Updated Version of Library Catalogue Launching December 11

The library is happy to announce some improvements to our catalogue. The new version, launching on Thursday, December 11, includes a number of changes you’ve been asking for. For the past two weeks, we have been beta testing these changes with a group of library users, and their feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

Your Account

Customer accounts have been reorganized and common functions have been made easier to use. Changes include:

• Separate screens for the account summary, checked-out items, holds, and account settings

• Separation of holds into sections: available for pickup, in transit, and still on hold

Also:

• A simplified process for making holds active or inactive
• A display of missed holds that you did not pick up on time.
• The option to choose a “screen name” that displays at the top of each page when the customer is logged in.

Item records

Item records are easier to read. Repeated headings have been removed, and it’s easier to scan to see whether any copies are in the library

Other Changes

• A permanent link feature makes it easy to bookmark or save links to individual items or search results

Also:

• The catalogue’s layout has been improved. Spacing and alignment have been adjusted to improve readability
• Some changes have been made to make keyword searching work better
• Error messages have been rewritten to be more meaningful

Outstanding Issues

Other improvements we would like to make have not yet been implemented.

These issues include:

• Slow response time - reported by a few customers
• Holds on “on order” items do not display your position in the holds queue
• Search results do not always seem relevant

The library is working hard to resolve these issues. While these issues are important to us and our users, they will take more time and work to resolve. With continued feedback from our users, we will be better able to serve our customers.

We will continue to report on our progress through regular updates on this blog.

After the launch

We hope you'll agree that the new version of the catalogue is a significant improvement. During and after the launch, customers can direct questions to the Library’s Answerline service (416-393-7131). We also welcome your feedback through comments on this blog or the library's official customer feedback form.

Thank you for your interest and support.