New York Public Library & Bibliocommons Partner To Build a New Online Catalog; Test Version Now Available

Congrats to the entire Bibliocommons team in YYZ (Toronto).

From a NYPL Announcement:

The New York Public Library has partnered with Toronto-based software company Bibliocommons to completely transform its current online catalog, making it easier to discover the Library’s vast collections while also giving users the power to create reading lists, rate the latest books, and organize groups.

The new user-friendly NYPL catalog will debut in September, but starting on June 20, a test version can be accessed and evaluated by the public (at nypl.bibliocommons.com).

Features will include:

• Greatly improved search engine performance
• Personal “shelves” of books and reading lists for users
• The ability to contribute reviews, tags and ratings
• Shared content with the 120 libraries using Bibliocommons (so, for example, a user can read a review of a book from someone in Ottawa or Boston)

In addition, Bibliocommons is developing brand new content specifically for NYPL that will make the interface completely unique in the digital marketplace and an example and template for other libraries across the country and the world. New features in development include:

• The power to build self-organizing groups around the collections
• The opportunity to instantly volunteer online; for example, users might be asked to transcribe a part of a digitized book
• Enhanced access to Special Collections material

Filed under: Archives and Special Collections, Libraries, News, Patrons and Users, Public Libraries