The features of Webscale
Features: What makes OCLC WorldShare Management Services unique?
OCLC WorldShare Management Services include all of the applications to provide a Web-based cooperative library management service for cataloging, acquisitions, license management and circulation, as well as a powerful discovery and delivery experience for library users.
WorldCat—the world's largest catalog
At the heart of WorldShare Management Services is WorldCat—the world’s largest database of library metadata. Built by libraries around the globe, WorldCat includes every conceivable physical and electronic format. Today, WorldCat data and services connect and provide access to 1.267 billion articles, videos, books, photographs, maps and other library materials, as well as 8+ million metadata records describing open access, digital materials. The result is having the information needed to identify and select materials in a unified system for acquiring and managing them.
Unified acquisitions for physical and electronic collections
All of your acquisitions functions are available in one service; no need to shuttle back-and-forth among multiple systems for different formats and related activities. A centralized vendor information center makes B2B services more efficient and cooperative.
- Data from previously disparate services is stored in one system for efficient reuse.
- Built-in access to WorldCat records and publisher data streamlines selection and acquisition processes.
- Vendor data is included in the same workflows as local, consortial, group and global library data.
- Shared, real-time data supports cooperative collection building.
- Holdings are automatically created for both physical and electronic resources you acquire.
- Integration with the WorldCat knowledge base further simplifies how electronic resources are managed and delivered.
- Automated upload of order data from external systems further streamlines workflows.
With WorldShare Acquisitions, you can search for a title, purchase it and process the order—all in one seamless workflow. And by hovering over the blue information icon for an item in the search results list, you also can see whether or not there are any outstanding requests, copies selected or copies ordered.Circulation and patron management for the 21st century
All functions are handled centrally using a simple, Web-based interface. This intuitive user interface streamlines tasks and reduces the training effort for library volunteers, students and pages.
- Circulation offers the speed and efficiency your library expects.
- One screen manages tasks that previously required managing between multiple windows.
- Foundation of cooperative collection development simplifies collection sharing.
- All forms of resource sharing can become network circulation tasks.
WorldShare Circulation provides you with easy-to-use account management functions, including check-in, check-out and renewals, as well as integrated hold and fine management. It also tracks availability and holds in real time, enabling a library to generate a pull list on demand.Discovery and delivery as users expect it
OCLC’s WorldCat Local serves as the end-user discovery interface for WorldShare Management services. One search provides your library users with instant access to your library's materials— e-books, databases, e-journals, music, videos, books and more—in addition to materials in group and consortial catalogs and thousands of libraries worldwide. Integration with circulation and delivery services helps your users to find AND get the resources they need—one click lets users view an electronic copy or place a hold or resource sharing request.
Content, content, content. WorldCat Local delivers Google-like searching of more than 1.267 billion items from authoritative content sources from your library and the world’s library collections—including multiple material formats such as e-books, articles and journals. And because OCLC partners with leading content providers and organizations like Google Books, the HathiTrust, JSTOR and OAIster, every search offers results from an extraordinary range of collections.
At no additional charge. WorldCat Local helps you to stretch your library’s budget by providing the following features at no additional charge:
- Evaluative content. Users can see more than 48+ million pieces of evaluative content, like cover art, table of contents, etc., to help them make selection decisions;
- Mobile access. WorldCat Local supports mobile-optimized views for a wide range of devices;
- Lists and tags. Users can create lists of favorite topics and tag items in order to organize information in ways that make sense to them. Library staff also can create new book lists, lists for holidays and lists for summer reading; and
- OpenURL resolution. TheWorldCat knowledge base enables a built-in OpenURL resolver and populates A to Z lists, ensures library users can quickly link to content.
- Web visibility. OCLC’s partnerships with popular search engines and websites bring web searchers from the sites where they often begin their research and "into" libraries at the rate of over one million "click-throughs" per month!
Moving to WorldShare Management Services. If your library opts to start with WorldCat Local—when you migrate to WorldShare Management Services your users will be able to continue with the now familiar discovery interface, which will be enhanced by features for account management and other capabilities such as course reserves and patron-driven acquisitions for designated subject matter experts.
Discovery of print, media and electronic collections through WorldCat Local, along with single-button access to interlibrary loan, makes it a superior tool.”
Stefanie Wittenbach, University Librarian, Texas A&M University–San Antonio
["Live" with WorldShare Management Services since April 2011.]
With WorldCat Local, in addition to finding materials using its powerful single search functions, library users also can manage their accounts, place and edit holds, view check-outs, renew materials and see bills—all within the same, intuitive interface.Cataloging offers tools for data creation and enrichment
WorldCat metadata powers thousands of libraries’ cataloging activities. With WorldShare Management Services, this process is integrated with acquisitions—your local holdings live in a single place for easy updating and cross-functional use. Collaborative cataloging by the global community builds better records for everyone’s use. The results are more records, lower costs and better data.
- The latest cataloging tools and technology are integrated with management services.
- Your local holdings can live and be updated in a single place resulting in more records, less cost and better data, including availability of Local Holdings Records (LHRs) with local notes.
- Automated workflows support physical and electronic materials.
- The WorldCat Digital Collection Gateway lets you easily crosswalk and harvest metadata into WorldCat from OAI-compliant digital repositories, such as CONTENTdm.
The WorldCat knowledge base
Combining data about your library’s licensed resources and linking features, it enables access to content and helps you manage the workflows associated with these materials. Unlike data in a traditional knowledge base, WorldCat knowledge base data is not tied to a particular application—it is added and maintained in a single place for use with a growing number of OCLC and non-OCLC services.
Learn more and the WorldCat knowledge base
OCLC WorldShare License Manager for your licensed and electronic resources
The WorldShare License Manager is an add-on subscription service that centralizes your entire e-resource management lifecycle—from selection, negotiation and acquisition to access and ongoing maintenance—in one place on the WorldShare Management Services interface. You can manage license agreements, rights, access and resolution to full text from the same interface, eliminating the need to synchronize data across multiple interfaces or devise work-arounds to connect disparate systems.
- The integration of License Manager within WorldShare Management Services helps you seamlessly deliver all formats of resources to your users from one place.
- License Manager lets you and your users benefit from holdings data in the WorldCat knowledge base of more than 7.6 million resources, which continues to grow through the efforts of OCLC and members of the OCLC cooperative who load their data into the centralized database of resource holdings.
- Within WorldShare Management Services, the License Manager combines with your Acquisitions module to simplify workflows for acquiring and managing electronic resources.
- Your staff will save time by storing metadata about all your library's holdings in a single location—the WorldCat database. When you add your local holdings data to the WorldCat knowledge base included in License Manager, it automatically synchronizes with WorldCat. This saves time for staff by eliminating manual updates.
WorldShare License Manager is a unique electronic resource management solution that consolidates the management of link resolution with vendor, licensing and subscription management.OCLC WorldShare Platform for collective innovation
WorldShare Management Services are built on a global, interconnected Web architecture—the OCLC WorldShare™ Platform. The WorldShare™ Platform also provides flexible, open access to library data through APIs and other Web services.
- Planning for a flexible future. WorldShare Management Services were developed using this shared platform infrastructure. Combining information from many libraries and streamlining workflows across functions, formats and locations eliminates traditional operational silos and delivers new efficiencies. Over time, new and existing OCLC services—including resource sharing and metadata management—will be delivered through the WorldShare Platform.
- Creating and sharing apps. The WorldShare Platform facilitates collaboration and app-sharing across the library community, so that libraries can combine library-built applications, partner-built applications and OCLC-built applications. This enables the benefits of each single solution to be shared broadly throughout the library community.
The OCLC WorldShare™ App Gallery provides a central place where you can see available apps and install them into your current work environment. Information is available on the OCLC Developer Network community site for those interested in helping create and build new apps to share through the gallery.