The Online Computer Library Center's Open WorldCat Program

This article describes the Online Computer Library Center’s (OCLC) Open WorldCat program. WorldCat is a worldwide union catalog created and maintained collectively by more than 9,000 member institutions. Open WorldCat seeks to make library collections and services visible and available through popular search engines such as Yahoo! and Google and other heavily used sites on the open Web. In this capacity, Open WorldCat provides an important central connection between the shared information of the library network and the Web. The article describes the history and rationale of the project; explains how Open WorldCat works for information seekers, participating libraries, and partners; and reports on what OCLC has learned from the program to date. Introduction Today’s Web users expect information at their fi ngertips, regardless of where they are searching. Libraries can meet this expectation only by reaching further into the network of information resources that their patrons use and delivering content and services to users at the point of need. Satisfying patron expectations means reaching beyond the library portal and into the commercial search engines, vertical information portals, and e-commerce sites that have become such an integral part of patron workfl ow. The Online Computer Library Center’s (OCLC) Open WorldCat program is one approach to integrating access to library collections and services into the “fl ows” of Web users. WorldCat is a worldwide union catalog created and maintained collectively by more than 9,000 member institutions. With more than 60 million online records representing almost 1 billion The Online Computer Library Center’s Open WorldCat Program