When libraries contribute, everybody wins

Collection Sets are another of the significant benefits realized by libraries participating in the WorldCat cooperative database. WorldCat is a global information resource built by librarians like you, with more than 290 million catalog records contributed by more than 25,900 member libraries. It contains bibliographic data for all formats—monographs, serials, electronic books and journals, Web-based articles, audio and video recordings, and more—all from the full range of recorded history. It is simply the world’s largest, most complete, and most consulted bibliographic database.

While OCLC catalogers create some Collection Sets, most are built by OCLC member libraries, which have purchased a predetermined content set from a publisher and cataloged the set using OCLC cataloging tools in order to make it available to you. This collective activity to reference large groups of content helps reduce duplication of effort and creates an authoritative source for cataloging information with which libraries can synchronize their records.

If you are an OCLC member institution, you can contribute a Collection Set of records your staff has cataloged. OCLC will set up a special authorization to allow you to input the records into WorldCat at no charge.