WorldCat Discovery and WorldCat Local > Search Settings > Search Defaults
Our sort recommendations come from our 2019 usability testing on Discovery. You can read more about our findings in our Spring 2019 report. See the Recommendations section for the most detailed analysis.
OCLC also recommends using Best Match as the default sort as they continue to focus their efforts on refining this algorithm.
Recommended Settings
Default Grouping
✔ Group related editions for search results scoped to [your school name], and PALNI Partner Libraries by default
✔ Group related editions for search results scoped to libraries worldwide by default
Default Sort
✔ Best Match
Don't forget to click the save button.
WorldCat Discovery and WorldCat Local > Search Settings > Search Expansion Settings
The ability to expand users' search queries using authority files was added in the April 2020 release of WorldCat Discovery. This allows users to discover relevant search terms to expand their search and perform a more effective search.
Our initial testing revealed that the LCNAF Library of Congress Name Authority File found matches in ways that users were unlikely to have meant their searches and we recommend leaving that one turned off.
Recommended Settings
Related Terms
✔ Expand users' queries using authority data
✔ Expand query using authority data by default
✔ AAT Art & Architecture Thesaurus
✔ LCGenre Library of Congress Genres
✔ LCSH Library of Congress Subject Headings
✔ MeSH Medical Subject Headings
Make sure to scroll down past the Translated Terms options to hit the save button.
WorldCat Discovery and WorldCat Local > Search Settings > Search Results Settings
Displaying Editions & Formats and Alternate Formats on brief results allow users to discover alternate versions of items held by your or others libraries.
The Alternate Formats option was added in the January 2019 release of WorldCat Discovery.
These recommendations come from our 2019 usability testing on Discovery. You can read more about our findings in our Spring 2019 report. See the Recommendations section for the most detailed analysis.
Recommended Settings
Select which feature appear on your WorldCat Discovery search results.
✔ Display Editions & Formats links on search results
✔ Display alternate formats on search results
Don't forget to click the save button.
