WorldCat
Sign in to saveWorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the OCLC member libraries collectively maintain WorldCat's database, the world's largest bibliographic database. The database includes other information sources in addition to member library collections. OCLC makes WorldCat itself available free to libraries, but the catalog is the foundation for other subscription OCLC services (such as resource sharing and col
AI overview
WorldCat is the world's largest shared catalog of library collections, combining information from tens of thousands of libraries worldwide that participate in the OCLC cooperative network. It matters because it helps libraries and patrons discover what books and materials exist and where to find them, while also serving as the foundation for library services like resource sharing between institutions.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Key facts
- Website.name
- WorldCat
- Website.logo
- WorldCat logo.svg
- Website.logo_alt
- Five-color WorldCat emblem, with WorldCat in black letters and OCLC in smaller grey letters
- Website.screenshot
- WorldCat homepage.png
- Website.collapsible
- y
- Website.collapsetext
- Screenshot
- Website.background
- gainsboro
- Website.caption
- WorldCat homepage as of June 2019
- Website.commercial
- No
- Website.type
- Network of library content and services
- Website.registration
- Optional, but some features require registration (such as writing reviews and making lists or bibliographies)
- Website.language_count
Article
6 sectionsContents
- {{anchor|Identifier}}History
- System architecture
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the OCLC member libraries collectively maintain WorldCat's database, the world's largest bibliographic database. The database includes other information sources in addition to member library collections. OCLC makes WorldCat itself available free to libraries, but the catalog is the foundation for other subscription OCLC services (such as resource sharing and collection management). WorldCat is used by librarians for cataloging and research and by the general public.
, WorldCat contained over 540 million bibliographic records in 483 languages, representing over 3 billion physical and digital library assets, and the WorldCat persons dataset (mined from WorldCat) included over 100 million people.