VuFind

Version 8.0 of the VuFind® Open Source discovery software has just been released. This major release includes significant new functionality and technical improvements. Some key additions and changes: Significant enhancements to the record indexing ... [More] process, including a new tool for loading data from CSV files, significant performance and functionality enhancements to XML indexing, and improved handling of creator names in MARC records. Improvements and updates to citation generation. Expanded support for user management of holds (including freezing and editing capabilities). Support for displaying bookplate images on record pages. Significant architectural improvements which will support the development of third-party plug-ins and more future-proof theme designs. Full compatibility with PHP 8. Updates to bundled tools, including Solr 8.9 and SolrMarc 3.4. Additionally, several bug fixes, new configuration options, third-party integrations, performance enhancements and minor improvements have been incorporated. Questions about the new release or VuFind® in general can be directed to Demian Katz, the lead developer of the project at Villanova University. The software and its documentation may be found at https://vufind.org. [Less]

Version 7.1 of the VuFind Open Source discovery software has just been released. This minor release focuses on improving compatibility while also adding several new features and fixes. Some key additions and changes: The new “Record Versions” ... [More] feature links together records representing different versions of the same work. The software has been fully tested for compatibility with the newly-released PHP 8. The included Solr index has been upgraded to version 7.7.3. Shibboleth authentication support has been improved and made more flexible. Logging to Office365 webhooks (useful for Microsoft Teams integration) is now supported. Additionally, several bug fixes, new configuration options, performance enhancements and minor improvements have been incorporated. [Less]

Version 7.0 of the VuFind Open Source discovery software has just been released. This major release brings some aspects of the code more up to date while also adding several new features and fixes. Some key additions and changes: Improved ... [More] security, including flexible Content Security Policy support, better cookie defaults, and more CAPTCHA options. Improved support for managing and embedding static informational content, including Markdown compatibility. Support for integration with several new systems, including ArchivesSpace, Koha's new RESTful API, and the ObalkyKnih cover service. Improved compatibility with EBSCO Discovery Service, FOLIO, and others. Upgrades to key components, including migration to Laminas (the successor to Zend Framework) and Symfony/Console (a more powerful framework for command-line tools). More powerful plugin generation tools, making it faster and easier to extend VuFind's code. Additionally, several bug fixes, new configuration options, performance enhancements and minor improvements have been incorporated. [Less]

Version 6.1 of the VuFind Open Source discovery software has just been released. This major release brings some aspects of the code more up to date while also adding several new features and fixes. Some key additions and changes: A new (optional) ... [More] “email alerts” feature which allows users to subscribe to searches and receive notifications of new results; Optional support for self-service email changes; Further improvements to the user interface for managing search filters; Configurable record meta tags for improved Google Scholar crawling; Support for two new user interface languages: Croatian and Hindi; Support for session storage in Redis; Optional integration with Unpaywall for full text links; Improved compatibility with PHP 7.3 and 7.4. Additionally, several bug fixes, new configuration options, performance enhancements and minor improvements have been incorporated. [Less]

Version 6.0 of the VuFind Open Source discovery software has just been released. This major release brings some aspects of the code more up to date while also adding several new features and fixes. Some key additions and changes: An improved user ... [More] interface for managing search filters; Support for optional integration with the popular Overdrive eBook service; URL shortening for links sent in emails and text messages; Support for user email address verification; Improved compatibility with MySQL 8. Additionally, several bug fixes, new configuration options, performance enhancements and minor improvements have been incorporated. Questions about the new release or VuFind in general can be directed to Demian Katz, the lead developer of the project at Villanova University. The software and its documentation may be found at http://vufind.org. [Less]

Version 5.1 of the VuFind Open Source discovery software has just been released. This minor release adds several new features and fixes. Some key additions: Configurable user account notifications, making activity (such as fines, available holds ... [More] , overdues, etc.) more readily visible to the user; A richer, fully customizable user feedback system, allowing the creation of custom forms in the VuFind interface for collecting not just feedback, but also purchase suggestions, survey responses, or anything else the administrator configures; Optional dynamic DOI-based link augmentation in search results (currently supporting Third Iron's BrowZine service, but also extensible for other applications); An experimental driver for integration with the FOLIO platform, available for early adopters (but subject to change as the platform evolves); Better code generation tools, increasing the ease of creating new VuFind plug-ins; Full Vietnamese language support in the user interface. Additionally, several bug fixes, new configuration options, performance enhancements and minor improvements have been incorporated. Questions about the new release or VuFind in general can be directed to Demian Katz, the lead developer of the project at Villanova University. [Less]

Version 5.0 of the VuFind Open Source discovery software has just been released. This release improves the package's compatibility with recent language and operating system releases and adds several significant new features. Some key additions: New ... [More] features to improve compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), including optional user-initiated account removal and support for encrypted session data; Significant improvements to the “Channels” interface for serendipitous resource discovery, including a streamlined user interface and several new channel providers (such as “new items” and “trending items”); Compatibility with the Ex Libris Alma Library Services Platform; Improved support for rendering geographic data; PHP 7.2 compatibility; Optional user access to their own account history; Built-in interlibrary loan support for users of the Relais platform; Upgrades to the latest Solr, SolrMarc and Zend Framework component versions. Additionally, several bug fixes, new configuration options, performance enhancements and minor improvements have been incorporated. Questions about the new release or VuFind in general can be directed to Demian Katz, the lead developer of the project at Villanova University. The software and its documentation may be found at http://vufind.org. [Less]

Version 4.1 of VuFind has just been released. This release builds upon the recent 4.0 release with several significant new features. Some key additions: Enhancements to the permission system to make it easier to configure permission-related ... [More] behaviors. A new “theme mix-in” feature to make sharing third-party extensions to VuFind easier. Built in support for Third Iron's BrowZine service, useful for adding a “journal titles” box to Bento-style searching. Improvements to several ILS drivers, including the addition of a more full-featured “SierraRest” driver. A new Galician translation, as well as improvements to many other language files. New developer-oriented improvements, including a default Vagrant configuration for easy testing and incorporation of the “Whoops” error handler for faster troubleshooting and debugging. Additionally, several bug fixes, new configuration options, performance enhancements and minor improvements have been incorporated. [Less]

Version 4.0 of VuFind has just been released. This major release adds a significant number of new features and enhancements and upgrades several of the components that the software depends upon. Some key additions and changes: A new “channels” ... [More] interface has been added to encourage users to explore collections in a visual and non-linear way, offering some of the same serendipitous discovery normally associated with shelf browsing. A beta version of a new user interface theme, named “sandal,” has been added as a preview. This theme offers VuFind a more up-to-date look and feel, following current design trends and making better use of newer display hardware. While fully functional now, it will be further refined and enhanced in forthcoming releases, and will eventually become VuFind's default theme. Swagger-based APIs have been introduced to make it easier to programmatically extract data from VuFind. VuFind now requires PHP 5.6 or higher to run, and it utilizes Solr 6.4.2 for locally-indexed searching. Many Zend Framework components (along with other key dependencies) have been upgraded to newer versions. Additionally, several bug fixes, new configuration options and minor improvements have been incorporated. [Less]

Today sees a significant new VuFind release, version 3.1. Some key additions and changes: Improved and expanded support for geographic searching and map display; Richer facet browsing functionality; A new “asset pipeline” to improve page load times ... [More] by combining files; Major performance and functionality enhancements to the SolrMarc indexing tool; Logger integration with the Slack messaging service. Additionally, several bug fixes, new configuration options and minor improvements have been incorporated. [Less]