Guest access in Scout
Some background: guest access allows our users to search Scout from off-campus without needing to log in first — instead, they are prompted to log in only after they try to access full text or protected metadata. Because of recurring issues getting to full text while utilizing guest access (previously described on the listserv), we have proxied direct links to Scout, links to Scout in OneSearch and embedded Scout search forms in LibGuides.
EBSCO is prioritizing this issue, and we were notified today that an update EBSCO has slated for release by November 23rd is expected to resolve the issue with guest access. When the update has gone through, we’ll email and blog again to make sure everyone’s aware.
One small loss of functionality from proxying access to Scout pertains to how OneSearch integrates with Scout. If users click on a “Results in Scout” link in (for example) the Academic Journals results box, they are taken to a result list that does not automatically filter to the Academic Journals source type — instead, they see all of the results for their search terms. This is because proxying links in OneSearch interferes with the cookies needed for our automatic filtering script to function properly.
Plum Analytics in Scout
At the beginning of the semester, Plum Analytics made its altmetrics data available in EBSCO Discovery Service via a small widget. For an explanation of the functionality of this widget, take a look at the Plum Analytics blog.
After consulting with the UXAG (our User eXperience Advisory Group), links to the Plum widget have been disabled on the Scout search result list. Plum Analytics information can still be accessed by clicking on a specific record — if it’s available for a given record, a link will appear.
Example of the PlumX Metrics link appearing on a detailed record in Scout.
UXAG members agreed that including the Plum widget in the result list ran the risk of cluttering the results and wasn’t necessary if that information can still be accessed from the detailed record.
Accessibility concerns with the widget were also discussed. As it is currently configured, the Tab key cannot be used on Plum Analytics pages to navigate to usage information.