Skip to main content
ExLibris
  • Subscribe by RSS
  • Ex Libris Knowledge Center

    Headings Keyword (KWIH) search does not retrieve new headings immediately

    • Article Type: Q&A
    • Product: Voyager
    • Product Version: 7.2.1

    Question

    When I add new subject or name headings, why don't my headings keyword (KWIH) searches immediately retrieve them? There is a delay between the time the heading is added and the heading becoming findable via keyword headings searches such as "SUBJ@"

    Answer

    Keyword in headings (KWIH, or headings keyword) data is not updated on the fly.

    Keyword index data are stored in keyword files on the server.

    Headings keyword indexed data is stored in DR$HEADING_CONTEXT tables1 in the database, which are not updated immediately, as additional processes and objects are involved in building and maintaining this indexed data. Jobs to update this data run at regular intervals, and only after the jobs run will your new headings be available via KWIH searches (for example "SUBJ@" searches in the OPAC).

    As a result, you may notice a delay of several hours between the time you save a new heading to the database and the time it becomes retrievable via a KWIH search in the Voyager clients or WebVoyage.

    If you notice after a day or so that the new heading is not retrievable, submit a ticket with Support.

    Additional Information

    This indexing is done via a feature of Oracle called Oracle Text (sometimes called ConTeXt or CTX).

    The headings themselves are created (or updated) immediately upon saving the MARC record, and can be seen in the HEADING Oracle table.

    The keyword indexing of the headings is done via an Oracle job which is scheduled by default to run hourly. There's also an Oracle job which runs daily to optimize this index.

    A "normal" Full Regen will not fix this issue.

    1The DR$HEADING_CONTEXT tables support the headings keyword functionality. The headings keyword functionality is not in any way related to the traditional Voyager keyword system, which is managed entirely outside of Oracle. The headings keyword functionality is managed within Oracle.

    Headings keyword uses the Oracle Text functionality to build "context" indexes on the contents of the HEADING table. The context indexes contain information about proximity of terms to each other, support for stemming and wildcards, and other features expected from a full-text search engine


    • Article last edited: 04-Feb-2021