Ebooks Minnesota interface updated

Ebooks Minnesota is now even more streamlined and user-friendly with the recent release of MackinVIA Version 7.1.0. This includes interface updates that offer straightforward navigation, improved searching capabilities, and the ability for students and staff to choose a fun avatar, along with various optimizations and technology updates to support performance. With new styles and a bright and colorful theme, the user interface is more engaging and contemporary. 

If you use the MackinVIA app, please note that an app update is required to access the enhancements. Users who open the previous version of the app will be prompted to upgrade. 

Highlights include:

• Navigation has moved to the upper left corner and encompasses the Home page, a new Explore menu, Groups, Categories, and the Backpack menu. The Explore menu includes all resources and applicable resource formats. Read-alongs are now present in this menu for easy access to ebooks with this feature.
• The Backpack (personal folder) has been refreshed with a new landing page. Click on any of the options (Favorites, Checkouts, Requests, etc.) to navigate between them.
• Notes, highlights, and bookmarks are now displayed per resource in the Notebook, making it easy to view all annotations for each resource.
• The Backpack also includes a new History page, so users can view past checkouts - which include online reads.
• The new Easy Search allows users to search by keyword, title, author, series, subject, or topic/genre. The search box now autocompletes with suggestions based on resources in Ebooks Minnesota.
• The Advanced Search has also been streamlined with results filtering as parameters are selected. Each filter section is collapsible, and the order has been adjusted to move the most popular ones to the top of the page. Users can now select more than one feature at a time, such as Fiction and Text-to-speech.
• A new feature that will be popular with some users is the ability to select an avatar image. Users can click on the icon in the upper right corner to access the Profile page. The avatar will default to the initial of the user's first name that they used to create a Backpack.
• Bookmarks are more visible, which allows users to access a saved location within a title.
• The MackinVIA Reader now opens in the same tab as the platform, allowing for a more consistent experience between desktop and mobile views. 

Don't hesitate to reach out to Beth Staats (fried004@umn.edu) at Minitex with any questions around the MackinVIA interface upgrade, or Ebooks Minnesota.