Requesting opinions on proposed change to AuthDisplayHierarchy
Thanks to everyone who weighed in on my question about the cataloging interface. I have another one: If the AuthDisplayHierarchy system preference is turned on, hierarchies of authority records are displayed via a JavaScript plugin which makes a collapsible tree of authority links. I propose that this be replaced with a static, CSS-styled tree. Doing so would cut one JavaScript plugin dependency.
From the bug report (https://bugs.koha-community.org/bugzilla3/show_bug.cgi?id=21128) here's a screenshot of the updated OPAC view:
https://bugs.koha-community.org/bugzilla3/attachment.cgi?id=77307 And in the staff client: https://bugs.koha-community.org/bugzilla3/attachment.cgi?id=77308 At my library we don't use this feature, so I don't really know how it is used in production. Are authority hierarchies often so "deep" that having a collapsible display is preferred? If so, could clicking to show or hide the entire tree be a viable alternative? Thanks, Owen -- Web Developer Athens County Public Libraries http://www.myacpl.org
Hi, Owen-- Sorry for the delay in my reply, but I finally had a quiet moment to really look at this! Although our AuthDisplayHierarchy syspref is set to "Display" (with Koha 17.11.07), our authorities displays don't look like this, but I like it! I think having the trees automatically display open is best, with the click/select on a heading executing a search. We have a very complex (and messy) authority file that I'm cleaning up, so I've been looking at our authorities & their relationships a lot, and I think that as long as a user gets to see at least one broad and/or narrow and/or related term, they can click/select around to get to a desired heading. I think it's less desirable to click/select to expand or collapse the hierarchy--I think that the click/select action should execute the search & the user can then navigate to the desired heading that way & then eventually click/select the biblios. If you have an example of a related term (rather than a broader/narrower relationship), I'd find that interesting to see. Hope this is helpful! Cheerio, h2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Heather Hernandez Technical Services Librarian San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park Research Center 2 Marina Blvd., Bldg. E, 3rd floor, San Francisco, CA 94123-1284 415-561-7032, heather_hernandez@nps.gov Library catalog: http://keys.bywatersolutions.com/
It's a feature that would be useful in a very specialized library for subject / topical terms. That said, our very specialized library doesn't use it. Because of the history of our database (having been converted from numerous small databases) the hierarchy is built into an individual record's terms eg. Display dance / Step dance / Clog dance / Solo dance, rather than having them as subordinate / related terms in the authority file. But, if I were to do it all from scratch, a hierarchical system would be the way to go. CSS sounds like the logical step, the key is the ability to browse up and down the hierarchy and back and forth across related terms. Elaine Bradtke VWML English Folk Dance and Song Society | http://www.efdss.org Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regent's Park Road, London NW1 7AY Tel +44 (0) 20 7485 2206 (This number is for the English Folk Dance and Song Society in London, England. If you wish to phone me personally, send an e-mail first. I work off site) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Registered Company No. 297142 Charity Registered in England and Wales No. 305999 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture" --Elvis Costello (Musician magazine No. 60 (October 1983), p. 52) On Thu, Aug 9, 2018 at 8:20 AM, Heather Hernandez <heather_hernandez@nps.gov
wrote:
Hi, Owen--
Sorry for the delay in my reply, but I finally had a quiet moment to really look at this!
Although our AuthDisplayHierarchy syspref is set to "Display" (with Koha 17.11.07), our authorities displays don't look like this, but I like it! I think having the trees automatically display open is best, with the click/select on a heading executing a search. We have a very complex (and messy) authority file that I'm cleaning up, so I've been looking at our authorities & their relationships a lot, and I think that as long as a user gets to see at least one broad and/or narrow and/or related term, they can click/select around to get to a desired heading. I think it's less desirable to click/select to expand or collapse the hierarchy--I think that the click/select action should execute the search & the user can then navigate to the desired heading that way & then eventually click/select the biblios.
If you have an example of a related term (rather than a broader/narrower relationship), I'd find that interesting to see.
Hope this is helpful! Cheerio, h2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Heather Hernandez Technical Services Librarian San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park Research Center 2 Marina Blvd., Bldg. E, 3rd floor, San Francisco, CA 94123-1284 415-561-7032, heather_hernandez@nps.gov Library catalog: http://keys.bywatersolutions.com/ _______________________________________________ Koha mailing list http://koha-community.org Koha@lists.katipo.co.nz https://lists.katipo.co.nz/mailman/listinfo/koha
participants (3)
-
Elaine Bradtke -
Heather Hernandez -
Owen Leonard