Personal recommendations consist of two parts: Recommended for you and Something similar.
Recommended for you
With version 3.4.0, personalized recommendations (the Recommended for You shelf) has been launched. The purpose of personalized recommendations is to deliver more personalized content, giving users recommendations for new reading material based on their own loan history and interactions with the app.
On the front page, a shelf has been added with personalized recommendations for the user. The shelf's content is determined by which materials the user has previously shown interest in the app, e.g. by reserving it, checking it out or adding it to the favorites list. An algorithm calculates similar materials based on the user's actions in the app and presents them to the user.
Since the algorithm needs data to work, the user will only see the shelf after a certain number of interactions with the app. Therefore, in order for the user to see the Recommended for you shelf, it is necessary that the user:
- Is logged in
- Have "Collect data" enabled (under My Page -> Settings -> My data)
- Have a minimum of two materials in the loan history
- Have performed a minimum of 10 actions on 10 unique materials (e.g. put a material on the favorites list, reserved a material or accessed the material view).
The user will find that the algorithm will get better at tracking relevant recommendations as she uses the app. For example, the more materials that are added to the loan history, added to the favorites list and reserved, the better the algorithm will become at recognizing the user's preferences within genres and specific topics. The algorithm will be continuously developed based on the experience we gather.
Something similar
Version 3.2.0 launched Loan History, Data Collection Commitment and Something Similar. Loan history was introduced in the first part of the personalized recommendations project and is an important element in how recommendations work. The user must consent to data collection before the loan history can be created. Read about loan history.
In the materials view, there is a shelf where the user can be inspired by materials that are similar to the selected one. The content of the shelf is determined by an underlying algorithm that recommends materials based on similarity to other materials.
Commitment
The first time the user logs in after the update to 3.2.0 or higher, she is asked to decide whether the app can collect data. At the same time, the new features that can be obtained by accepting data collection are presented: Loan History and Inspiration.
If the user wants to use the new features such as loan history and inspiration (i.e. "Recommended for you", see above), the user must tap "Accept all".
The user can also choose to only give permission for the collection of necessary data. That is, the data required for the user to, for example, view their current loans and reservations. In this case, the user must select "Accept necessary".
Under "Settings", the user can always change their selection and turn data collection on or off and reset their loan history.
If the user closes the page (by clicking the close cross in the top right corner) and thus does not click either "Accept all" or "Accept necessary", she will be logged out of the app (warning will be displayed).