Public catalog

Improvements to ebook API

Evergreen now supports checking out and placing holds on OverDrive and OneClickdigital ebook titles from within the public catalog. This is an experimental feature. It is not recommended for production use without careful testing.

When ebook integration is enabled, a "Check Out E-Item" link will be displayed when viewing an ebook title from a supported vendor in the catalog. Clicking on the link allows the user to check out and download that title from the vendor directly within the catalog.

If no copies are available for the title, a "Place Hold on E-Item" link is displayed instead, and the user may place a hold on the title. (Note that some vendors require the user’s account to have an email address before permitting a hold.)

My Account includes the ability to view current ebook checkouts and holds, download already-checked-out titles, and cancel holds.

For API integration to work, you need to request API access from the vendor, and the vendor must have a way of authenticating your patrons. Your Evergreen system also needs to be configured for ebook API integration, following the instructions in the command line system administration manual

This feature assumes that you are importing MARC records supplied by the vendor into your Evergreen system, using Vandelay or some other MARC import method. This feature does not search the vendor’s online collections or automatically import vendor records into your system; it merely augments records that are already in Evergreen.

Improvements to Bill Payment Pages

The bill payment pages in the public catalog have been revamped to

  • use the term "charges" instead of "fees"
  • include images of credit cards accepted
  • make the default print receipt template match other itemized receipts; note that this change is not automatically applied when upgrading.
  • display billing type
  • add button to pay only selected charges
  • reformat the credit card number input page

Clickable Copy Locations

Adds a URL field to the copy locations editor. When a URL is entered in this field, the associated copy location will display as a link in the public catalog summary display. This link can be useful for retrieving maps or other directions to the copy location to aid users in finding material.

Download Checkout History CSV Fixed for Large Number of Circulations

Downloading checkout history as a CSV from My Account has been fixed for users with a large circulation history. Previously, this would time out for patrons with more than 100 or so circulations.

This feature no longer uses the action/trigger mechanism and the public catalog now generates the CSV directly. The old action/trigger code is still present in the database and should be removed at some point in the near future.

Google Books Preview Rewrite

The Google Books Preview functionality in record detail pages has been rewritten to modernize its style and optimize its performance:

  • The Dojo JavaScript framework is no longer used, saving approximately 150K of JavaScript and CSS and four network requests per page load.
  • The Embedded Viewer is not loaded unless a possible preview is found, saving more network and memory overhead.
  • The Google Books Loader is used to load the Embedded Viewer instead of the deprecated Google Loader.
  • All variables are self-contained and do not pollute the global namespace.
  • Event listeners are registered to handle clicks, rather than attaching href="javascript:function()" to <a> elements.
  • Book previews are displayed in a panel sized according to the viewport of the browser, improving its appearance on both mobile and desktop browsers.
  • The rewritten code is now served up directly from /js/ui/default/opac/ac_google_books.js rather than as a TT2 template.

jQuery for the Public Catalog

This release adds optional support for jQuery in the public catalog. This support is enabled by setting the ctx.want_jquery variable to a true value in the config.tt2 template.

New Popularity Parameters

New popularity parameters for in-house use over time and for count of distinct organizational units that own a title are now available. Evergreen sites can use these parameters to create new statistical popularity badges for sorting in the catalog by Most Popular or by Popularity-Adjusted Relevance.

The in-house use parameters will apply a badge to titles that have the most in-house use activity over time. The organizational unit count parameter will apply a badge to titles owned by the most number of libraries in a consortium. Ownership is determined by the copy’s circulation library.

Option to Suspend Holds at the Time They are Placed

Users now have the option to suspend a hold at the same time they place the hold. The Place Hold screen has a checkbox that can be enabled for users who want to suspend a hold at the time it is placed. There is also an option to set the activation date at the same time. This option is also available when placing holds on a batch of titles from My List and will apply to all the titles in the batch.