VuFind is an open-source library search engine that allows users to search and browse beyond the resources of a traditional Online public access catalog (OPAC). Developed by Villanova University, version 1.0 was released in July 2010 after two years in beta.[2]

VuFind
Developer(s)Villanova University
Initial releaseJuly 15, 2010; 13 years ago (2010-07-15)
Stable release
9.1.1[1] / 12 February 2024; 57 days ago (12 February 2024)
Repository
Written inPHP PEAR
Available inEnglish
TypeDiscovery layer
LicenseGPL-2.0-only
Websitehttps://vufind.org

VuFind operates with a simple interface and offers flexible keyword searching. While most commonly used for searching catalog records, VuFind can be extended to search other library resources including: locally cached journals, digital library items, and institutional repository and bibliography. The software is also modular and highly configurable, allowing implementers to choose system components to best fit their needs.[3]

The project wiki lists around two hundred institutions running live or beta instances of VuFind including the Georgia Tech Library, the National Library of Ireland, Yale University, and the DC Public Library, as well as a dozen of instances run by finc in Germany.[4]

Features edit

VuFind offers a number of features that enhance usability:[5]

  • Faceted search results that allow users to narrow items by format, call number, language, author, genre, era, region, and more[6]
  • Suggested resources and searches
  • Browsing capability
  • Personal organization and annotation of resources through favorites lists, texting, e-mailing, tagging, and commenting features
  • Persistent URLs
  • APA or MLA citations
  • Author biographies
  • Multi-language capability with translations available in Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese, Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Bengali (India)[7] and more

References edit

  1. ^ "Release 9.1.1". 12 February 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  2. ^ "VuFind out of beta with 1.0 release". SourceForge.net: VuFind. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
  3. ^ "About VuFind". VuFind. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
  4. ^ "VuFind Installations". VuFind. Retrieved 2018-05-16.
  5. ^ "Features". VuFind. Retrieved 2010-10-01.
  6. ^ "Villanova Liberates Library Search". Converge. Retrieved 2010-10-01.
  7. ^ "Including new full Bengali translation".

External links edit