Move Material type field to the top of the Editing form
We think the field for material type should be moved to the top of the Editing form.
This makes sense for several reasons.
- It makes sense to define a document before registering it, and that’s where cataloguers start.
- Different document types have different sets of fields, and choosing the material type first would ensure that the instructor starts registering in the correct form.
- When changing the material type during the process, some fields may move or disappear, including fields the instructor had just been working on, leading to a poor user experience.
- User creating a chapter citation naturally start filling in the title field with the chapter title, only to discover that this field was for the book title when changing the material type = double work = poor user experience.
Emmanuelle Dabin
shared this idea
This request was partially developed in August release under ‘citation mapping field’.
Fields that are mandatory to all the types such as title and type are in a standard structure and therefor can’t be mapped.
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Veronika Leitner
commented
Just for everyone noticing that the material type hasn't moved to the top: this was not implemented in Aug 2020.
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Gustav Bolin
commented
We at VID Specialized University strongly support this idea. Since the material type is the cornerstone of the citation, and the choice you make in that field has consequences for names and position of other fields in the form, putting it at the top of the form would reduce the risk of mistakes and confusion and therefore improve the usability.
Best regards
Gustav Bolin
Senior Librarian
VID Specialized University, Oslo, Norway