internetarchive / internetarchive/openlibrary

Search and Browse should stay in the virtual UI, not go to a separate one

Open
#4,321 0 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
Lead: @cdrini Priority: 3 Theme: Library Explorer
Dominant language
Python
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Avg merge
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Merged PRs (30d)
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Description

Use of the Search box, OR selection of a Browse category, throws you out of the virtual library UI and into a different presentation (a single shelf showing a list of covers, below it a "publishing history" graph). There is no obvious way to get back to the virtual library UI except the browser Back button.

If I select a topic like Browse > Subjects > Chemistry, or search on Chemistry, I should end up looking at the virtual shelves except now I am in the Dewey/LoC class for that topic. Not in some other display mode.

In this way the Explorer could be one-up on a real library. As I recall my use of a real library, I would start at the card catalog just to learn the Dewey number of my topic. Then I could go and find the proper shelves in the stacks and begin browsing titles. So Browse a/o Search is the Explorer equivalent of that initial trip to the card catalog.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start by tracing the Search box and Browse category entry points and comparing their destinations with the virtual library UI. Done means searching or selecting a category leaves the user in the virtual shelves, showing the relevant Dewey or LoC class, without requiring the browser Back button.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
frontend, web-dev
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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