SUMMARY

The default Thumbnail view does not support effective browsing for text-based collections in Primo NDE.

Currently, libraries cannot configure the default display mode (Thumbnail view vs. Detailed/List view) for Collection Discovery pages. We request the ability to define List view as the default, or to configure this per view or collection.

PROBLEM: THUMBNAILS DO NOT SUPPORT TEXT-BASED COLLECTIONS

Thumbnail view prioritizes visual browsing, but many collections do not contain meaningful or distinctive visual material.

This applies in particular to:
- Student theses
- Scholarly publications
- Institutional repository content

Thumbnails are often missing, non-informative (for example showing the first page of a PDF), or highly similar across records.

As a result, the interface shows very limited metadata, often only the title. Important information for selection and comparison is not visible, such as:
- Publication year
- Availability status (open access, embargo, or restricted)
- Abstract or summary
- Author information

This makes browsing inefficient and forces users to open multiple records to find relevant items.

USER STORIES: METADATA-DRIVEN DISCOVERY

1. Student (exploratory browsing)
   As a student exploring theses or scholarly publications, I want to quickly scan metadata such as year, topic and availability, so that I can identify useful examples without opening each item.

2. Academic staff
   As an academic staff member reviewing output, I want to see structured information (year, title, supervisor, completeness) directly in the results list, so that I can efficiently assess coverage and quality.

3. Researcher
   As a researcher browsing a publication collection, I want to compare items using metadata, so that I can identify relevant materials without relying on visual cues.

USE CASE: CURRENT VS DESIRED BEHAVIOUR

A user opens a thesis or publication collection in Primo NDE.

In the current Thumbnail view:
- Only titles are clearly visible
- Thumbnails are absent or not meaningful
- Key metadata is hidden
- The user must open multiple records

In a Detailed/List view:
- Multiple metadata elements are immediately visible
- Users can scan and compare efficiently
- Fewer clicks are required
- The browsing experience matches the content type

PROPOSED SOLUTION

• Allow configuration of the default display mode for Collection Discovery (Thumbnail view or List view)
• Allow configuration per collection or per view, so institutions can match the view to the content type (e.g. images vs text-based collections)

This flexibility would significantly improve usability and reduce the need for local customizations.