As the calendar year-end approaches, we are thrilled to share several new updates to Vega Discover that we think will energize library staff and patrons well into the new year—these updates include: Dynamic Showcase creation from saved searches, shareable List pages for Bookmark Lists by patrons and published list-based Showcases by staff, and Embeddable Showcases for web and email. All three of these highly-requested features were designed thanks to support from our Vega Discover Development Partner program and are available now.
Dynamic Showcase creation from Saved Searches
Innovative customers have long benefitted from the ability to save, modify, and delete Saved Searches within their accounts. Now, we are excited to announce that there’s a new way for users to engage with their searches, as staff can create Dynamic Showcases in Vega Discover from their Saved Searches.
So, what makes these Showcases truly dynamic? First, they’re not static. Dynamic Showcases only show the most up-to-date items related to your Saved Search criteria. The second exciting development is that these Dynamic Showcases can be shared by users via email. Dynamic Showcases live within the account holders’ saved lists, and do not appear on the resource cards of materials that belong to the saved search results.
For libraries trying to share new materials on specific topics, this means patrons can see at a glance what new titles fit the search criteria because new item covers automatically display in the showcase.
Bookmark Lists shareable by staff and patrons
On the topic of saved lists, our team recently launched the ability for patrons to share their Bookmark Lists with others via email or URL. The resulting dedicated url displays the list title and any bookmarked titles, authors, and topics with the same options for bookmarking, requesting, and all the other interaction tools users currently see in search results. This makes it easy for patrons to share lists with others who share their interests, such as people who are part of the same book club or class project.
Library staff also now have the ability to share published Showcases created from Bookmark Lists. All published staff showcases now have a share icon that can be used to copy or email a permanent URL to a Showcase List page. The resulting page displays the Showcase title, the librarian creator nickname (if chosen), and any bookmarked titles, authors, and topics that have been saved to the Showcase. All the same options that appear in search results, such as bookmarking and requesting, are actively displayed on the dedicated webpage.
Embeddable Showcases for web and email
Library staff now have the ability to generate Showcase embed codes from their published Showcases. These embed codes are designed to display Curated or Dynamic Showcases, and can be used on webpages or via email. Staff members can customize each Showcase carousel from a simple pop-up tool, selecting the number of items to be featured at one time and in total.
We are really excited about the potential for this feature as it creates new ways for library staff to engage with patrons. Are you designing a library display or blog post around a specific topic? Embeddable Showcase carousels are the perfect way to give your patrons an easy way to get related catalog items in their hands. Showcases that meet patron-defined criteria can also be included in library emails to patrons, so libraries can be sure that emails contain visually appealing information they know is of interest to the patron.
Dynamic Showcase creation from saved searches, Bookmark List shareability, and Embeddable Showcases are now live for all Vega Discover customers.