Configuring Database Search for Primo VE

Introduction

The Database Search page enables users to search specifically for local databases or electronic collections that are associated with a descriptive (bibliographic) record that is not suppressed and has a valid collection-level URL that has been configured for linking to the database or collection in the Level URL field. In addition, it provides auto-complete suggestions and the ability to browse for databases based on category.

Database Search

Unlike the new Primo UI, Database Search for Primo VE does not allow you to browse using A-Z links.

Each item in the results contains the following information: resource type, thumbnail, title, creator, date, availability, and actions (such as Citation and Email).

Database Search Results Page

The default maximum number of results per page is 10, but users can specify whether to display 10, 25, or 50 search results per page, which is retained for the entire session.

Related Webinars

Primo VE - Become an Expert Series: Search Interfaces - PPT, Q&A

Alma Configuration Options

For configuration information associated with local electronic collections and databases, see the following sections in the Alma documentation:

Expanded DB Search

The Expanded DB Search functionality is enabled by default and expands DB searches to all fields (such as Subject and Author), not just the Title field. In addition, users can search by DB category, not just browse.

Expanded Database Search

Configuration Options for Expanded DB Searches

The following table lists the configuration settings associated with expanded DB searches.

Element	Description
Discovery Customer Settings mapping table (Configuration Menu > Discovery > Other > Customer Settings)	The expanded_db_search parameter enables/disables this feature, which is enabled by default. If you prefer searching by title name only, set this parameter to false.
Define a Local Field page (Configuration Menu > Discovery > Display Configuration > Manage display and local fields)	The db_categories local field defines the normalization rule used to index the DB categories for searching. To index the DB categories, edit the db_categories local field and configure its normalization rule to get the DB categories from the MARC field that is defined to hold the DB category. Once configured, Primo VE uses these values to look up their display values and translations in the Database Search Labels code table for indexing. In the following normalization rule example, all subfields are taken if MARC 699 subfield a exists in your source records: rule "Primo VE Marc - DB_Categories" when MARC is "699"."a" then create pnx."search"."db_categories" with MARC "699" subfields end
Database Search Labels code table (Configuration Menu > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels)	The following code defines the display label that appears in the search box on the Database Search page when the Expanded DB Search functionality is enabled: default.nui.databasesearch.searchbox.expanded – Enter a search term For more details, see Configuring the Display Labels for Database Search.

Element

Description

Discovery Customer Settings mapping table (Configuration Menu > Discovery > Other > Customer Settings)

The expanded_db_search parameter enables/disables this feature, which is enabled by default. If you prefer searching by title name only, set this parameter to false.

Define a Local Field page (Configuration Menu > Discovery > Display Configuration > Manage display and local fields)

The db_categories local field defines the normalization rule used to index the DB categories for searching.

To index the DB categories, edit the db_categories local field and configure its normalization rule to get the DB categories from the MARC field that is defined to hold the DB category. Once configured, Primo VE uses these values to look up their display values and translations in the Database Search Labels code table for indexing.

In the following normalization rule example, all subfields are taken if MARC 699 subfield a exists in your source records:

rule "Primo VE Marc - DB_Categories"
   when
       MARC is "699"."a"
   then
       create pnx."search"."db_categories" with MARC "699" subfields
end

Database Search Labels code table (Configuration Menu > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels)

The following code defines the display label that appears in the search box on the Database Search page when the Expanded DB Search functionality is enabled:

default.nui.databasesearch.searchbox.expanded – Enter a search term

For more details, see Configuring the Display Labels for Database Search.

Browse Databases by Category

URM-83375

When configured (see Assigning Categories to the Database Records), the Database Search page enables users to display a list of databases by selecting specific categories and subcategories, up to three levels.

Categories in Database Search

When the Database Search page opens, the categories display the first category level only. Users can select the icon to display the category's next level.

Assigning Categories to Local Database Records

This Database Categories feature requires you to apply database categories, which can contain up to three category levels, to the bibliographic records of your local databases.

To assign categories to your local database records:

Choose a local bibliographic field (for example, select any 6XX or 9XX field for MARC21) in which to store the database categories in your local bibliographic records, and then enter that field in the db_categories_field parameter on the Alma Customer Parameters page (Configuration Menu > Resources > General > Other Settings).
Administrators need one of the following roles to update the above parameter:
- Catalog Administrator
- Repository Administrator
- General System Administrator
For each local database's descriptive bibliographic record, use the Metadata Editor (Resources > Cataloging > Open Metadata Editor) to add the chosen MARC field with the following subfields to assign up to three category levels: $$a (level 1), $$b (level 2), and $$c (level 3). For example:

699 ##$aEducation $bMedical $cFitness

699 ##$aEducation $bHealth

As shown in the example above, a database can belong to more than one category/subcategory.
Ensure that the Creates DB Categories File job (Admin > Monitor Jobs > Scheduled tab) under the Discovery filter is enabled to allow the system to update the record's categories for discovery in Primo VE. This job is scheduled to run daily. For more details, see Scheduled Jobs in Alma.

Configuring the Display Labels for Database Search

A few code tables are used to customize and translate the display labels, messages, and links that appear for this functionality on the Database Search page and main menu. The following table lists each of the out-of-the-box codes and labels.

For information regarding the configuration of the labels that are used for your categories and subcategories, see Creating Translations for Database Categories.

Configuration Options for Database Search
Element	Description
Views Configuration - Links Menu tab	The DatabaseSearch code defines and enables the Database Search link that displays on the Main menu in Primo VE. This code contains the following settings: Label – The label that displays for the link in the Main menu: Database Search URL – The link to the Database Search page, which displays all collections for your institution: dbsearch Description – Optional text that describes this link for internal use.
Database Search Labels code table	The following codes support the display labels associated with Database Search and the Database Categories feature: nui.databasesearch.title: Database Search nui.databasesearch.searchbox.help: Enter database name nui.databasesearch.searchbox.expanded – Enter a search term dbcategories.databases: Search for databases dbcategories.description: To search for databases you can do the following: dbcategories.option1: Enter keywords in the search box. dbcategories.option3: Browse databases by category. dbcategories.results: databases found for dbcategories.title: Databases by category In addition, this table enables you to customize and translate the database categories. For more information, see Creating Translations for Database Categories.
View Labels code table	The following codes support the display labels associated with Database Search in the Main menu: mainmenu.label.databasesearch: Database Search nui.mainmenu.description.databasesearch: Database Search

Creating Display Labels and Translations for Categories

In addition to the labels that appear on the Database Search page, the Database Search Labels code table enables you to translate the display labels used for your DB categories. The display label that appears for a category and its translations is based on the value mapped from the MARC subfield.

Default English Translation for Category

To provide a translation for a category, you must create a row definition for each language:

Code – Specify the value of the MARC subfield that is to be mapped from the source record. Ensure each space in the mapped value is converted to an underscore (_). For example, if your category is Medicine and Technology, the value of this field should be set to default.dbcategories.Medicine_and_Technology.
Description – Specify the display label for the category in English, which is the default language.
Translation – From the Filter field, select the language to which you want to translate a category's display label, and then enter the category's translation in the Translation field. For example, if you are creating the Spanish translation for Medicine and Technology, select the Spanish language, and then specify Medicina y Tecnología.

Spanish Translation for Category

If no entry is defined for a translated database category, the system displays its code ID instead of the display label in the results message that displays above the results for the selected category.