Custom Catalog URLs and Links

Aspen libraries supported by ByWater Solutions will be set up with an aspendiscovery.org URL for the initial server set up and training process.

Typically this URL looks something like {yourlibraryname}.aspendiscovery.org.

Libraries can choose to keep that URL, or they can choose to set up their own custom URL.

If hosted by ByWater and keeping the .aspendiscovery.org URL, no other action is needed by the library except switching any necessary URLs on your website/other areas where you currently link to the catalog.

If your library has your own domain name and you would like to use custom URLs for your Aspen catalog(s), you will need to edit your DNS settings. You may need to contact your library's IT professional/department for assistance. 

Consortium/Multiple Library Sites:

Edit the CNAME records for your libraries' desired URLs and point them to the aspendiscovery.org URLs. Ex: smithville.aspendiscovery.org

Single Library Site:

Edit the CNAME record in the DNS and point it to your aspendiscovery.org URL. Ex: library.aspendiscovery.org

While using A records and pointing to the Aspen server IP is possible, we do not recommend this setup.  In the event that an Aspen server's IP address would need to change in the future, using a CNAME means that you will not have to worry about reconfiguring the DNS on your end, since the aspendiscovery.org URL will remain the same.

Once these DNS records are set up on your end, send the Aspen team a ticket with the URL(s) you've set up.

We will then update the SSL certificate on your Aspen server and update the information in Aspen Administration > Primary Configuration > Library Systems > Base URL. 

You'll also want to make sure your subdomain (located in the field above Base URL) matches your new URLs if you have multiple scoped catalogs.

For example, if your URL is main.aspendiscovery.org or main.customlibraryurl.org, the subdomain would be main.

In the case of multiple URLs with matching subdomains -- ie, "catalog.mainlibrary.org" and "catalog.eastlibrary.org" -- more configuration may be required on your server. If this is the case, please submit a ticket to your support vendor.

To find your server IP address go to Aspen Administration > Primary Configuration > IP Addresses and it should be labeled something like "Aspen Server" or "{Library Name} Aspen Server" or reach out to your Aspen support team.

DNS TTL (time to live) is a setting that tells the DNS resolver how long to cache a query before requesting a new one. If setting up your own domain, the preference is yours but our Aspen default settings are 300 seconds for reference. 

Unless there is a special situation, SSL Certificates are administered and managed by the ByWater Aspen support team for both library-owned and .aspendiscovery.org domains.

In Aspen Administration > Primary Configuration > Host Information you can choose for your domain to land on a specific page in Aspen. Typically, libraries are looking to set this up when they are using Aspen and Web Builder as their entire web presence. 

• Click Add New
• Fill in Host Name - Your URL (example: catalog.library.org or library.aspendiscovery.org)
• Select the corresponding Library System from the dropdown
• You can leave the Location as default
• Fill in the Default path where the URL should land. (example: you have created a Custom Page in Web Builder to be the front page of your Aspen site with the URL /Home)

The following areas of Aspen are available at {YOUR ASPEN URL} then the information below.

Example: https://help.aspendiscovery.org/MyAccount/Home and https://help.aspendiscovery.org/MaterialsRequest/NewRequest

Account

/MyAccount/Home

Browse Categories

/Search/Home

Catalog Links (multiple scoped instances)

/MyAccount/SelectInterface

Lists

/MyAccount/Lists

Aspen Materials Requests System

/MaterialsRequest/NewRequest

ILS Materials Request/Purchase Suggestion System

/MaterialsRequest/NewRequestIls

Pay Fines

/MyAccount/Fines

Self Registration

/MyAccount/SelfReg

Staff Directory

/WebBuilder/StaffDirectory

Web Resources

/WebBuilder/ResourcesList

You will most likely want to embed a search box code on your library website to point users to the Aspen catalog at go live. Here are a couple of sample code options to use to do that. Of course, your web or IT team may have code they prefer to use.

Basic:

<form action="https://{YOURASPENURL}/Union/Search" method="get" target="_blank"><input name="searchSource" value="local" type="hidden"><input name="basicType" value="Keyword" type="hidden"><div><label for="basic-lookfor" id="basic-lookfor-label"><span class="sr-only" style="position: absolute;width: 1px;height: 1px;margin: -1px;padding: 0;overflow: hidden;clip: rect(0, 0, 0, 0);border: 0;">Look for</span></label> <input title="Enter one or more terms to search for. Surrounding a term with quotes will limit result to only those that exactly match the term." id="basic-lookfor" name="lookfor" value="" size="40" type="text" aria-labelledby="basic-lookfor-label"><input type="submit" alt="Search Catalog" value="Search the Catalog"></div></form>

Dropdown Search:

<form action="https://{YOURASPENURL}/Union/Search" method="get" target="blank"><input name="searchSource" value="local" type="hidden"><input name="basicType" value="Keyword" type="hidden"><div><label for="dropdown-lookfor" id="dropdown-lookfor-label"><span class="sr-only" style="position: absolute;width: 1px;height: 1px;margin: -1px;padding: 0;overflow: hidden;clip: rect(0, 0, 0, 0);border: 0;">Look for</span></label><input title="Enter one or more terms to search for. Surrounding a term with quotes will limit result to only those that exactly match the term." id="dropdown-lookfor" name="lookfor" value="" size="40" type="text" aria-labelledby="dropdown-lookfor-label"><label for="searchIndex" id="dropdown-searchIndex-label"><span class="sr-only" style="position: absolute;width: 1px;height: 1px;margin: -1px;padding: 0;overflow: hidden;clip: rect(0, 0, 0, 0);border: 0;">Search Index</span></label><select name="searchIndex" class="searchTypeHorizontal catalogType" id="searchIndex" title="The method of searching." aria-labelledby="dropdown-searchIndex-label"><option data-searchsource="catalog" value="Keyword">by Keyword</option><option data-searchsource="catalog" value="Title">by Title</option><option data-searchsource="catalog" value="StartOfTitle">by Start of Title</option><option data-searchsource="catalog" value="Series">by Series</option><option data-searchsource="catalog" value="Author">by Author</option><option data-search_source="catalog" value="Subject">by Subject</option></select><input type="submit" alt="Search Catalog" value="Search the Catalog"></div></form>

Multiple Search Indexes:

<form action="https://{YOURASPENURL}/Union/Search" method="get" target="blank"><input name="searchSource" value="local" type="hidden"><input name="basicType" value="Keyword" type="hidden"><div><label for="multiple-lookfor" id="multiple-lookfor-label"><span class="sr-only" style="position: absolute;width: 1px;height: 1px;margin: -1px;padding: 0;overflow: hidden;clip: rect(0, 0, 0, 0);border: 0;">Look for</span></label><input title="Enter one or more terms to search for. Surrounding a term with quotes will limit result to only those that exactly match the term." id="multiple-lookfor" name="lookfor" value="" size="40" type="text" aria-labelledby="multiple-lookfor-label"><label for="multiple-searchSource" id="multiple-searchSource-label"><span class="sr-only" style="position: absolute;width: 1px;height: 1px;margin: -1px;padding: 0;overflow: hidden;clip: rect(0, 0, 0, 0);border: 0;">Collection to Search</span></label><select name="searchSource" id="multiple-searchSource" title="Select what to search." class="searchSourceHorizontal form-control" aria-labelledby="multiple-searchSource-label"><option data-catalog_type="catalog" value="local" title="{INSERT LIBRARY NAME}." data-advanced_search="1" data-advanced_search_label="Advanced Search" selected="selected">in Library Catalog</option><option data-catalog_type="catalog" value="econtent" title="Digital Media available for use online and with portable devices" data-advanced_search="1" data-advanced_search_label="Advanced Search">in Online Collection</option><option data-catalog_type="lists" value="lists" title="User Lists" data-advanced_search="" data-advanced_search_label="Advanced Search">in Lists</option><option data-catalog_type="websites" value="websites" title="Library Website" data-advanced_search="" data-advanced_search_label="Advanced Search">in Library Website</option></select><input type="submit" alt="Search Catalog" value="Search"></div></form>

For Ingram and World Cat, you can use this base URL:

https://{YOURASPENURL}/Union/Search?lookfor=

example: https://help.aspendiscovery.org/Union/Search?lookfor=

If you are using EBSCO Stacks for your website, you can put in the following URL for the catalog search:

https://{YOUR ASPEN URL}/Search/Results?lookfor=

example: https://help.aspendiscovery.org/Search/Results?lookfor=

To link to an ISBN search:

https://{YOUR ASPEN URL}/Search/Results?lookfor={ISBN}

Example: https://aspen-model.bywatersolutions.com/Search/Results?lookfor=9780307588364

To link to an ISBN search for a specific location (using the Available Now At facet):

https://{YOUR ASPEN URL}/Search/Results?&filter[]=owning_location:"Library+Name"&lookfor={ISBN}

Where the above says Library+Name you will input the location name EXACTLY as it appears in the Available Now At facet, with + signs in between instead of spaces.

Example: 

https://aspen-model.bywatersolutions.com/Search/Results?&filter[]=owning_location:"Main+Branch"&lookfor=9780061240041

To link to a specific Title and Author use:

https://{YOUR ASPEN URL}/Search/Results?lookfor={Author}%20{Title}

Example: https://aspen-model.bywatersolutions.com/Search/Results?lookfor=lois+lowry%20the+giver

To link to a keyword use:

https://{YOUR ASPEN URL}/Search/Results?lookfor=

Example: https://aspen-model.bywatersolutions.com/Search/Results?lookfor=spring

Aspen generates its own unique identifier that corresponds to the entire format group aka grouped work.

When you click into a grouped work, you will see this display in the URL.

To link out to the grouped work, follow the format:

https://{YOURASPENURL}/GroupedWork/{GroupedWorkID}

Example: https://aspen-test.bywatersolutions.com/GroupedWork/b136eb5d-5be0-78f3-c3a6-0eab9eab0cb6-eng 

To link to a specific record aka format, click into the record and copy the URL.

From the URL, you will get the link to that specific format/record.

https://{YOURASPENURL}/Record/{RecordID)

Example: https://aspen-test.bywatersolutions.com/Record/15576

To link to a specific area of Aspen in a certain language translation, add this convention to the end of a URL:

?myLang={Language Code}

Example: /MyAccount/Home?myLang=es

Note: This language code must match one of the Language translations you have added to your Aspen catalog.

This will link directly to that section of Aspen in that specific language:

What is the Select Inteface?

If you are a multi-branch system or consoritum you might find it useful to have a directory of library catalogs for users to find the URLs of all catalogs available across your shared Aspen server.

You will find this at: /MyAccount/SelectInterface

Example: https://{YOURASPENURL}/MyAccount/SelectInterface

Here is an example of what the interface looks like.

Make the Select Inteface? Your Home Page

Some consortiums might want this view to pop up when users go to their main consortial catalog to prompt users to select their actual library system catalog instead. If you are moving from one catalog to everyone having their own catalog, users may find this page and learn that their library now has their own catalog!

In order to redirect your catalog URL to this page, go to Aspen Administration > Primary Configuration > Host Information > Add New:

Host Name - Put in your Aspen catalog URL without any https or http, example: help.aspendiscovery.org

Library - Select the library catalog aka Library System you want to apply this redirect to. You most likely are looking for your main consortial interface.

Location - Leave as is

Default Path - Copy in: /MyAccount/SelectInterface

Once you save and force reload (you might also have to clear your cache) your URL, it will automatically point to this interface instead of the normal landing page view.

Make the Select Inteface? a Menu Link

If you don't want this to be the landing page of your catalog but you do what to prominently share this directory link across catalogs, consider adding it as a Menu Link. Learn more about creating Menu Links. The link you would add is: /MyAccount/SelectInterface

Click Remember This on the Select Interface

If a user is logged in and clicks on Remember This then every time they navigate back to this page it will automatically route them to the catalog that they selected.

To have Aspen stop remembering or to remove this option from the Select Interface, use this URL instead:

/MyAccount/SelectInterface?noRememberThis

You can also try clearing out your cookies.

What Libraries Show in the Select Interface?

Libraries will show in the Select Interface if within Aspen Administration > Primary Configuration > Library Systems > click into that system > Show In Select Interface (requires Create Search Interface) is checked.

This is a little trick for libraries using Aspen as a discovery layer and Koha as a backend. In the Koha staff client you may be familiar with a button on the record detail page that says: “OPAC view: Open in a new window”. This whisks you away to the corresponding record in the Koha OPAC. If you are now using Aspen that would be a bit confusing for staff!

There is an similar link to the OPAC on the serial subscription page and we'll be fixing that one up too!

Luckily, we can add some very simple jQuery to the Koha system preference ‘IntranetUserJS’ that can solve this problem and redirect you to the correct Aspen page instead!

Library Systems with Single Catalogs

First we must define our Aspen catalog's base URL:

let baseURL = 'https://{YOURURL}.aspendiscovery.org';

This is the only component of the jQuery that will be unique to you. Replace 'https://{YOURURL}.aspendiscovery' with your own Aspen base URL!

After that single line has been added to ‘IntranetUserJS’ we can add the rest of jQuery underneath it. None of the following jQuery needs to be edited, just cut and paste!.

 /* change OPAC link on record detail page*/
 if ( $('#catalog_detail').length ) {
 let bib = $('input[name="bib"]').val();
 $('.results_summary > a:contains("Open in new window")').attr('href' , `${baseURL}/Record/${bib}`); 
 }

 /* change OPAC link on subscription detail page*/
 if ( $('#ser_subscription-detail').length ) {
 let bibtext = $('#subscription_info ol > li > i').text();
 let re = /\(([^\)]+)\)/;
 let bib = bibtext.match(re);
 $('#view-subscription-in-opac').attr('href' , `${baseURL}/Record/${bib[1]}`);
 }

/* change OPAC link in search results*/
if ($('#catalog_results').length) {
 $('#searchresults table tbody tr').each(function() {
 let bib = $(this).find('input[name="biblionumber"]').val();
 $(this).find('.view-in-opac > a').attr('href', `${baseURL}/Record/${bib}`);
 });
}

Library Systems with Multiple Catalogs

To have your Koha OPAC view point to different catalogs depending on the Home Library of the staff user in Koha, use this bit of code.

Replace these sections {YOURURL} with what your "main" Aspen server is for the entire consortium

Replace these sections {branchcode1}, {branchcode2}, etc. with the Library Values in Koha that are a part of the library system URL in Aspen. Exp: WEST: 'west.aspendiscovery.org'; EAST: 'central.aspendiscovery.org'; MAIN: 'central.aspendiscovery.org';

$(document).ready(function () {
 /* create key value pairs like this, branchcode: 'baseurl' */
 const library_aspen_url = {
 N: '<a target="_blank" data-stringify-link="https://{YOURURL}.aspendiscovery.org" delay="150" data-sk="tooltip_parent" href="https://{YOURURL}.aspendiscovery.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://{YOURURL}.aspendiscovery.org</a>',
 {branchcode1}: 'url',
 {branchcode2}: 'url',
 {branchcode3}: 'url',

 };
 let librarybranch = $('.logged-in-branch-code:first').text();
 Object.keys(library_aspen_url).forEach(function (item) {
 if ( item === librarybranch ) {
 /* change OPAC link on record detail page*/
 if ( $('#catalog_detail').length ) {
 let bib = $('input[name="bib"]').val();
 $('.results_summary > a:contains("Open in new window")').attr('href' , `${library_aspen_url[item]}/Record/${bib}`); 
 }

 /* change OPAC link on subscription detail page*/
 if ( $('#ser_subscription-detail').length ) {
 let bibtext = $('#subscription_info ol > li > i').text();
 let re = /\(([^\)]+)\)/;
 let bib = bibtext.match(re);
 $('#view-subscription-in-opac').attr('href' , `${library_aspen_url[item]}/Record/${bib[1]}`);
 }

/* change OPAC link in search results*/
if ($('#catalog_results').length) {
 $('#searchresults table tbody tr').each(function() {
 let bib = $(this).find('input[name="biblionumber"]').val();
 $(this).find('.view-in-opac > a').attr('href', `${library_aspen_url[item]}/Record/${bib}`);
 });
}
 }
 });
});

Warning: Do not change the system preference OPACBaseURL. That must stay the Koha opac URL. Exp: https://{libraryname}.bywatersolutions.com