Consortium of Ohio Libraries

Introduction #

Evergreen’s native carousel feature allows libraries to create and display multiple carousels on their OPAC’s homepage using the same cover images stored for OPAC search results and record displays.

A number of predefined carousel types are available which allow the user to build a carousel without the need to select individual items (e.g., newly cataloged DVDs). The option to manually select items is also available to create content specific or theme-based carousels.

Understanding Carousels #

Carousels consist of three components and their associated interfaces: types, mappings, and carousels.

Types (Server Administration > Carousel Types) #

There are five carousel types that specify the content that will display in the carousel:

1. Newly cataloged items
2. Newest items by shelving location
3. Recently returned items
4. Top circulating items
5. Manual

Type manual creates a record bucket linked to a carousel so that titles can be added and removed manually by staff. All other carousels update their content automatically based on information contained within the bibliographic and copy records.

Mapping (Local Administration > Carousel Library Mapping) #

Mapping links a carousel to an OPAC’s homepage for display. The purpose of this component allows members to display each other’s carousels. Though this may be an unlikely circumstance within COOL, every carousel must have a mapping in order to be visible in the OPAC.

Carousel (Local Administration > Carousels) #

The carousel component is information that defines the carousel itself: type, owning library, display name, max items, etc. When creating a new carousel, this is the menu within the local administration settings that you will want to access first.

(This is an over-simplification of how carousels work and a link to the official documentation on carousels can be found below.)

Creating Carousels #

Automated Types #

Follow these steps to create a new carousel of any type, except manual.

1. Go to Local Administration > Carousels
2. Click New Carousels
3. Complete the following fields within the pop-up menu:

Field	Example Value	Notes
Age Limit	6 months; 21 days	Limit items based on their age. This ensures newer items are always displayed and those above the age limit are omitted
Carousel Type	New Cataloged; Recently Returned; Top Circulated; New Items by Shelving Location
Item Libraries*	OH0210	Item owning library short name
Maximum Items	25	Max number of items to include in the carousel
Name	DVD and Music (Sunbury)	Title to display above your carousel in the OPAC. It is helpful to append your library’s name to the title so it is easier to find in Step 9
Owner	SUNBURY	Your library
Shelving Locations*	DVD (OH0210) Music CD (OH0210)	By default, every shelving location in every member library is listed. You can limit to your library’s shelving locations by typing your library’s short name into the search box (e.g., OH0210)

4. Take note of your carousel’s name and click Save
5. Back in the main Carousels interface, check the box next to your newly created carousel or right mouse click the row
6. Click the Action menu and select Refresh Selected
   • This step runs the process that initially populates the contents of your carousel
7. Go to Local Administration > Carousel Library Mappings
8. Click New Carousels Visible at Library
9. Complete the following fields within the pop-up menu below:

Field	Example Value	Notes
Carousel	“DVD and Music (Sunbury)”	The name of the carousel created in steps 1 – 4
Library	OH0210	The OPAC to display the carousel
Override Name	“DVD and Music”	Rename the title displayed above the carousel. This is useful if you want to use a unique identifier in the carousel name but do not want it to be displayed
Sequence Number	1	The weighted display order of the carousel

10. Click Save

This completes the process of creating a new carousel. Visit your library’s OPAC homepage to verify that it displays properly. If your carousel is not displaying, try refreshing the contents as covered in steps 5 and 6.

Manual Type #

Creating carousels using the manual type is very similar to the process for creating other carousels with a few added steps.

1. Complete step 1 – 5 above. This time in step 3, set the Carousel Type to Manual.
2. Following step 5, click the Action menu and choose Edited Selected. This will reopen the pop-up menu you just saved.
3. In the Field labeled Bucket, click the link “Link to Bucket.” This will open a record bucket screen in a new browser tab. Note the record bucket id number and name associated with this bucket.
4. From here, you can add items to the carousel record bucket in a number of different ways:
   • You can search for records under the Record Query tab in the record bucket screen that just opened in the previous step.
   • You can add individual titles from the title’s Record display in the catalog by choosing Other Actions -> Add to Carousel. (Here you will select the carousel by name)
   • If you are using the experimental catalog, you can add individual records to the basket and then transfer those records into your carousel’s bucket using its id number. From the staff catalog, choose Basket Actions -> Add Basket to Bucket -> Shared Bucket.
5. Once you have added items to your carousel, complete steps 7-10 to make your manual carousel visible on your library’s OPAC homepage.

Feature Limitations #

• The order of Items in the carousel can not be randomized. They will display in the order that they were added to the carousel manually or by Evergreen’s internal processes.