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Discovery And Provider Model

Discovery is built around a shared provider registry and typed orchestration.

Responsibilities​

  • classify user input;
  • resolve direct provider inputs;
  • dispatch free-text search to supported adapters;
  • normalize results into a shared contract;
  • support provider-specific pagination and filters where possible.

What The Provider Registry Actually Does​

The provider registry is the product contract between UI behavior and provider-specific logic. Each provider entry defines:

  • canonical product name and aliases;
  • which resolver class can normalize direct inputs;
  • whether search is supported;
  • which search strategy handler should be used;
  • whether the provider is effectively direct, fallback, or search-first;
  • provider-specific helper text, placeholder guidance, and optional search filters.

This lets Discovery behave consistently in the UI while still respecting real provider differences.

The discovery layer is also where provider fragility becomes product behavior:

  • some providers are stable enough for search;
  • some are direct-resolution only;
  • some require network policies that shape the UX.

It is also where the product decides how much confidence to place in a given input. A direct manifest URL is usually high-confidence. Free-text search is lower-confidence and more provider-dependent.

Search Is Only One Path​

Scriptoria does not assume that “search” is the universal answer. In manuscript work, users often start from:

  • a shelfmark;
  • a catalog record URL;
  • a local note containing a provider-specific identifier;
  • a previously known manifest URL.

The discovery model therefore supports both exploratory and reference-driven workflows.

Why The Search Modes Matter​

search_first providers are suitable for exploratory discovery directly in Scriptoria.

fallback providers can search, but the best product behavior still starts with explicit references when available.

direct providers should be treated as resolution surfaces. In those cases, Scriptoria is helping you normalize already-known material rather than replacing the source library's own catalog.