We’re constantly working on improvements to WebDewey. Some changes are in the works already, while others we have some idea of solutions but could use some help setting priorities. That’s where you come in!
The WebDewey Functionality Survey is live until Wednesday, April 19. It’s designed to be short and sweet, with five types of enhancements that you’ll rank from highest to lowest priority. And of course, there’s also a blank prompt where you can request any other sort of updates to WebDewey. (You’re always welcome to make suggestions for topical coverage in the DDC, but this survey is focused on WebDewey.)
I hope the survey will be largely self explanatory, but since I have a whole blog post to work with here, I thought I’d go into some more detail about the idea behind these five items.
A: Making number building in WebDewey easier
I love WebDewey’s number building tool, but I know some users prefer to build by hand. There are so many ways to build numbers in DDC that there will really never be a perfect number builder, but like WebDewey as a whole, it’s something we continue to iterate on. Where the number builder can’t follow the steps correctly, our developers can tweak the tool so it can. Prioritize this if you do a lot of number building… or especially if you try but run into trouble.
B: Have more built numbers available in WebDewey
Spoiler alert: we’re always going to be adding new built numbers regardless of how this item does! But it will still be helpful to know how desirable this is compared to other possibilities. Prioritize this if you, like me, take a “the more the merrier” approach to available numbers.
C: The ability to search WebDewey with special characters and punctuation
For better or worse, WebDewey search is not Google. While many characters beyond a basic Latin alphabet are supported, you may still run into issues. For example, the screenshot we used in the survey shows how you can find results by copying and pasting the LCSH form Qurʼan, but none with Qur’an. Can you see the difference? I can’t, as I write here in Microsoft Word! The latter uses the single quotation mark found on most keyboards. It works in Wikipedia, but not WebDewey. Prioritize this if you often find yourself running into problems like this.
D: The ability to filter recent changes in WebDewey by project
When the update notification feature was rolled out, we added the functionality to be able to search or filter updates by specific projects, usually EPC exhibits. We already used such codes internally. For example, any record changed as a result of EPC 143A-S94.1 Ionian Islands would have the code “EPC 143A-S94.1”. You can do that now, but in the process, you’ll sometimes see other internal codes that don’t have much meaning for a WebDewey user. I’d like to clean this area up a bit before really touting it. Prioritize this if you like to follow EPC’s work and want to get a sense of everywhere that a given project touches.
E: Clickable links in over-over hierarchy boxes for quicker navigation in WebDewey
You know how you can hover over those downward arrows next to a number to get a quick view of the subdivisions (or children) of that number? If not, you do now! This can be a great way to glimpse at other numbers up and down the hierarchy and save you some clicks. This enhancement would take that a step further, making those numbers clickable links to let you hop directly to numbers of interest. Prioritize this if you make good use of WebDewey’s hierarchy (good for you!) and want to expedite that process.
I’m optimistic that eventually, we’ll get to all of these, but we’ll be looking for your feedback to help prioritize.
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