Explore Upgrade 2022 – Information for Library Services staff

In the coming weeks, we will be upgrading Explore by implementing a number of new features to enhance the customer experience of using the platform. A SharePoint site has been created to update staff on the progress and key information regarding this project.

The upgrade will focus on three main areas of development: the migration of our online digital collections and exam papers from Digitool to Alma and Explore, the Explore interface update, and the introduction of online payments of library fines and fees.  

Upgrading these applications will mean that we are supported technically by Ex Libris, and that any future system upgrades or enhancements are enabled. These upgrades will facilitate improved searching and browsing of our digital collections, dynamic updates to catalogue records in Explore, and the ability to pay fines and fees online. 

These features will be released in two stages, with the explore interface update and changes to digital collections going live in early March 2022; we are currently aiming for an 8th March release date. Online payments will be added at a later date, following on from testing. We will communicate the go-live date of online payments closer to the time.   

In the next few weeks, we will be releasing communications and training in order to keep colleagues and customers informed. This will include any required actions our customers need to take, such as the need to save their searches. Customers will be informed of the upgrade through social media, newsletters, QR codes, and a webpage on the library website, as well as via messaging in Explore itself. 

 

Please keep an eye out for further communication related to the project. In the meantime, colleagues can find out more about the upgrades in the new project Sharepoint for Library Services staff, which contains information regarding each separate strand.  

 

The SharePoint is accessible now and will also be signposted on LibNet. It will be a central point for training, contain useful FAQs, and a list of previous communications. We would encourage you to check the SharePoint periodically to find out information about the project as it emerges. 

If you have any questions about the project, or are unable to access the SharePoint site, please contact Bethan Smith.

We would also like to take the opportunity to remind you of the Functional Lead structure. If you have any queries about Explore in general, please use the self-service form to find out how to contact an Explore Functional Lead.