Note: A fully printable copy of the Talis Version 10.0 edition of this chapter is available in Adobe Acrobat™ (.PDF) format. Click here to view the Version 10.0 edition.
This chapter summarises the main navigation paths and OPAC screens which may be encountered after initiating a search. It describes the screens displayed during the search process and the information these screens display. The navigational screens in OPAC display certain information to aid the user in performing the most effective search; this information is examined in Search Techniques. The following navigation screens are examined in this chapter:
If an Author, Title, Keyword or Subject search results in a match, the user will be positioned against the result in an index. An index always displays for these searches, even for an exact match, as this allows the user to see if there are variant forms of the name or any cross-references. Refer to Figure 4.1: The Author Index.
A count of the number of matching results displays at the top right of the screen with the original search term displaying at the top left. The number of references displays in the index table against each line of the index.
For further details of individual Author, Title, Keyword or Subject indexes, please refer to Search Types.
The results retrieved by Author, Title, Keyword, Control Number, Classmark or Subject searches are "back browsable" i.e. it is possible to scroll upwards from your initial entry point. Reading lists are back-browsable too. Back browsing applies to any list which is derived from an index. It does not apply to a set of references.
The system initially puts the highlight bar (i.e. the closest match) on the second line of a back browsable list by default. This convention is used (by default) as a means of indicating that back browsing is possible.
Talis is shipped with back-browsing turned off by default. This is set by the following environment variable in the "talis" script.
TAL_NO_BACK_BROWSE=on;export TAL_NO_BACK_BROWSE
Refer to OPAC Related Environment Variables for guidance on setting environment variables.
The References List displays a list of matching references. It is accessed either via an index or directly from the search prompt. The following information is displayed in a sequence according to which search has been performed:
The References List may be referred to as the "Single Line display". Refer to Figure 4.2: Example References List (Off an Author Search).
Clicking on a line gives details of the location of items. See The Locations List.
The header at the top right of each reference set now indicates the range of items currently displayed in relation to the total number of items on the list. For example:
"References 1 9 of 33"
The first and second item numbers on display are updated to reflect the user's current position in the set, as the list is scrolled up or down. This information aids navigation when browsing long lists, as it is only possible to see 9 items at a time.
This count differs from the number of postings displayed against an Author or Keyword in the index. This is because of discrepancies in the Author and Keyword postings counts. This discrepancy should be addressed in the near future.
Note: This count will not display when viewing an index, for example the Author or Title index.
The Physical Medium may be displayed on reference lines to assist the user in determining the format of each item retrieved. Presentation of Physical Medium information is governed by the environment variable "TAL_PHYSMED_LEN". This variable is set as follows:
TAL_PHYSMED_LEN=12;export TAL_PHYSMED_LEN <Enter>
This sets the maximum number of characters representing the physical medium to be displayed on a line.
If the "TAL_PHYSMED_LEN" environment variable is not set, or is set to "0", the Physical Medium will not display.
It is possible to modify the order of references within a retrieved set. It is also possible to specify different ordering within the sets of references resulting from different types of search.
User-defined sort orders may be applied to the sets of references resulting from the following searches and search combinations:
The following searches will not be sorted as these already appear in order:
Sorting search results are controlled by environment variables. These can be set globally by setting them in the "talis" script; or they can be set on an individual user basis by amending the user .profile. Refer to OPAC Related Environment Variables.
These environment variables take three parameters, separated by the pipe character "|". The parameters in this case are:
SORT_LENGTH | MAX_SORT_ROWS | SORT_ORDER
Only the first few characters are normally sorted on, for performance reasons. The SORT_LENGTH is the length of sort key data which will be returned and sorted on. If it is "0" then the data will not be sorted.
The lower the SORT_LENGTH figure, the lower will be the impact on client performance. The recommended length is around "10".
This is the maximum number of rows which the system will sort. This parameter can be used to adjust search performance. If the number of rows returned is greater than this value then they will not be sorted.
For example, if MAX_SORT_ROWS is set to sort 600 rows, but your search returns 800 rows, then the search output will not be sorted.
If the value defined by TAL_MAX_BROWSE is less than this value, sorting may not always occur where you would expect. So, if MAX_SORT_ROWS is set to sort 500 rows, but the value of the environment variable TAL_MAX_BROWSE is set to 300, then only searches returning less than 300 rows will be sorted.
MAX_SORT_ROWS should therefore be set to around the same value (or less) than TAL_MAX_BROWSE (except for the Classmark search option, for reasons explained below). The suggested value is "500".
If MAX_SORT_ROWS is set to "1" then sorting always occurs regardless of the number of rows returned.
Note: The one exception to this is Keyword sort, which contains a known defect. For Keyword searches to always sort, set this variable to as high a value as you require.
This parameter details the fields that make up the sort order:
|
Sort Key |
Fields Displayed |
|
"A" |
WORK.AUTHOR_DISPLAY. |
|
"T" |
WORK.TITLE_DISPLAY. |
|
"D" |
10000-WORK.PUB_DATE. |
Table 4.1: Fields Involved in the Sort Order
TAL_OPAC_A_SORT="10|500|AT";export TAL_OPAC_A_SORT
Note: Do not enter spaces either side of the "=" sign.
Books without Authors will be listed first. This will not do the sort if more than 500 references make up the set.
TAL_OPAC_AT_SORT="25|1|TAD";export TAL_OPAC_AT_SORT
This will always perform the sort, irrespective of the size of the set.
The sort order for Author references should be set as "TD", to achieve the most meaningful sort order. If this is set as "ATD" then it will sort on Author including the Authors of "books about" this Author and Authors of critical works (as these all appear in the same set of references); the result could look odd. Use, for example:
TAL_OPAC_A_SORT="10|500|TD";export TAL_OPAC_A_SORT
Classmark references will always be output in Classmark order, but references within the same Classmark will only be sorted if a sort order is specified.
A Classmark search returns references from an index, so the number of rows returned will always be equivalent to TAL_MAX_BROWSE (unless the user is near the end of the index). If, for example, MAX_SORT_ROWS is set to 500 and the value of TAL_MAX_BROWSE is set to greater than 500, then the set of Classmark references will not be sorted within the Classmark.
This can cause anomalies in sorting. If the user searches for a Classmark which has less than 30 references, these will always be sorted by default, but only if the user has searched on this Classmark. If the user is browsing the index and comes upon this Classmark then the references will not be sorted. Classmarks with greater than 30 references will not be sorted.
This can be overcome by setting the Classmark sort environment variable to exceed the TAL_MAX_BROWSE value. For example:
TAL_OPAC_C_SORT="10|251|DT";export TAL_OPAC_C_SORT
(assuming TAL_MAX_BROWSE is set to 250; this may vary locally).
Note: If the Library is using Library of Congress Classmarks, the sort should not be applied to the Classmark index as it could cause performance problems (the sort will be applied to the filing key which will default to 36 characters). Moreover, sorting should not be required with Library of Congress Classmarks.
Anomalies to be aware of (which apply to the Classmark Index only) include:
For example, a Class Number such as "920" may have 3500 references, including a biography of David Niven. If TAL_MAX_BROWSE is set to 100 then references are retrieved in groups of 100. The references are retrieved from the index in a random order, but they are sorted before being displayed. The result is that although the references appear to be in order, only the first 100 references are actually displayed. Therefore, if David Niven's biography does not feature in the first 100 references, it will appear not to be in the Catalogue.
The environment variable TAL_MAX_BROWSE limits the number of rows returned from the database.
To sort Keyword references by Title within Date:
TAL_OPAC_K_SORT="10|500|DT";export TAL_OPAC_K_SORT
This will sort on Date (4 characters) plus the first 6 characters of the Title. Remember that the sort key is made up of the first "xx" characters from the fields you have defined, so if you specify Author/Title and a Work has no Author then those Works without Authors will appear, in Title order, before those Works which do have Authors.
The Series List displays whenever a user chooses a Series Title from any list of references. This screen displays details of the Parent Work in the SBD header window, with the count of the number of Volumes in the Series. It lists all Titles which are part of that Series. For example, separate volumes in "Cassell's Locally Colloquially Speaking" series held by the Library might comprise:
Refer to Figure 4.3: Example Series (Volume Details) List.
Each individual "child" work held by the Library is shown as a single line on the list. Volumes are displayed in ascending Volume number order. The list - also termed the Volume Details List - indicates:
The Number in Series defaults to "0" if none is found. The list will be ordered by number in Series.
Selecting a line from this list results in the display of the locations for the Work. (Refer to The Locations List).
Titles are only included in this list when the parent Control Number has been entered in the Cataloguing Work Form; this will not happen automatically as a result of entering a Series entry in the MARC record.
The Volumes List displays whenever a user chooses a Multi-Volume Parent Work from any list of references (for example, The Shakespeare Compendium). This list provides brief details about each of the "child" volumes which go to make up the Multi-Volume Work. For example, separate volumes of the title "Pathology":
may all be linked to the one "parent" work, "Pathology". Refer to Figure 4.4: Example Volumes List.
This screen is in two parts, with the SBD of the parent Work displaying in the top part of the screen. The remainder of the screen lists all titles that are parts of this parent Work.
Each individual volume held by the Library is shown as a single line on the Volumes List. Volumes display in ascending volume number order, each line indicating:
The list will be ordered by Volume Number.
Selecting a line from this list results in the display of the locations for the child Work. (Refer to The Locations List).
Titles are only included in this list when the parent Control Number has been entered in the Cataloguing Work form as a Multi-Volume Work. It will not happen automatically as a result of entering the parent details in the MARC record.
The Serial information that can be viewed in OPAC is dependent on the following controls:
Access to Serials check-in data is now available to users (depending on the enablements for the OPAC terminal user) from OPAC. Two new screens may optionally be displayed:
Libraries are able to choose whether to display Serials check-in data without holdings or holdings without check-in data, while retaining the option to suppress Serial Volumes.
The display of Serials information in OPAC is controlled by the following OPAC enablements. Enablements are set by the System Manager from Enablements under Utilities Parameters Permission Rules. For further information about setting enablements, refer to Defining OPAC User Enablements and/or the System Manager Manual Volume 2: Application Maintenance, Chapter 9: Managing Enablements.
These following settings determine whether Check-in data, catalogued Holdings summaries and catalogued Volumes are viewable:
This enablement controls whether Serial Holdings summaries can be viewed in OPAC. If set to "No" then Holdings summaries do not appear in OPAC. If Serial Holdings Display is set to "Yes" it is possible to view Holdings summaries. This enablement is set to "Yes" by default.
This enablement controls whether Serial Check-in data can be viewed in OPAC. If set to "No" then Serial Check-in data will not be available via OPAC; they will instead be shown Serial Holdings and Volumes, assuming OPAC is enabled to display them. If Serial Issues Display is set to "Yes" then Serial Check-in data can be viewed in OPAC using the Recent Issues Received List and the Serial Issues List, where Serial subscriptions have been assigned OPAC Display Values via Online Utilities. This enablement is set to "No" by default.
This enablement controls whether the Serial Volumes Form can be viewed in OPAC. If set to "No" then Serial Volumes cannot be viewed in OPAC. If Serial Volumes Display is set to "Yes" then Serial Volumes can be viewed in OPAC. This enablement is set to "Yes" by default.
Note: The "Serial Volumes Display" enablement replaces the former "TAL_OPAC_VOLS" environment variable, which is now withdrawn and no longer suppresses Serial Volumes display.
The above three enablements operate independently; for example, it is possible to only display Serial Check-in data while suppressing Holdings summaries and Volumes.
The introduction of Serial Issues in Talis Version 8 involves changes to the order in which Serial information is presented to the OPAC user.
If the OPAC terminal user is enabled to view Serial Holdings, Issues and Volumes, pressing <Enter> on a Serial in the References List still presents the Serial Holdings List, as explained in Serial Holdings List. However, pressing <Enter> on the Serial Holdings List presents the Recent Issues Received List, as covered in The Recent Issues Received List. If there are no Serial Holdings available then the Recent Issues Received List is presented directly.
The Serial Volumes List (refer to The Serial Volumes List may be accessed by selecting <F8> ("Volumes") on the Recent Issues Received List. If <F8> ("Volumes") is pressed when no Serial Volumes are available then the Serial Holdings List displays instead, and the message line indicates:
"There are no individual volume details available"
Pressing <Enter> on a subscription in the Recent Issues Received List results in the Serial Issues List, as covered in The Serial Volumes List.
If <F12> ("Back") is pressed on the Serial Volumes List the user is returned to the Recent Issues Received List. Alternatively <F8> ("Holdings") may be selected on the Serial Volumes List to return to the Serial Holdings List (assuming one is available). This relationship is illustrated in Figure 4.5: Navigating Serial Holdings, Volumes & Check-in Issues below.
When the Recent Issues Received List is accessed, the Serial Holdings List is removed from the screen stack to minimise the number of stacked screens. The Recent Issues Received List remains in the screen stack until the user returns to the References List.
If there are neither Serial Holdings or Volumes attached, a message box displays upon selecting <F8> ("Holdings") to explain that although the user is enabled to view Serial Issues, Holdings and Volumes there are no Serial Holdings or Volumes available.
If there is no Serial Check-in data attached then the Serial Volumes List displays when the <Enter> key is pressed on any line on the Serial Holdings List. If there are no Serial Issues or Serial Volumes available, the user remains on the Serial Holdings List and a message indicates why.
If there are neither Serial Issues, Holdings or Volumes for a
Serial then a message box displays when the <Enter>
key is pressed on a Serial reference.
Figure 4.5: Navigating Serial Holdings,
Volumes & Check-in Issues
If the Library has decided not to allow the display of Serial Check-in data then the Serial Volumes List is presented when the user presses <Enter> on the Serial Holdings List.
If there are no Serial Holdings available to be displayed and the OPAC terminal user is not enabled to view Serial Issues then the Serial's Volumes are displayed with the following message on the message line:
"There are no holdings available"
If there are no Serial Volumes to display then the user remains on the Serial Holdings List and the message line indicates:
"There are no individual volume details available"
If there are no Holdings or Volumes available for the Serial then a message box is displayed when the <Enter> key is pressed on that line in the References List.
If Libraries decide to suppress display of Serial Volumes when <F8> ("Volumes") is selected from the Recent Issues Received List users are presented with Serial Holdings and the message line indicates:
"There are no individual volume details available"
If there is no Serial Holdings information and Volumes are suppressed from display then the message box in Figure 4.9: No Holdings or Volumes Message is displayed.
If Libraries decide to suppress the display of Serial Holdings, users pressing <Enter> on a Serial in the References List are presented with the Recent Issues Received List. If <F8> ("Volumes") is then selected on the Recent Issues Received List for a Serial which has no Volumes attached then the message box in Figure 4.9: No Holdings or Volumes Message is displayed.
If <F8> ("Holdings") is pressed on the Serial Volumes List then the message line indicates:
"There are no holdings available"
If <Enter> is pressed on a Serial in the References List and there are no Recent Issues Received to display, the Serial Volumes List is presented instead.
If there are neither Recent Issues Received nor Serial Volumes then a message box is displayed, as shown in Figure 4.9: No Holdings or Volumes Message.
If the OPAC user is not enabled to view either Serial Holdings or Serial Volumes then they may only view the Recent Issues Received List and Serial Issues List. The Recent Issues Received List does not then display the option <F8> ("Volumes").
If a Serial has no check-in data then a message box is presented when the <Enter> key is pressed on that line in the References List.
If the OPAC user is not enabled to view serial issues, holdings or volumes the message box in Figure 4.6: Message Box - No Further Information About Serial is displayed when <Enter> is selected on a Serial reference.
Message box displayed when user is available to display.
The Serial Holdings List displays whenever a user chooses a Serial title from any list of references, provided that the Serial has holdings data attached and the "Serial Holdings Display" enablement is set to "Yes".
A Serial may be either a journal, a magazine, a newsletter or newspaper etc. Refer to Figure 4.7: Example Serial Holdings List.
This screen is in two parts, with the SBD of the Serial title displaying in the top part of the screen.
The remainder of the screen lists all catalogued holdings at each Location with the Shelfmark and Holdings details. The list is ordered by location name. Holdings are sorted so that those at the user's current site are displayed first in the list. Each line on the list normally represents a separate run of this Title, whether held at a separate location or held in distinct department or sequence at a given location (when there is more than one sequence at the same location).
Each line on the Serial Holdings List indicates:
The holdings details include any volume details for this holdings line, followed by any notes field attached to this holdings record. The Notes field displays the label "Notes:", any "General Notes", followed by any "Descriptive Notes". Any "Wants Notes" display on the next line following the label "Wants:".
Selecting a line from this list normally results in the display of the Recent Issues Received List for this serial, if any check-in data exists.
The ability to suppress Serial holdings information for specific Sites works in the same way as for suppression of Items in OPAC Collections. Libraries that have implemented OPAC Collections (also known as Mindexes) which display Items for specific Sites only may use the "TAL_SUPPRESS_SSHOLDS" environment variable to restrict the display of Site-Serial-Holdings to only the Sites specified for inclusion in the collection. (See below).
If there is no Serial Holdings for the Sites listed, the Serial Issues List or Serials List displays, depending on enablements set. Refer to Navigation: Serial Holdings, Volumes & Check-in Issues.
When there are no limits to the Sites to be displayed for a collection, all Serial Holdings are displayed, whatever their location.
Site-Serial-Holdings information in OPAC is suppressed using the new "TAL_SUPPRESS_SSHOLDS" environment variable. When set to "Yes", the COLL_RULES table (which was previously named COLLECTION_ITEMSITE) is checked before Site-Serial-Holdings information is displayed.
If "TAL_SUPPRESS_SSHOLDS" is not set (or set to any value other than "Yes") then all Serial Holdings are displayed, regardless of the Sites included in COLL_RULES.
The Recent Issues Received List displays when the user presses <Enter> on the Serial Holdings List, provided the Serial has an Open Order with subscriptions attached and the user is enabled to view it. See Enablements and Other Considerations for further details.
If there are no Serial Holdings, or the user is not enabled to view them, then the Recent Issues Received List is accessed directly from the References List.
The Recent Issues Received List displays the standard bibliographic display of the Serial in the top part of the screen. The remainder of the screen lists all the subscriptions pertaining to the Serial at each location, together with details of the most recently received issue. Each line on the list represents a separate subscription. Refer to Figure 4.8: Recent Issues Received List.
Each line on the Recently Received Issue list indicates:
Details of subscriptions are displayed in order of their Location, with the those for the current OPAC session Site shown at the top of the list. The remaining subscriptions are displayed in alphabetical order of the Location name. If more than one subscription exists at the same Site, they are presented in the following subscription Status order:
The Recent Issues Received List only displays subscriptions at locations the collection is enabled to display (refer to Section 8.5: Collection Rules), and for which the Library has specified an OPAC Display Value. If no OPAC Display Value has been specified for a subscription Status then no subscription of that Status, or corresponding Serial Check-in data is presented in OPAC. Refer to Enablements and Other Considerations.
The OPAC user must be enabled to print from OPAC for <F2> ("Output") function key to display on the Recent Issues Received List. When <F2> ("Output") is selected, the user has the option to print the current screen or list, as they do having selected <F2> ("Output") on the Serial Holdings Form. See also Output for further details.
These <F4> ("Prev title") and <F5> ("Next title") function keys can be selected to browse Recent Issues Received for the next/previous Serial in the Serial Holdings List, without first having to select <F12> ("Back"). If <F4> ("Prev title") is selected then the previous reference's Location summary or equivalent is displayed. If <F5> ("Next Title") is selected then the next reference's Location summary or equivalent is displayed.
When <F7> ("Title") is selected, the full Title details of the parent Serial are displayed, as explained in Title Detail Screen.
The <F8> ("Volumes") function key is only present on the Recent Issues Received List if either the "Serial Holdings" or "Serial Volumes" enablements have been set to "Yes". (See Serials-Related Enablements for Talis OPAC). If the OPAC terminal user is enabled to view Serial Issues only then <F8> ("Volumes") is not available.
When <F8> ("Volumes") is selected, the Serial's Volumes List is presented. Refer to The Serial Volumes List. If there are no Volumes available then the Serial Holdings List is called and the message line indicates:
"There are no individual volume details available"
If there are neither Serial Holdings or Volumes then the message box shown in Figure 4.9: No Holdings or Volumes Message is displayed.
Selecting a line from the Recent Issues Received List by pressing <Enter> normally displays the Serial Issues List for this subscription. See Enablements and Other Considerations. The message line indicates:
"Press Enter key to see the issue details for this subscription"
The "Serial Issues Display" OPAC enablement controls whether or not Serial check-in data can be viewed using the Recent Issues Received List and the Serial Issues List. Conversely, if "Serial Issues Display" is set to "No" then no Serial check-in data will be available via OPAC; instead users are shown Serial Holdings and Volumes (assuming the OPAC terminal user is enabled to display these). This enablement is set to "No" by default when Talis Version 8 is shipped.
If "Serial Issues Display" is set to "Yes" then Serial check-in data is available via OPAC for Serials that have check-in data and where Serial subscriptions have been assigned OPAC Display Values. Libraries control how Serial Check-in Issues will display in OPAC using the "Subscription Statuses" maintenance interface, accessed via Utilities Parameters Names OPAC... Subscriptions.
It is necessary to specify an OPAC Display Value for a Subscription Status before details of subscriptions can be displayed in OPAC. For further information, refer to System Manager Manual, Volume 2: Application Maintenance, Chapter 2: Managing Names, Section 2.12.3: Subscription Status Names.
Note: Subscription Statuses are shipped without any OPAC Display Values, so it is imperative to add OPAC Display Values before Serial Check-in data can be viewed in OPAC.
The "TAL_OPAC_RECENT_ISS_NO" environment variable controls how many ITEM_CHECK_IN rows are selected from the database when selecting the most recent Issue for a subscription. This defaults to 20 for reasonable performance. For example:
TAL_OPAC_RECENT_ISS_NO=10
Note: There may be conditions where this could cause the incorrect Issue(s) to be selected as the most recent for a given subscription. If, for example, a number of old Issues have been receipted and this number is greater than the environment variable's setting then some of the recent Issues might not be displayed to the user.
The "Serial Issues Display" OPAC enablement controls whether or not Serial check-in data can be viewed using the Serial Issues List (and the Recent Issues Received List above).
The "Serial Volumes Display" OPAC enablement controls whether the Serial Volumes List can be viewed. If this is set to "No" then Serial Volumes cannot be viewed in OPAC. At points where Serial Volumes List would have been available if this enablement had been set to "Yes", a message box indicates:
"There are no individual volume details available"
The "Serial Volumes Display" enablement is set to "Yes" by default when Talis Version 8 is shipped, so the Serial Volumes List is normally available.
The Serial Issues List displays issues relating to a single subscription on the Recent Issues Received List. It displays the standard bibliographic display of the Serial in the top part of the screen. Each line on the list represents one copy of the Serial Issue, as illustrated in Figure 4.10: Example Serial Issues List.
Each line on the Serial Issues list indicates:
If there are no Serial Issues eligible for display then the message box shown in Figure 4.11: Message Box - No Serial Issues Available.
For example, the Library may choose to suppress Expected Issues from OPAC display, so that Pending subscriptions display no Serial Issues when selected. See Serial Issues-Related Environment Variables for further information on suppressing Claimed/Claimable and Expected Issues etc.).
Users browse up the Serial Issues List to view newer and expected Issues. They browse down the list to view older Issues.
Issues are displayed in the same order as they appear in issue check-in. They are ordered by the Sequence Number and the sequence occurrence value allocated to them by the Issue Check-In Prediction Pattern, as selected in Online Utilities, Acquisition Rules. If further information is required, refer to System Manager Manual, Volume 2: Application Maintenance, Section 4.6: Maintenance of Issue Predictions).
When the Serial Issues List is first accessed, the latest issue received is highlighted. Note for the latest issue will not necessarily be the last issue to be received as Serial Issues may be receipted out of order. The latest issue is the one with the highest sequence occurrence with the status received. Positioning in the list depends on whether or not OPAC is configured to display Expected Issues. If there are no Expected Issues the latest Received Issue displays at the top of the list. If there are Expected Issues to be displayed the next Expected Issue will display at the top of the list with the latest Received Issue on the line below. This highlights to the user that Expected Issues are also listed and can be viewed by moving up the list. When there is only one Expected Issue, it is not possible to scroll up the list and the standard "+" does not display at the top of the list.
If there are no Received Issues, the Serial Issues List displays up to nine Expected Issues and the cursor is positioned on the next expected issue (generally the last line on the screen).
The display of expected issues for subscriptions may be suppressed altogether, or limited to a given number of issues, in the Serial Issues List using the "TAL_OPAC_EXP_ISSUES" environment variable. Refer to OPAC Related Environment Variables.
Display of the expected date on the Serial Issues List can be suppressed using the "TAL_OPAC_ISSUE_EXPDATE" environment variable. Refer to OPAC Related Environment Variables.
The "TAL_OPAC_CLM_ISSUES" environment variable can be used to mask the display of the "claimed" or "claimable" status for Serial Issues with user-defined text. Refer to OPAC Related Environment Variables.
The "TAL_OPAC_ISSUE_CLMDATE" environment variable can be used to suppress the display of claimed or claimable Issue dates from the Serial Issues List. Refer to OPAC Related Environment Variables.
The "TAL_OPAC_CAN_ISSUES" environment variable can be used to mask display of the "cancelled" status for Serial Issues. Refer to OPAC Related Environment Variables.
The "TAL_OPAC_ISSUE_CANDATE" environment variable can be set to suppress the display of cancelled date from the Serial Issues List. Refer to OPAC Related Environment Variables.
The OPAC user must be enabled to print from OPAC for <F2> ("Output") function key to display on the Serial Issues List. When <F2> ("Output") is selected, the user has the option to print the current screen or list, as they do having selected <F2> ("Output") on the Serial Holdings Form. See also Output for further details.
From the Serial Issues List, it is possible to move to the Serial Issues display of other subscriptions relating to the Serial. When <F4> ("Prev sub") is selected, the Serial Issues of the previous row in the Recent Issues Received List are displayed. If there is no previous subscription, for example because the Serial Issues currently displayed relate to the subscription at the top of the Recent Issues Received List, then the message line indicates:
"Top of list"
and the current Serial Issues continue to display.
Similarly, it is possible to view the Serial Issues of the next subscription on the Recent Issues Received List by pressing <F5> ("Next sub"). If there are no further subscriptions available, the message line indicates:
"Bottom of list"
When <F7> ("Title") is selected, the full Title details of the parent Serial are displayed. See also Title Detail Screen.
Pressing <Enter> on a selected Issue displays the Locations List which shows the Serial Issue's Item Location, Shelfmark, Number of Copies (which for a Serial Issue is always 1) and on Loan Status.
The Serial Volumes List displays when <F8> ("Volumes") is selected from the Recent Issues Received List if the user has selected a line from the Serial Holdings List when issues are not enabled to display. Refer to Figure 4.12: Example Serial Volumes List.
This screen comprises two parts. The SBD of the Serial title displays at the top part of the screen. The remainder of the screen lists the volume details for all catalogued volumes that are attached to this Serial. This will include:
The list is ordered by the Volume number then issue number, which can sometimes cause some anomalies in filing where issues are named by month.
The data displayed in the Volumes List is not Site-specific; it forms the list of all volumes held as part of this Serial, irrespective of Site.
Selecting a line from this list results in the display of locations for the volume selected.
The Locations List displays whenever a user chooses to view a work from a list of references. An example is shown in Figure 4.13: The Locations List.
If a Work has no Items attached (or all the Items have been suppressed for any reason) then a message box is displayed indicating:
No copies are available for this title. Press any key to return to the list.
Pressing any key returns the user to the References List.
The Locations List screen is divided into two parts, with the top part being used to display the SBD of the Work. The SBD is taken from the display values in the WORK table. These display values are built automatically by the system when a Work is added to the database and it is not currently possible to change the fields that are included.
The remainder of the screen lists the locations of copies. The list will normally be ordered alphabetically by location, but copies at the current location will always display first in the list.
The current location for an OPAC user can either be defined in the Devices List, or using the "TAL_LOCATION=xxxx" (where "xxxx" is the Location Code) environment variable. (Refer to System Manager Manual, Volume 2: Application Maintenance, Chapter 2: Managing Names for information on the Devices List).
Information displayed for each copy includes:
Depending on how the OPAC terminal user has been enabled, it may be possible to view information from Supplier's reports about on-order items. It may either be possible to view the latest Supplier report text in the Shelfmark field, or to access a complete listing of Supplier report(s): refer to Supplier Reports Display for further details.
Copies at the same Site and with the same Item Status and Shelfmark will be grouped together in the list. Any copies with different Item Statuses or Shelfmarks, or that are In-transit or Interloan requests (ILLs) will be listed separately.
It is possible to restrict the display of copies on the Locations List to those at a single Location. This is usually done for a sub-catalogue; for example, only display copies available at the Central Library in the Central Library Catalogue. This is described in Collection Management.
The Size will normally display before the Sequence in the Shelfmark part of this screen, but it is possible to change this order by setting the environment variable:
TAL_SEQUENCE_FIRST=YES; export TAL_SEQUENCE_FIRST <Enter>
If further instructions on the different ways of setting an environment variable are required, refer to Guidance on Setting Environment Variables.
Selecting a line from the Locations List results in the display of the Location Details screen, which lists the full details of all copies at a given Location/Shelfmark combination.
In transit Items are defined as those which are travelling between Sites. In transit functionality enables Library staff to keep track of Items which are on the move, and to make enquiries about them.
There are only two reasons (currently) why an Item may be in transit:
Information about Items in transit is visible within Circulation, Acquisitions and OPAC.
The Locations List informs the user whether an Item is between locations. They are listed separately from their Home Site and the Shelfmark displays instead with the text:
Item is between locations
Refer to Figure 4.14: Example In Transit Items (Locations List).
Refer to the Circulation Reference Manual, Chapter 5: Reservations if you require further information about In transit Items.
It is possible to use the "Opac text" display value to present different names for Item Statuses to OPAC users than those seen by Library staff. For example, all of the different Order Statuses can be represented in OPAC simply as "On Order". This is done by amending the "Opac text" field for Statuses within Utilities Parameters Names Item Statuses. Similarly, the "Display as" field for Item Sequences, Sizes and Formats can be used to present different names for Item Sequences, Sizes and Formats respectively in OPAC.
The true parameter name will be displayed to any staff users of OPAC (i.e. any users carrying-out OPAC searches from within the Circulation, Cataloguing or Acquisitions modules).
Note: If any changes have been made to any of the "Display as" or "Opac text" values, it is necessary to log off, then back into Talis, in order for the changes to be reflected online.
An Item Query changes the Shelfmark on the Locations List to show "Unavailable" automatically. This is the default "Opac text", but Libraries are able to specify what is displayed in the Shelfmark field for Query Items via Utilities - Parameters - Names - Item - Statuses.
It is possible to suppress Items from appearing in the Locations List by means of Item Status (if the status is other than "Loanable"), or by Item Size or Sequence. This is done by leaving the "Display as" field (for Sizes and Sequences) or "Opac text" field (for Statuses) blank when setting these up within Utilities - Parameters - Names - Item. For further instructions, refer to Section 2.8: Item Names.
It is possible to view the text of the latest report message from the Supplier when looking at "On Order" status Items. This display, from the Locations List, is optional. Supplier reports for Items at statuses 1 ("Order Pending") or 2 ("Order Sent") only are displayed. The date(s) of the report(s) are shown.
The display of Supplier reports in Talis OPAC is controlled by two new OPAC enablements (set by the System Manager from Enablements under Utilities Parameters Permission Rules). For further information about setting enablements, refer to Defining OPAC User Enablements and/or the System Manager Manual Volume 2: Application Maintenance, Chapter 9: Managing Enablements.
Both Supplier Report-related enablements are shipped out set to "No". System Managers have to enable one or both options before the most recent Supplier Report text is displayed or a complete listing of Supplier Reports can be viewed (respectively) in character-based OPAC.
This enablement controls whether the most recent Supplier Report received for an on-order Item is displayed on the Location List. When OPAC Supplier Report is set to "No" then the most recent report does not display on the Locations List. If OPAC Supplier Report is set to "Yes" then the most recent report appears in the Shelfmark field on the Locations List.
This enablement controls whether a list of all Supplier Reports is available for an on-order Item. When OPAC Supplier Report List is set to "No" then a complete listing of Order reports is unavailable when <F3> ("Order Info") is selected; instead full details of the latest report only are presented.
If OPAC Supplier Report List is set to "Yes" then a complete listing of Order reports can be viewed in the pop-up Order Reports List. This list is accessed by pressing <F3> ("Order Info") on a selected line on the Locations List.
Note: Supplier Report-related enablements operate independently. The OPAC Supplier Report List option may be enabled while the OPAC Supplier report option is not. Consequently, Supplier Reports relating to an Item, or group of Items, could be displayed by pressing <F3> ("Order Info") on the Locations List without the most recent Supplier Report text displaying in the Locations List.
If Talis OPAC is enabled to display only the latest report (i.e. OPAC Supplier Report List = "No") then the Order Reports List displays only the most recently received report, and the date it was received. When on the Locations List with an on-order Item highlighted, pressing <F3> ("Order info") presents the complete text of the latest Supplier report, as illustrated in Figure 4.15: Order Reports List - Latest Order Report Received.
If Talis OPAC is enabled to display all Order reports (i.e. OPAC Supplier Report List = "Yes") then the pop-up Order Reports List presents all Order reports including the most recently received report at the top. Refer to Figure 4.16: Order Reports List - All Order Reports.
Each line on the Order Reports List comprises two fields;
If enabled to display all Order reports for the Item(s), each report with its received date is displayed on a new line. Reports are displayed in date/time order, with the most recently received listed first.
The list displays up to 5 reports at a time and is scrollable up and down, permitting all reports to be viewed. A "+" sign indicates where the user can scroll further up or down the list.
Refer to Figure 4.17: Message Box - No Order Reports Available.
This message is presented when:
Press any key to clear this message box and continue.
If you have arrived at the Locations List by pressing <Enter> on an Issue in the Serial Issues List, the <F4> ("Next title") and <F5> ("Prev title") function keys operate slightly differently on the Locations List. These options operate the same as going back up to the single line References List and then going to either the next or previous Title; equivalent to pressing <F12> ("Back"), <F12> ("Back"), <F12> ("Back"), then moving up/down one line in the References List and finally pressing <Enter> four times. (See Figure 4.5: Navigating Serial Holdings, Volumes & Check-in Issues for a visual representation of this type of multi-level navigation).
If however the Locations List is accessed via the Serial Volumes List then pressing <F4> ("Next title") or <F5> ("Prev title") go to the single line References List and then moving to either the next or previous Title; equivalent to pressing <F12> ("Back"), <F12> ("Back"), <F12> ("Back"), then moving up/down one line in the References List and pressing <Enter> to get back to the Locations List - or pressing <F12> ("Back"), <F12> ("Back"), then moving up/down a line and pressing <Enter> to get back to the Locations List - depending upon whether the Recent Issues Received List is in the screen stack.
Pressing <Enter> on the Locations List shows the Serial Item's Barcode, Loan Type, Due Date, Reservation Status and any Notes. The Location and Location details functionality provided from Serial Issues is the same as that provided for other Works' Items in Talis OPAC.
Where no Item details are available, a message box clarifies:
"No copies are available for this issue. Press any key to return to the list"
On pressing any key, the user is returned to the Serial Issues List.
The Location Details List (or "copies" list) displays whenever a user chooses a line from the Locations List. Refer to Figure 4.18: Example Location Details List.
The copies list is in two parts:
The top part includes the Location of the copies being viewed, a count of the number of copies at this Site and the Shelfmark of all the copies at this location. The Size will normally display before the Sequence in the Shelfmark on this screen, but it is possible to change this order by setting the environment variable:
TAL_SEQUENCE_FIRST=YES; export TAL_SEQUENCE_FIRST <Enter>
Refer to OPAC Related Environment Variables for guidance on setting environment variables.
The remainder of the screen will list all copies at this Location/Shelfmark. The user can press <F5> ("Next") or <F4> ("Previous") to view copies at other Locations/Shelfmarks. (Refer to Section 5.6.1: Full Record Browse Options).
The information displayed in the list includes:
For copies that are between Sites, the text "In Transit" is displayed in the Notes field of the Location Details List. Refer to In Transit Items.
For an ILL, the text "Interloan Item" will display in the Item's Notes field.
For Query Items, the Notes field indicates "Item Query".
Three types of Notes can be linked to an Item in Talis. These are:
Item Notes are derived from the General Notes and Descriptive Notes fields (mapping to MARC Tags 150 and 160 respectively). Wants Notes may be optionally displayed on the Notes Form too, if the environment variable TAL_OPAC_WANTS_NOTE is set to "Yes"; see below for further details.
General Notes will always display first, followed by Descriptive Notes. Wants Notes will only display on this screen if the Library has set the environment variable:
TAL_OPAC_WANTS_NOTE=YES; export TAL_OPAC_WANTS_NOTE <Enter>
If this variable is set, the Wants Notes will display after any other notes. Refer to Guidance on Setting Environment Variables if further instructions are required on the different approaches to setting an environment variable .
It is possible to display a total of 20 characters of any Notes attached to an Item on this screen. If the Notes text exceeds 20 characters, the last 3 characters are dispayed as "..." to indicate that more information is present and may be viewed.
The user can view the full text of any Notes by selecting the <F3> ("Expand notes") key.
The Title Details screen (also commonly referred to as the "Work Details" screen) displays the full record of a Work. It is called when the user presses <F7> ("Title") on the References List or Locations List (or by selecting the "Title" option from the Options Menu at these locations). Refer to Figure 4.19: Example Title Details Screen.
The data displayed in this screen is taken from the MARC record. Data is formatted according to whether the Work is a Monograph, Serial, Analytical part, Series part or a Multi-Volume part Work.
A Serial parent record will be treated as a Monograph for display purposes if it has no catalogued volumes attached.
When a user searches for an Analytical Parent Work, this will appear as a normal Monograph. The titles of all of the Child Works will be listed in the Title Details screen.
When a user searches for an Analytical Child Work, the details of the Parent record will automatically display when they choose to display the Locations screen. The details of both Child and Parent Work will display in the Title Details screen.
Libraries can define which MARC tags and subfields should be included in this display and how this information should appear using the maintenance interface for Work Detail Tags and Work Detail Layouts under OPAC Rules. For full instructions refer to Introducing Work Detail Layout Rules - Defining Work Detail Tags. The order of the tags can be changed, the label that precedes the tags can be amended and any punctuation separating tags can be changed. All occurrences of an included tag will display.
The standard Talis "+" symbol, which appears at the top and bottom of forms and lists to indicate that further information is available via pageup or pagedown etc., can now be replaced with userdefined text. This has been implemented on the Title Details Form, where the "+" has been replaced by "More...".
Implementation of this feature is selective, rather than being a global OPAC feature. It must be implemented on a form by form basis by defining SHOWMORE as an option on each form/list required in the meta database.
The text/characters that appear are defined in two meta messages called "GEN_BOTTOM_MORE_MG" and "GEN_TOP_MORE_MG".
When on the Title Details screen, it is possible to view the next or previous record in the index directly by selecting <F5> ("Next Title") or <F4> ("Prev Title") respectively. This is particularly helpful when you wish to view several records in turn briefly, when assessing their scope and relevance. This subject is covered more fully in Browsing Records.
This chapter is an exploration of the OPAC screens encountered after initiating a search. The screens examined are Indexes, References Lists, the Series List, the Volumes List, the Serial Holdings List, the Recent Issues Received List, the Serial Issues List, the Serial Volumes List, the Locations List, the Location Details Form and the Title Details screen.
This chapter should be used in conjunction with Chapter 5: Common Function Keys, which looks at the function keys and functionality available at each of the main OPAC screens.
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