences, including the ability to configure their preferred library, sort order, and number of results per page.
Bulk actions
Currently, actions such as save, email, and export can only be applied to records individually. However, users will soon have the ability to perform these actions in bulk on a set of records. They will also have the option to export search results to Excel or CSV.
Be on the lookout for more information about these enhancements as they are released. As always, if you have any questions or would like to report an issue with QuickSearch, please email the Ex Libris Implementation Team at exlibris@rutgers.libanswers.com. You can also use the “Report a problem” link in QuickSearch. For more information on how to use QuickSearch, visit QuickSearch Help or check out our QuickSearch tutorial videos.
