WorldCat Mobile pilot extended to Europe

Birmingham, UK,  6 July 2009 —OCLC today announced that the WorldCat Mobile pilot, a program that makes collections from libraries visible through mobile devices, has been extended to Europe.  Expanding the pilot to Europe means that now phones in the Netherlands, Germany, the UK, and France will also be operational.

The WorldCat Mobile pilot allows users to search for and find books and other materials available in libraries near them through a Web application they can access from a PDA or smartphone.

Based on WorldCat.org, the world's largest online resource for finding information in libraries, the pilot has already proved a huge success in the U.S. and Canada. Thanks to advanced global positioning capabilities found in most mobiles, WorldCat Mobile pilot users in these countries will be able to find local library materials, if the library in question has loaded records in WorldCat, no matter where they happen to be. Users can even get a Google Maps view of the library location along with detailed driving instructions if the mobile device supports the application.

"People are using their mobile phones today as if they were hand-held computers," said Cindy Cunningham, OCLC Director of Partner Programs. "OCLC wants to make sure that libraries are where people are seeking information. The WorldCat Mobile pilot will help us to gauge the kind of interest people have in accessing library information from their mobile phones—wherever they may be."

Created in collaboration with Boopsie, Inc., a U.S.-based provider of software for mobile devices, the WorldCat Mobile pilot is a downloadable application that supports many devices, including Nokia, Blackberry and iPhone.

As this is a pilot, OCLC are keen to receive feedback from European users as to their experiences with the service. Anyone wishing to offer such comments can do so by emailing WorldCatMobilePilot@oclc.org.

Download the application to your mobile device at www.worldcat.org/m/.

About Boopsie, Inc.
Based in Laguna Beach, California, the Boopsie Mobile Find Platform was built to leverage the latest capabilities of mobile phones.  The company’s patent-pending technology uses a Smart Prefix™ text entry system to quickly find exactly what users are seeking.  For content publishers, Boopsie provides a brand-friendly environment that creates mobile ready versions of their Web offerings in real time.  For more information, visit:  www.boopsie.com/.

About OCLC
Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, OCLC is a nonprofit library service and research organization that has provided computer-based cataloguing, reference, resource sharing, eContent, preservation, library management and Web services to 69,000 libraries in 112 countries and territories.  OCLC and its member libraries worldwide have created and maintain WorldCat, the world’s richest online resource for finding library materials.  Search WorldCat on the Web at www.worldcat.org.  For more information about OCLC, visit www.oclc.org.

Saiba mais sobre a OCLC

Dewey, OCLC and WorldCat are registered trademarks of OCLC.