Web services
Web tools deliver access to data and services on different platforms and through a variety of applications.
A wide range of OCLC Web services are available from the Developer Network, including the following.
WorldCat Registry API
Authoritative single source for institutional metadata
OCLC's WorldCat Registry is a free Web tool that provides a single location from which any library can view data that describes its institutional identity and services, and update it in OCLC Service Configuration. Free Web services available through the WorldCat Affiliate site distribute Registry data across the Web, enhancing Web discovery of libraries' rich content and services.
WorldCat Search API
WorldCat access through library Web sites
The WorldCat Search API provides machine-to-machine access to WorldCat bibliographic records and holdings organized to group similar editions of the same item together. The holdings information provided includes links directly to cataloging libraries’ OPACs, resulting in the seamless delivery of WorldCat information through library Web sites.
xISBN
OCLC Web service
OCLC's xISBN service is a machine-to-machine service that supplies ISBNs and other information associated with an individual work in WorldCat—the world's richest database for discovery of items held in libraries. Submit an ISBN to the service and it returns a list of related ISBNs and selected metadata.
xISSN
OCLC Web service
xISSN is a Web service that supports management of serials information. Users can supply an ISSN to find out about any predecessor, successor, and alternate ISSNs and titles, and find the electronic ISSN for a print title or vice versa.
OCLC’s Web services support functions such as OpenURL resolution and consolidated access to multiple versions of published works. Direct linking provides centralized access to library ownership information and a cooperatively built repository of data about library collections and services. OCLC’s collection of Web services will expand to support libraries’ as they move into an increasingly network-enabled world.