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OCLC WorldShare Metadata

A complete metadata management solution for physical, licensed and digital resources

A complete metadata management solution

Today’s libraries continually strive to achieve greater efficiencies in their workflows and better visibility for their collections, while affirming their value to users and the larger community. WorldShare Metadata helps address these priorities by providing your library with a complete metadata management solution for physical, licensed and digital resources across multiple formats. This set of new applications and services will continue to expand in phases over the next few years. The new functionality supports OCLC's strategy to provide Webscale solutions to the full range of library management needs, including acquisitions, license management, resource sharing and discovery.

As your collections of electronic and licensed materials grow, your staff face a number of challenges in managing metadata for content that is purchased in collections. They often have to support multiple workflows, manually tracking when data of varying frequencies and quality is available from different sources. Missing updated metadata can result in a user clicking a link, discovering that an item isn't available, becoming discouraged and then disengaging from your library entirely.

WorldShare Metadata Collection Manager allows you to define and configure your e-book and other electronic collections in one place, and automatically receive initial and updated customized WorldCat MARC records for all e-titles from one source, providing your users access to the titles and content from within the local library catalog or other discovery interface. This improves user satisfaction and ensures that users are less likely to bypass your library's services. Collections can be selected from the global WorldCat knowledge base oryou can create new standard collections defined title by title or new query-based collections based on existing WorldCat indexes.

The WorldCat knowledge base and WorldCat underpin many OCLC services, including WorldShare Metadata Collection Manager. The knowledge base combines data about e-resource ownership and linking information for access to content. It includes library-, publisher- and OCLC-contributed content from around the world, including e-books, e-journals and open access content. It also brings more timely and accurate access to content from WorldCat Local search results and higher fulfillment rates for libraries that share articles and e-books through WorldCat Resource Sharing. Download the list of content included in the WorldCat knowledge base.

New record management capabilities and Web services coming in the future

Coming in mid-2013, OCLC WorldShare Metadata Record Manager will provide libraries with efficient tools to describe items uniquely held by your library. Web services of interest to cataloging developers and partners will be made available through the OCLC WorldShare Platform to support adding and enriching WorldCat records and maintaining WorldCat holdings.

WorldShare Metadata works with other OCLC services as well as traditional integrated library systems. For libraries using WorldShare Management Services, WorldShare Metadata can fully integrate these functions in the same staff interface, significantly improving efficiency for “back office” operations.

“Using the [WorldCat] knowledge base and this new MARC record delivery service for some e-book collections is really a more efficient workflow overall. It provides more thorough and accurate access to e-books in our catalog and discovery tools.”

Holly Tomren, Head, Metadata Services
Drexel University Libraries

Past Cataloging and Metadata Management events

Access recent webinars and recorded presentations.

Past Cataloging and Metadata Management events

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AUG 14

14 August 2012 - 14 August 2012

The following presentations were made at the International Dewey Users Meeting, held in conjunction with the World Library and…

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APR 12

12 April 2012 - 12 April 2012

Learn about authority controlling improvements which will apply to Windows-based Connexion client and Web-based Connexion browser users, and the enhancements - GLIMIR, Classify, RDA workforms and macro changes included in the recent release of Connexion client version 2.40.

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FEB 7

07 February 2012 - 07 February 2012

You'll hear an update on the print and web versions of DDC 23 and tips on using DDC 23 and WebDewey 2.0, including:

  • How to classify works about evolving technologies
  • How to classify complex works about groups of people
  • How to find updates to DDC 23 and track history of numbers

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FEB 7

07 February 2012 - 07 February 2012

See a preview of the newly released Abridged Edition 15 and learn about the new features in this print edition of the DDC, including:

  • Many new topics and significant updates to selected fields
  • A complete overhaul to the representation of groups and people
  • Elimination of dual headings and unbalanced spans
  • Cessation of partial abridgement of parallel notation

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DEC 12

12 December 2011 - 12 December 2011

In this interactive webinar, five OCLC Research Library Partners demonstrated how they use VIAF.

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Featured video presentations

Transforming Metadata


12 minutes

Part of The Future of OCLC Cataloging, ILL and Discovery at Webscale meeting, David Whitehair presents Transforming Metadata.


2 minutes

Holly Tomren, Head of Metadata Services at Drexel University, shares her library's experience as a beta test site for the new OCLC WorldShare Metadata collection management functionality.

Watch the full video (14 minutes) »

Upcoming events

Watch this space for Cataloging and Metadata events.

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