Browse Categories (Creation and Maintenance)

Owned by Ashley Sneesby, created
Last updated: Sept 06, 2022
10 min read

This documentation describes how to create and maintain browse categories in Pika.

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What are Browse Categories?

A browse category is used to group and display titles with the same or similar categories on your library’s Pika homepage e.g. New Books, Popular Fiction, New Movies, etc. A browse category can be created from search results or public user lists.

 Browse categories are located on the homepage of Pika under BROWSE THE CATALOG. 

 

  • Click here to see what Pika Admin Roles are needed for this process.

Creating a Browse Category from Search Results

In this example, we are going to use a search for “Martin Luther King Jr. Movies” as a source for a browse category.  Type the search term in the Search for box. The different format categories will be available at the top of the page such as  Books, eBooks, Audiobooks, Music, or Movies.  In this example, we are going to use the Movies format category to narrow the category to just movies.

The Advanced Search cannot be used to create browse categories.

The results can be narrowed by using limiters from the sidebar facets.  One example could be to limit the search to a subject facet with movies about Civil Rights. This will return a narrower set of results.

 

Search results can also be organized differently in the Sort Results By dropdown.

 

 

The Applied Filters from the sidebar facets will show the Format Category: Movies.

Click the red X to remove the applied filter.

 

 

At the bottom of the search results page, there are several Admin Search Tools. Click Add to Home Page as Browse Category to add the newly created Browse Category to your Pika homepage. 

The Add as Browse Category to Home Page popup box will appear.  Type the title of the new browse category under New Category Name. Click the Create Category button when ready.

The Successfully added message box will appear.  Click Close.

Clicking the Home breadcrumb link or your library’s logo will direct you to your library’s Pika home page, where you can view your newly created browse category on the carousel with the other browse categories.

In the example, the newly created “Martin Luther King Jr. Movies” browse category will be placed at the beginning of the list.  It will be the first browse category on the homepage until which point it is reordered in the library system settings.

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Creating a Browse Category with a User List Source

Click on the Browse Categories under Pika Configuration on the sidebar. 

At the bottom of the page will be the Add New BrowseCategory button.

The new category must be given a name.  To name a category add that information under Label.  The textId is all lower case.  The textId should begin with the Pika domain for your library as found in your library’s Pika URL (e.g. pitkin.marmot.org) and name from the label.  Replace spaces with underscores.

The Description box is for an internal description - this does not display to the public.

The category can either be a main category or a subcategory.  Leave Search Term and Search Filter(s) blank.

To find the public list you want to use as a source, click on the dropdown menu under Source List. Once the list has been located, click on the list to add it to the Source List.  Only public lists are available in the dropdown menu.  

 

 

 

 

Make sure to click on one of the save changes buttons located at the bottom of the page when finished.

Clicking Save Changes and Return will bring up the menu with all the existing browse categories.  This browse category still needs to be added to the browse category section of the library system settings.

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Creating a Browse Category from User List Admin Options

Another way to create a browse category with a user list source is by using the Add To Home Page from an existing User List.

Go to the My Lists in the My Account menu once you have logged into your account.

Click on the list that you would like to add to your browse category carousel. If your account has the necessary permissions in Pika you will click on the ‘Add to Home Page’ option in the Admin Options section of the User List control panel.

You would add the New Category Name.  You can Add as a subcategory as well (optional).  Click Create Category when you are finished.

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Creating Subcategories to assign to Browse Categories

When creating Browse Categories that have subcategories, it is best to make a shell or master browse category.  This shell would be the parent where the children subcategories would be nested.

Building a Parent or Master Shell for a Subcategory

Go to Pika Configuration and Browse Categories.

Click on the Add New BrowseCategory button at the top of the page.

The Label is what is displayed at the top of the subcategories. 

Typically the textId will not be changed after you create a browse category.  It is recommended to follow a naming convention that is consistent for everyone at your library.  The recommended naming convention is to use your library’s domain or branch code to start the naming convention.  Next, use the underscore and add the name of the category.  One suggestion might also be to add another underscore and a word like parent or master (i.e. gcpld_catsdogs_master).

The Description box is for internal use.  You can add the name of your parent or master category and what subcategories are attached to it.   

Once you have added the Label, textId, you can save the parent or main category. Click the Save Changes and Return button located at the bottom of the page.  Now, you will need to create the children categories that will be assigned to the parent or master category shell.

Creating Subcategories from Search Results or a User List

We are going to add subcategories from a search.  See the browse category documentation section Creating a Browse Category from Search Results as a reference.

Once you have added all the filters for your search, click on the Add To Home Page as Browse Category link located at the bottom of the page.

The Add as Browse Category to Home Page box will appear. 

The New Category Name is the display name of your subcategory that will show on the button.  The Add as a subcategory to (optional) field is where you would pick your parent or master shell. Use the drop-down menu to find your parent or master category.  These are organized alphabetically by title of the browse category. Click the Create Category button.  

The Successfully Added box will appear with the message that your search has been added to the homepage successfully.  However, until you add the parent or master category to your Browse Category configuration in the library system admin section the subcategory will not be displayed on your library’s Pika homepage.

To view or review the subcategories you have created click on the Browse Categories under Pika Configuration.

When we search for our parent category using the Label, we can see that it now has two subcategories attached.

Click on the Edit link to see the categories.

You can see the Label, textId, userId, and Description. 

You can also use a user list as the source as a subcategory.  When looking at the list, it must have the buttons Make Private (which means it is a public list) and Add To Home Page.  Click the Add To Home Page button. 

When the Add to Browse Category to Home Page box appears, fill in the New Category Name, and choose the list from the drop-down menu.  Click the Create Category button.

After you complete the subcategories, you must assign the parent category with the subcategories to the homepage.  Follow the instructions in the Browse Categories Configuration documentation to assign your parent/master category to your library system.

Refresh your homepage to update your Browse Categories.  Your new category with assigned subcategories will display in the carousel.

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Browse Category Sort Options

The Search Sort is for the browse category based on searches and not based on user lists.

The Search Sort options will now match all the Sort Results By dropdown choices.

 

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Editing and Ordering Browse Categories/Subcategories

Follow the Browse Category Configuration documentation for editing and sorting options.

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There is a pre-built browse category you can assign for your library that uses a patron’s Recommended for You list as a source. If this browse category is applied to your library system, it will display on your library’s Pika homepage for logged-in patrons who have rated several titles, which populates their unique ‘Recommended for You’ list.

 

 

Follow the instructions to Assign an Existing Browse Category to apply the Recommended for You browse category. The Recommended For You browse category will be the first choice in the dropdown list options.  The Recommended For You browse category will only display when a person is logged into Pika.

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