WorldCat Local

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OCLC WorldCat Local home page

WorldCat Local is a Web Scale Discovery Service of the non-profit organization Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) that has existed since 2007 and combines the three areas of content, discovery (intuitive search) and delivery (document delivery). WorldCat Local provides a unified search interface for the local and licensed holdings of a library as well as the holdings of other libraries stored in WorldCat . The search engine technology is intended to give library users centralized access to the digital, licensed or physical holdings of the respective local library as well as to global library collections.

history

In addition to their in-house library catalog, OCLC libraries wanted to offer a search index that primarily made their own collections findable, but at the same time allowed an extended search throughout WorldCat. OCLC therefore developed WorldCat Local, a local version of the global library catalog WorldCat, for the participating libraries . In 2007 WorldCat Local was first used as a library catalog at the University of Washington . Since then, the system has been continuously optimized and its functions and content expanded. WorldCat Local has been available in Germany since 2010, but there is no official implementation yet. Since July 2011, a browser-based mobile version of WorldCat Local that can be used on all JavaScript- enabled devices has been available.

target group

The target audience are primarily libraries that are already OCLC members. The advantage for libraries is to make digital content from licensed databases and electronic journals more visible and thus to increase usage. At the same time, it is more convenient for the library user to find all the documents offered by the library via a search entry and to call up integrated full texts directly. WorldCat Local enables library users to find the book they are looking for in their own library, in their own region or in a library worldwide. He can also check whether and in what form the document he is looking for is available. If a document is not available in your own library, you can order it from one of the network libraries via a document delivery service via interlibrary loan .

Content

WorldCat Local is the Discovery Service with the largest search index. In November 2011, WorldCat Local had 881 million records - including around 625 million articles with a direct link to the full text. Different types of material such as digital objects, electronic materials, databases, eJournals, music, videos and monographs are included. The content can be subdivided into the holdings of the library, the holdings of the association into which the library is integrated, also according to the proof of ownership of all libraries participating in WorldCat as well as aggregators such as publishers , database providers and mass digitization projects such as HathiTrust and Google Books .

Range of functions

WorldCat Local combines an index with intuitive search and instant document delivery. Using search engine technology, the local library holdings and literature from different data sources are brought together in a search room. The search is carried out using a simple search field. The results can be refined and restricted using filter options using the metadata . Mashups such as tables of contents or cover images make the selection easier for the user. Are built Web 2.0 elements such as social tagging , ie the allocation of keywords that describe the resource closer. When displaying hits, the local stocks, including the availability status, are displayed first. WorldCat Local links to digital full texts, but does not offer a full text search. The user interface is available in seven languages: German, English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Portuguese and Chinese and varies depending on the location or preferred settings of the user. Detailed statistics can be created with the help of an analysis tool. It includes access to the OCLC knowledge base and use of the link resolver WorldCat Link Manager.

System architecture and interfaces

WorldCat Local has a central index. This index stores the data from WorldCat, from the databases licensed by OCLC , as well as the network and local data. Databases that cannot be integrated into the central index for licensing reasons are queried remotely via Z39.50 . The central index is hosted by OCLC, there is no local data storage. This also eliminates the need to install hardware and software on site. The library will have its own WorldCat.org URL that will access the WorldCat Local user interface. Access to WorldCat Local can also be integrated into the local user interface of the library website. The library receives admin access to adapt the WorldCat Local interface. A challenge for Discovery Services is the indexing of loan data, i.e. the recording or mapping of the loan status and the loan functionalities within the index. WorldCat Local does not include this data in the index, but reads it as live data from the existing library system. For this purpose, the connection between the entry in the index and the entry in the catalog is established via the OCLC number, which is stored both in the index and in the library catalog. The bibliographic metadata and - if this is transferred - the loan status are queried via Z39.50 and SRU . Screen scraping is also used to determine the loan status , in which the loan status is read from the HTML file by calling up the website for the respective data record . The NCIP interface is used for communication with the local system for the use of loan functions (e.g. reservations and access to the user account ) .

License model

Access to WorldCat Local is only possible in Germany via WorldCat.org and TouchPoint. Participation in WorldCat.org and the implementation of WorldCat Local require the library to deliver its catalog data to WorldCat. When the data records are delivered, the corresponding OCLC numbers are returned by OCLC for each data record , which must then be transferred to the MARC data records as a prerequisite for querying the local data . There are one-time implementation fees and annual license fees for using WorldCat Local. OCLC members with a FirstSearch license receive a free WorldCat Local "quickstart" version, which only contains the WorldCat data and the local data.

literature

  • Tilburg University chooses OCLC's Web-Scale Management Services and WorldCat Local. In: ABI Technik No. 2, Vol. 31 (2011), pp. 115-115.
  • Day, Simon: OCLC WorldCat Local: the link between local focus and global reach when searching for information. In: BIT Online No. 2, Vol. 14 (2011), pp. 152–156.
  • Deardorff, Thomas; Nance, Heidi: WorldCat Local Implementation: the Impact on Interlibrary Loan. In: Interlending and document supply No. 4, Vol. 37 (2009), pp. 177-180.
  • Duke, David M .: Metasearch expands the reach of WorldCat Local. In: Next Space No. 14, Vol. 2009 (2010), p. 18.
  • Goldberg, Tyler; Johnson, Anna Marie: WorldCat Local: A New Window to the World of Information for UofL Users! In: The Owl: A Newsletter for Employees of the University of Louisville Libraries No. 6, Vol. 26 (2010) http://owl.library.louisville.edu/2010/Owl1010.pdf
  • Humphreys, Linda; Mayfield, Ian: Next-generation library catalogs: reviews of ELIN, WorldCat Local and Aquabrowser. In: Serials No. 3, Vol. 21 (2008), pp. 224-230.
  • Neubauer, Karl Wilhelm: The future has already begun. Do new service products lead to new strategies for libraries? In: BIT Online No. 1, Vol. 13 (2010), pp. 13-20.
  • Shadle, Steve: Electronic Resources in a Next-Generation Catalog: The Case of WorldCat Local. In: Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship No. 3-4, Vol. 21 (2009), pp. 192-199.
  • Thomas, Bob; Buck, Stefanie: OCLC's WorldCat Local versus III's WebPAC: Which interface is better at supporting common user tasks? In: Library Hi Tech No. 4, Vol. 28 (2010), pp. 648-671.
  • Vaughan, Jason: Web scale discovery services: A Library Technology Report. Chicago: ALA Editions, 2011.
  • Westmancoat, Helen: Implementing OCLC WorldCat local at York St John University. In: Mitteilungen der VÖB No. 2, Vol. 64 (2011), pp. 224–228.

Web links