Sonoma County Library Launches New Online Catalog
Improved Search and Browse Experience
Sonoma County Library just launched a new online catalog that completely transforms the search and browse experience, making it easier to discover the library’s vast collections. The new features allow patrons to connect and interact with one another.
The new catalog has a user-friendly interface developed through extensive user testing and an improved search engine, making finding titles easier. Patrons can browse by format, language, audience, award winners and items on-order. Patrons can create personal reading lists, rate and comment on books, make and share book lists, and find new books from staff book lists. In addition, the library is launching an improved “suggest a purchase” module of the catalog, which allows a patron to recommend the library purchase a title and then track the status of the request through their library account.
Sonoma County Library Director Erika Thibault said investing in the new catalog highlights the library’s efforts to improve the tools patrons use the most. “A library’s catalog is the main gateway to all of the books, music, movies and more we provide,” Thibault said. “We wanted to give patrons a better browsing experience so they can search the way they want and find titles just for them.”
The new catalog has been in public beta release since mid-September. The library transitioned to the new catalog on October 14, and is now live at sonomalibrary.org.
Patrons register in the new catalog to manage their holds and checked out titles, rate books, write and share reviews and use the improved option to suggest a title for purchase. Patrons aged 13 and older can choose any username they want; those younger than 13 will choose a color and animal for their username.
Sonoma County Library has more than 780,000 physical items at its 14 libraries, three special collections and a mobile library van. During the last fiscal year, more than 1.4 million people visited a library branch, and total book and online circulation reached 4.4 million.
