I just got an email from WorldCat saying that I could update my blog widget (see the bottom of my sidebar) so that it’s no longer a bright blue on my tan-ish/yellow-ish background. But the really cool part is what’s included in the rest of the email:
- Automatic geographic location by IP address
WorldCat.org library results for a particular item now determine the geographic location for a user based on IP address, even when the user has never before entered a postal code.
- Users can expand faceted browse results
The faceted browse feature of WorldCat.org search results now allows a user to expand the abbreviated results within each facet via a “Show More” link. Faceted browse allows a user to dynamically filter search results by categories, or facets, using the left-hand Refine Your Search panel, helping users narrow a large result set. Each facet in its initial state displays only the five most relevant results. The “Show More” link lets the user incrementally reveal 25 additional results at a time, up to 100 results within the facet.
- More visibility for evaluative content and Web resource links
Individual item records reached from WorldCat.org search results now include links to supplemental Web content at the record level. Previously displayed beneath the “Details” tab, these links can include publisher-provided item descriptions, author biographies and Web sites, tables of contents and content excerpts.
Additional links may be provided with the heading “Web Resources,” which may give a user access to content related to the displayed item. If the displayed item is a digital object—such as an electronic book, or a digitally preserved photo, document or artifact—the link may provide direct viewing or retrieval of the object.
They’ve also added a Chinese language interface, and made it so that you can embed a keyword, subject, title, or author. That url will then lead to a result list as if you’d done a keyword search or a search on those common indices. A tutorial on that is here.