The Temple University Libraries are pleased to announce a new upgrade to our Digital Collections interface. On November 1, 2012,  Temple Libraries will upgrade to the latest version of our digital presentation platform, CONTENTdm®.

Some of the new features of Version 6 are:

• Streamlined interface: Users will be able to browse by collection or by thematic subject area.
• Improved Search capabilities:  The default search options have changed, so that users that create a search can “drill down” by refining their search set with additional keywords.
• Enhanced Faceting: Improved faceted browse and search results that are customized for each collection will help patrons to narrow down result sets by author, date, subject, and other relevant categories.
• Tracking recent additions: Digital Library Initiatives, the Special Collections Research Center, and the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection are adding to Temple’s digital collections on a regular basis.  To keep informed of new additions, users can now subscribe to an RSS feed by clicking on the option to “receive updates” for the digital collection.

This new upgrade represents a large amount of behind-the-scenes effort from the Digital Library Initiatives Department and the Digitization Practices Group in coordination with other Library departments to design the layout and settings of this new interface. Many hours were spent troubleshooting software bugs and issues with our database provider, OCLC, and this work has led to improvements made to the software’s functionality. We believe that the wait for CONTENTdm® Version 6 has been worth it, as our patrons will benefit from various enhancements.

For questions about the new interface, or to suggest items to be digitized for inclusion in Temple’s digital collections, please contact Digital Library Initiatives at diglib@temple.edu .