The My Discoveries (MD) component is not linked to patron accounts. A new account must be created for users (including staff) to tag, rate, review and create lists. At this time, the two accounts cannot be linked, so a user must remember both user accounts - his MD account and his library account. However, the MD account can be whatever the user wishes; it is not assigned to you, like your library account is with your account barcode.

Creating a My Discoveries user account is simple. Just click on the My Discoveries option on the right hand side of the top toolbar. This is also where a user logs in after the account is created.

If you do not already have an account, click "register" to get started.

After logging in, a personal account box summarizing your activity will be displayed. This is where you can manage your personally generated information. You can look at and access the tags, lists and reviews you've created. If you'd rather just continue browsing the catalogue after signing in, you can close this box without being logged out. At any point you want to tag, rate, review or add to/create a list, clicking on the "Save or tag..." link in any record will allow you to do so without having to log in.

The first concern with allowing users to submit content is not the helpfulness and enhancement that this information offers, but the possibility of users abusing this feature by adding inappropriate terms. However, there is a built in “Stop List” of terms created by the Collection Access Manager and Librarian. If a term on the Stop List is used by a patron in a tag or review, that entry will not be posted, because of the inappropriate term.

Using My Discoveries is meant to be intuitive, but it’s important to go over a few basic functions to enhance familiarity with its features. Now that you are logged in to your user account, and have closed out of the user account summary, let’s try a search. This time, let’s search Halifax Explosion. Next, limit the items by format choosing Non-fiction Books. You do not need to go into the full bib record to tag, rate, review or create a personal list

Looking at the list, you will note at the bottom of each short bib record a “Save or tag...” option. Click on Save or tag...

You'll then see a drop down menu that provides options for what you want to do with the record.

If you want to try adding a list, there are two options available. A private list or a public list can be created. The default is set to keep the list private, so that the user can refer to it and add things to it, without sharing their lists with other Halifax Public Library patrons. As a result, it will not display within the catalogue. However, by unchecking the private list tick box, the list can be made public. Public lists are incredibly useful for staff, as various teams and groups can view and contribute to book lists that apply to several different employees.

Most of the existing tags currently found in Discover have been provided by LibraryThing users. It is important to note that LibraryThing users have different motivations to tag than library staff and patrons. As a result, there may be times when you find irrelevant tags associated with an item. When irrelevant tags are added, they are slowly “weeded out” as more appropriate and popular tags are created. However, if a record appears to have an abundance of irrelevant tags, it is best to contact the Collection Access Librarian. User tags, by default, do not factor into a basic search in Discover. However, if you want to search specifically for user tags, you can try typing md_tags: into Discover followed by a word you want to search for. For example, md_tags:Halifax

If you tag an item, that item will not only be tagged in our library catalogue, but in all Aquabrowser catalogues worldwide. As of late 2012, about 700 library systems were using Aquabrowser software. As a result, these tags are universal, allowing a level of sharing between community members and patrons beyond Halifax Public Libraries. However, this shouldn’t dissuade you from encouraging patrons from tagging. It can be an extremely helpful way to add additional access points to items, track book club reading materials or highlight materials for a program. More of this will be discussed later on in the tutorial.

My Discoveries also allows users to search each other. In the search box, search BeatriceJay. By searching a user, you can view all of his or her public lists. If you stumble upon an author or genre that has user generated reviews, you might be interested to know what else that user has read or reviewed. By searching a user name, or clicking on their hyperlinked name (indicated as the writer of the review), you can become familiar with other patrons locally and internationally with your same reading (or music/movie) interests. Later on in the tutorial, this will be discussed as an aspect of Readers’ Advisory Services in the catalogue.

Going back to our BeatriceJay search, take a look at the lists that have been created by this user. Choose the title A Tree Grows in Brooklyn from the second list, BeatriceJay’s Top Picks. Now that we are viewing the full bib record, take a look at the information available within this record.

The screen shot below only shows the first half of the full record. Continue to scroll down the page in the catalogue, and you will also see detailed information that includes the follow:

1. Holdings information
2. Summaries
3. Community reviews
4. Excerpt from the first chapter

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