Enhanced DEI Controls

November 2025 URM-250002

CERV Enhancement (ID #9021)

Updated 28 October 2025

Support for automated modification of terms that are deemed problematic from the standpoint of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), has been expanded to include a number of powerful new features. The DEI settings enable you to create a list of problematic terms – words or phrases – that require special handling if they are found in the Subject fields of resource records. The handling specified for each term is implemented in both the full and brief displays of resource records, as well as in the facets of search results.

The following options are available for handling DEI terms:

• Remove – Remove the term entirely from subjects and facets
• Replace – Replace the term with a different term in resource records, and optionally add a note beside the new term whenever it appears in a record's list of subjects. (The original term is not removed from or replaced in the facets.)
• None – Add a note beside the term whenever it appears in subjects or facets

For the Remove and None options, you can choose the Scope of the modification, namely, whether the term found in the Subject field must match the configured term exactly, or can be part of a phrase. In the latter case, if the term is found in a phrase, the entire phrase is removed or annotated. For example, if you configure a rule that removes the word immigration, and select the Part Of Phrase scope, not only would the subject immigration be hidden, the subject emigration and immigration would also be hidden. However, inflections of specified terms are not matched. Thus, for example, if the specified term is immigrant, the inflected term immigrants is not matched, even when the scope is Part Of Phrase. A separate DEI rule would have to be added for immigrants in order for it to be processed. 

When you choose Replace or None, you can also add information for patrons about the modification. When you do so, an Information icon () appears beside the term in the record (and for the None option, beside the term in the facets, as well). When the patron selects the icon, a pop-up appears, displaying the message you configured for the term. The message can contain HTML, including links. 

In the following example, three DEI rules were applied:

1. Replace the term immigrants with international job seekers, and add a note.
2. Replace the term immigrants -- New York (State) -- New York with international job seekers -- New York (State) -- New York, and add a note.
3. Remove the term immigration, with the Part of Phrase scope.

In the following example, these settings modified the display of a number of terms in a record:

1. Because of the first rule, the term Immigrants was changed to International job seekers and an information icon () was added beside the term.
2. Because of the second rule, the term Immigrants -- New York (State) -- New York was changed to International job seekers -- New York (State) -- New York and an information icon () was added beside the term.
3. Because of the third rule, the terms New York (N.Y.) -- Emigration and immigration and Emigration and immigration were removed.

The terms and the rules for handling DEI terms are configured in the DEI - List of terms to exclude from Heading page (Configuration Menu > Discovery > Other > DEI - List of terms to exclude from Heading).

For additional information, see Configuring the DEI Exclude List for Primo VE.

New Facet: Available on Shelf

November 2025 URM-226579

CERV Enhancement (ID #8756)

A new top-level facet, Available on Shelf, enables users to filter search results based on the resources' current physical availability. This is an optional facet that is not activated in Primo VE by default. Organizations can turn the feature on if they wish, and can choose which of their locations should be considered physically available in this context. For example, they can choose whether resources located in an on-campus storage facility that is distant from the campus libraries should be considered physically available or not. Only libraries and locations in the Institution Zone can be treated as available for this feature; it is not an option for the Network Zone level or cross-institutionally.

This option can be turned on via the enable_available_on_shelf_top_level_facet Customer Setting, from the Discovery Customer Settings page (Configuration Menu > Discovery > Other > Customer Settings). By default, all IZ locations configured for the organization are treated as available. Individual locations can be excluded in the Select the locations and libraries that should be excluded from the "Available on Shelf" facet page (Configuration Menu > Discovery > Other > Exclude libraries and locations from Available On Shelf facet). The label code is facets.facet.tlevel.available_on_shelf, and can be configured in the Top Level Facet Labels table (Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels).

In NDE, this can also appear as a quick filter above the list of results. This can be configured in the View Configuration page (Discovery > Display Configuration > Configure Views > [Edit a view] > Brief Results tab). 

For additional information, see Discovery Customer Settings; Configuring the Brief Results Page.

Rules for Hiding Local Resources from a Network

November 2025 URM-243804

Added 29 October 2025

Member institutions can now configure rules to hide their local records from the rest of the network based on their inventory properties, local fields, and metadata. When a resource meets the specified conditions, it is hidden from other institutions in the network and but remains visible within the institution. The rules are applied to all resource records owned by the institution that created them; this includes records from the Institution Zone and the Network Zone.

These rules are defined in the Hide From Network Definitions page (Configuration Menu > Discovery > Search Configuration > Hide From Network Definitions) page. A maximum of three rules can be created by each institution for this purpose. Each rule is defined by up to three conditions. For example, you could create a rule that excludes archival materials and manuscripts that belong to collections from network searches. The definition of the rule would consist of two conditions: an inventory condition specifying that the resource must be part of a collection, and a metadata condition specifying that its resource type must be Archival Materials/Manuscripts.

After adding or modifying rules, re-indexing is required in order for the changes to be implemented.

For additional information, see Searching in Collaborative Networks.

NDE UI - General Release

November 2025 URM-235112

The New Discovery Experience (NDE) UI is now generally available for all institutions in both production and sandbox environments.

As part of this change, new Views are now created as NDE Views by default. That is, the NDE checkbox of every new View you create (Discovery > Display Configuration > Configure Views > [Add View] > General tab), is selected by default. You can change this setting if you wish, but only before the View is saved the first time. Once a View is saved, this setting cannot be changed.

For additional information about the general release of the NDE UI, see the announcement above, and Go NDE - Steps to Transition to NDE UI.

NDE UI - Natural Language Search

November 2025 URM-253108, URM-253112, URM-253496, URM-254223, URM-249290, URM-225509

A new feature, Natural Language Search, has been added to NDE. This feature enables users to formulate queries in normal spoken language, and automatically converts them into the kind of queries Primo's search engine can handle. For example, the user could enter the query, "Find me US history journals in English that are available online," and the system would create a query with the appropriate criteria for the search.

The transformation of the original query into the structured format is performed using generative AI, which classifies the elements of the original query, generates a basic Boolean query and then expands it using related concepts. Ambiguous inputs are handled intelligently by mapping to multiple fields (e.g., both Title and Subject) to ensure broad yet accurate retrieval. 

Natural Language Search is enabled by default. It can be enabled or disabled per View in the View Configuration page (Discovery > Display Configuration > Configure Views > [Edit a View]), in the General tab, by selecting or clearing the Enable Natural Search checkbox.

When Natural Language Search is enabled, an Ask Anything button appears beside the Search box. When the user selects the button, the Ask Anything page opens. 

The user selects a scope, enters a query, and initiates the search. The query is converted into the form recognized by the search engine, and the brief results open. A bar above the results shows the search query and provides editing options.

For additional information, see Natural Language Search in the NDE UI.

NDE UI - Embedded Alma-D Viewer

November 2025 URM-254248

The Alma-D Viewer is now automatically embedded in the Full Description of resources that include supported image files.

Supported formats for the Primo NDE viewer currently include:

• Images: JPEG, PNG, TIFF
• Documents: PDF
• Unsupported formats (e.g., SVG, audio, video) are accessed via external links that will open the page in the old viewer.

Viewer key features:

• Embedded viewer on the Full Description page
• Zoom, scroll, download, full-screen view
• In-image text search (when full-text available)
• Indexing and navigation within representations
• Metadata, version preview, and commenting options
• Share, cite, export, and save tools

Current limitations are:

• Only the first representation of a resource is displayed by default
• Rotation is not yet supported
• Advanced full-text search requires uploading the text beforehand

Planned future enhancements:

• Support for more formats
• Enhanced viewer controls
• Unified viewing without external redirects

For additional information, see Primo NDE Viewer.

NDE UI - QR Codes

November 2025 URM-247452

The QR Code feature has been added to the NDE UI's Main Menu. This feature enables staff and users to share Primo VE pages quickly with other users using a QR code or a copied link.

For additional information, see Configuring Discovery Views for Primo VE.

NDE UI - Online Services from Other Institutions

November 2025 URM-222562

For consortia, information about online services from other institutions now appears in the full display of a record.

NDE UI - Feedback Tool

November 2025 URM-206620

The Feedback tool has been added to the NDE UI. This feature enables end users to report an issue or provide feedback to the library from any page in the UI. Once enabled, end users can open the feedback tool by selecting the feedback icon, , which displays at the bottom right corner of the UI. Selecting the icon opens the Give Us Feedback dialog box, in which the user can select the type of issue. The Feedback tool can be configured to contain up to four issue types.

Selecting an option opens a dialog box in which the user can enter a description of the problem and provide an email address at which they can be reached. When the user selects Send, the information is sent by email to the recipient specified in the feature's settings.

The Feedback tool is configured on the Report a problem widget configuration page (Configuration Menu > Discovery > Other > Report a problem widget configuration). It can be configured per View. For additional information, see Configuring the Feedback Tool for Primo VE.