Student names new library system and wins a shopping spree!

First year Psychology student, Jennifer Wolmarans has recently won £250 shopping vouchers after successfully naming Cardiff Met’s new Library Discovery System, MetSearch, in a recent competition. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The competition invited students to think of a creative and unique name for their new Library Discover System. Jennifer was one of 66 entrants and after much deliberation, the judging panel decided that Jennifer’s idea of ‘MetSearch’ would be the new name of the service. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The new system will be launched on the 15th of March, and will replace the current system, Summon. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Students and staff will soon benefit from the improved functionality of the newly named, MetSearch, which will improve users’ ability to search, browse and access the library collections. The new cloud-hosted system is being deployed across all Welsh Higher Education institutions, the NHS in Wales and the National Library of Wales ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The new system will also boast various other new features, such as mobile browsing a bilingual interface for those who wish to use the system through the medium of Welsh and all library resources will be available in the same place. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Paul Riley, Director of Library and Information Services, presented Jennifer with her £250 prize last week, and the team are looking forward to rolling out MetSearch to all students and staff on March 15th. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Denn Yearwood, who is leading the MetSearch project commented, “We would like to thank all of those students who entered the competition and to offer our congratulations to Jennifer on naming the new system MetSearch. We love the name, and the judging panel felt that it incorporated everything we wanted in a system name.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“We are very excited about the launch of the service later this month. The new features are really going to make students’ lives much easier and will really benefit staff, too. Students will have much greater control of their library accounts and improved access to library resources.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​