External sources
In the new OPAC, you can set up external sources that can be searched in addition to the standard catalog. These sources can be indexed in Solr (a search system). There are also external sources available outside of Solr.
External sources indexed in Solr
An external source provides titles in Solr, the underlying search system for the OPAC. These titles themselves are not known within OCLC Wise. These external sources, through an interface created by OCLC, use the branch groups mechanism for the purpose of searching the catalog.
This allows for very specific control over which branches can and may search which external sources.
Setting up CloudLibrary, Libby, and Hoopla
While other external sources require the creation of a virtual (dummy) branch in order to display in the catalog, there are three designated branches that correspond to CloudLibrary, Libby, and Hoopla content:
E050 - CloudLibrary eContent
E051 - Libby eContent
E052 - Hoopla eContent
Note: By default, CloudLibrary titles are integrated into the core OPAC discovery experience so patrons can find physical and digital formats together in one search flow. Configuring branch E050 - CloudLibrary eContent will override this behavior; a separate CloudLibrary filter will appear under Available now in the OPAC, and CloudLibrary digital collection counts will not be included in the branch collection counts.
For more information on the default CloudLibrary integration with the OPAC, see CloudLibrary integration.
To add these sources to the OPAC:
- In the Manager, go to Management organizations > Networks and branch groups > Branch groups > (G_VST) Branch groups per branch.
- Click Open next to the CG6 - Webcat group 1 branch.
- Click Open next to the first branch that will be configured to search the eContent source being added.
- Click New.
- Select the desired Branch/Group from the dropdown menu.
Note: Select branch 9999 to include all active branches.
- Enter a sequence number for the resource, starting with 0. This is used to order the eContent resources within the OPAC filters.
- Enter the desired description for the eContent branch. The description entered here will display in the OPAC.
- Click OK. The eContent branch will now appear under the selected branch.
- Repeat steps 1 through 8 for each branch that should be able to see the eContent resource filtering in the OPAC. Resources configured under branch 9999 (see step 5 above) will not need to be configured under each individual branch.
Setting up other external sources
An external source provides titles in Solr. Each source has its own program to read the titles from the source and import them into Solr. For other regional/local source collections, please OCLC Support.
To configure external sources in the branch search settings:
- Enable the external collection in the Solr configuration of the system.
- Create a virtual (dummy) branch for the external collection. The category for the new branch must be set to Z - Dummy (virtual branches will be created via a version_update).
- If you want to enable searching in this external collection for specific branches, add the virtual branch to that branch's category groups.
Cover art and external sources
A number of external sources offer cover art for items, but some do not. Since in most cases it is desirable that “something” is shown, a mechanism has been created for this, which works as follows:
- Titles without a momkeys value use the file named <origine>.png in (wiseweb machine) /home/web/images as a cover.
- The hardcoded origin values per source (retrievable via “grep -rn origine .” in feeder/generators dir in wisesolr project)
A cover must meet the following requirements:
- Size: approximately 120x166 px
- File format: png
- If possible, a transparent background
- A background or border is necessary because without one the shadow under the cover is visible.
Note: OCLC's cover art services contract with TiVo ends on December 31, 2025. At this time, libraries will see a decrease in available cover art for media materials such as:
- DVD and Blu-ray movies
- Music CDs and albums
- Other audiovisual materials
For more information on manually adding cover art, see Add cover art images.
Additional external sources outside Solr
The system option EXTSRC allows further searching in new OPAC using other additional external sources, for example, Google, Wikipedia or the Worldcat scientific collection.
The location of this option is different from the previous OPAC version. Instead of showing above the search results, it can now be found below the search help on the left side of the screen. When a user clicks on the link, a new tab opens in which the search term used is already entered. The use of wildcards (*) is supported. This option allows a user to repeat their search in an additional external source.
For more information on configuring these sources, see External Systems.