Consistent display of the "Search Inside" feature for Journal, Magazine, and Newspaper records
Primo VE was developed in 2017 with a "Search Inside" feature, originally appearing only on Journal type records. In 2019 when CDI was developed Newspaper and Magazine types were added to the discovery environment.
Unfortunately It appears that Ex Libris forgot to consider local records holistically, despite that Newspaper is an out-of-the-box configured type for Alma in Primo VE and many of their customers offer a blended search experience for their patrons.
This is evidenced in an inconsistency that Search Inside displays on Newspaper records from CDI and fails to display on Newspaper records for local records. It will also not display on Magazine type local records, if a site chose to configure this.
Ex Libris initially advised that they would consider correcting this, as part of a SalesForce case seeking to have the current functionality explained and documented. Finally after 10 months it was explained why the feature appearance was found to be inconsistent:
“Local records—If the record has an ISSN (contains an addata/issn or addata/eissn field) and is a journal. To identify a journal, the display/type field must start with the word journal, or the record must contain an addata/jtitle field (not an addata/btitle or addata/atitle field).
CDI records—If the record has an ISSN (contains an addata/issn or addata/eissn field) and is a periodical. To identify a periodical, the display/type field must start with the word journal, or the record must contain an addata/jtitle field (not an addata/btitle or addata/atitle field), or the addata/format and addata/genre fields must be set to journal. If the above criteria are met for CDI records, this section may also appear for magazines and newspapers.”
These varying conditions mean that the feature does not display in Alma Newspapers, because the addata/jtitle field is not currently populated, as there is only as stitle not only for Newspaper type content, and there is no addata/format and addata/genre populated.
Primo VE customers have no configuration options to fix this, with no access to addata PNX rules.
And to add insult to injury, this inconsistent Search Inside feature also cannot be disabled by configuration, only by custom code application, for which Ex Libris explicitly does not provide support.
Unfortunately Ex Libris ultimately advised after a year of the case being open that they would not fix this situation, documented the current inconsistency for Search Inside, and refused to engage further.
This enhancement request is for the Search Inside development to be addressed holistically and simply, to display Search Inside consistently by the display type of Magazine, Newspaper or Journal regardless of data source, when the record contains an ISSN/EISSN.