Using the API

The WorldCat Registry Web Service provides developer level access to the WorldCat Registry. The WorldCat Registry is a global directory for libraries, library consortia, archives and museums. It is an authoritative single source for information that defines institutional identity, services, relationships, contacts and other key data often shared with partners, vendors and other third parties.

You can use this service to

• find and retrieve institutions and consortia profiled in the WorldCat Registry based on specified criteria
• retrieve information about a single institution or consortium from its profile in the WorldCat Registry
• find and retrieve OpenURL resolver information based on information in the WorldCat Registry

The API is comprised of three methods:

• Search Method
  The Search functionality follows the Library of Congress' SRU CQL syntax and supports several configurable parameters which can be embedded in the command.
• Details Method
  The Details functionality retrieves information from the WorldCat Registry profile for an individual institution or consortium. The record retrieved is based on a unique, persistent identifier passed as a parameter. The Detail returns a record containing all data that would normally be available to an unauthenticated user who conducts a search on the WorldCat Registry Web site.
  • Content - basic public metadata for a given institution
  • Enhanced Content - full public metadata for a given institution, including OpenURL resolver information
• Resolver Lookup Method
  The Resolver Lookup functionality retrieves information from the WorldCat Registry about OpenURL resolvers related to a particular institution. It can be queried by IP, Requestor IP, OCLC Symbol, or Resolver ID.

The Web service is typically used in two-step process:

• An application first uses the search functionality to retrieve a list of "thin" records that match specified criteria. Each retrieved record includes the intitution's name and its corresponding WorldCat Institution Identifier (ID)
• The detail functionality is then used to return an XML file with all available details for one of the listed institutions