As we reflect on the past year, we’re excited by the many improvements and innovations we introduced to Vega Discover. Thanks to our biweekly releases throughout the year, our team has consistently worked to enhance your experience by responding to feedback and delivering new features that delight patrons, improve the user experience, streamline workflows, and drive library success.
Vega Discover continues to evolve with features designed to enhance user experience and simplify catalog management. These improvements aren’t just features – they’re touchpoints connecting people to the library in meaningful ways. From improved accessibility to enhanced content management tools, here are the most impactful updates:
Themed Catalogs and Kids Catalogs – It’s been almost a year since we released this cool feature! With Vega Discover, libraries can create customized experiences tailored to their unique communities. They can define collection parameters, so catalog searches return items from specific categories, such as a Children’s Collection. Each themed catalog includes a custom homepage, designed with an intuitive page builder, to highlight unique resources—like showcasing historic newspapers for genealogy, vinyl records for music enthusiasts, or antique maps for history buffs.
Scheduled Showcases for Discover and search option – Library staff can now schedule homepage showcases with defined start and end dates, ensuring the content displayed on the homepage is always relevant and timely. This feature saves staff time, reduces manual updates, and enables strategic planning for content curation. A library hosting a Summer Reading Program can schedule showcases with book recommendations and event details in advance. Once the program ends, the system automatically transitions to a Back-to-School showcase, ensuring the homepage always features timely and relevant content without extra effort.
Vega Program Integration with the home page builder – Save time with “set it and forget it” dynamic events. All libraries can manually create a component row with 3 events in the home page builder. Libraries with the Vega Program module will be able to search their events and pull all the details directly from the Vega Program API to increase efficiency and accuracy. You are still able to add a static event to the home page.
Bulk Holds workflow in Bookmark Lists – Patrons can now place bulk holds directly from Bookmark Lists. This feature allows users to select multiple materials and place holds on all items at once, simplifying the process for patrons with large lists of materials.
Non-Integrated eContent Management – Polaris PAC feature that we’ve recreated for Vega Discover to benefit all our libraries using Polaris and Sierra This feature allows libraries to apply branding logos to eContent that they manage in the ILS. For consortia libraries, it also helps them control where the content appears by site.
Polaris Pick-up areas – Vega Discover now supports multiple pickup locations. Read more about it here!
Grid View icon updates – We reorganized icons alphabetically, making it easier for both staff and patrons to navigate through materials. New and updated icons for eAudiobooks, eBooks, and eMagazines, among others, now provide clearer visual cues. Additionally, the Vox icon has been renamed to Book + Audio for better.
Accessibility prioritization – Vega Discover is now 100% Compatible with Section 508 for Accessibility. In addition, Vega Discover has enhanced screen reader support and added new ARIA labels to distinguish bibliographic and item-level metadata, in line with WCAG 2.2 standards. You can read more about it here.
Many more feature updates were showcased in our latest Vega Discover webinar that you can watch here. Catch Angela Nolet and Samantha Cunning, Vega Product Managers, talk about more than 200 updates from last year.
What’s coming in 2025: Key developments for Vega Discover
With Vega Discover’s upcoming features (some of them already in beta testing), library patrons will experience a truly seamless journey from start to finish. Here are just a few of them:
- Single Staff interface – Vega LX Admin and Vega Discover settings can be managed in a single combined staff interface. Admin users see only the permissions they have been granted to administer for each product.
- Social Media sharing – Picture being able to share your favorite book directly to social media with a simple click. Whether it’s a book, saved search, or resource, sharing will be quick and seamless, broadening your library’s reach and encouraging others to explore.
- Search and Availability in personalized lists – Patrons will enjoy an enhanced experience by easily searching through personalized lists. They can check the real-time availability of their saved titles and instantly access a dynamic showcase of bookmarked items right on the homepage.
These innovations are designed to elevate both the staff and patron experience, offering a more efficient, engaging, and user-friendly way to interact with the library. It’s a glimpse into the future of libraries – where everything is connected, easy to manage, and always just a click away.
Vega Discover is the responsive and accessible discovery module of the Vega Library Experience (LX) suite of patron engagement tools. Vega LX is a cloud-based platform that allows library staff to easily communicate and manage a full range of materials, programs, and services.
Read more about these features and more on our Product Roadmap.