Submitted by damon-moore on
Maybe you’ve heard about them, but what exactly are the “Deep Search” and “Notify Me” features in Wisconsin’s Digital Library/Libby, and how do they affect library staff in OverDrive Marketplace and at the service desk?
“Deep Search” is a feature that allows patrons to search for and locate materials that are not currently part of their library’s digital library collection.
“Notify Me” refers to a smart tag that patrons can add to a title not currently owned by Wisconsin’s Digital Library. If/when the library purchases the title, the patron will be notified and prompted to put the title on hold.
Why is the Notify Me feature helpful for library staff to know about?
Notify Me smart tags are one way that the selection team for Wisconsin’s Digital Library knows what new titles should be considered for the collection. Selectors for the shared collection use a threshold of 25 Notify Me tags before considering a title for purchase. Advantage selectors use much lower thresholds, like 5 or 10 tags, in their title considerations.
Notify Me tags allow systems to select titles with local/regional appeal while maximizing shared collection funding at the state level.
Read more about using Deep Search & Notify Me tags in Libby (for library staff)
Why is this feature helpful for patrons to know about?
Combining Deep Search and Notify Me allows patrons to find, request, or recommend titles not currently owned by Wisconsin’s Digital Library.
At the desk or on the phone, you can give patrons a quick tour of how to use the deep search filter to find titles not currently in Wisconsin's Digital Library, and how to apply a Notify Me smart tag.
You can also share this how-to page (with a video at the end!) if answering a question by email or in a follow-up message:
Learn About Deep Search & Notify Me in Libby (patron/public-facing how-to)
Additional resources & how-to’s
- Notify Me Data in OverDrive Marketplace (how-to for library staff)
- Patron Interests Manager in Marketplace (how-to for library staff)
- Patron Interests Dashboard in Marketplace (how-to for library staff)
The Did You Know? series spotlights features, tools, and other resources available to library staff, including patron-facing folks, to expand their know-how about Wisconsin’s Digital Library, OverDrive, Libby, and the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium (WPLC).