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Research: Leveraging the power of WorldCat Tips & Tricks: Raise your online visibility Labs: Get your library on the go NetLibrary launches new media center Spotlight: From linking to thinking 
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Leveraging the power of WorldCatOCLC is beginning a major new initiative to expose the data contributed to WorldCat by member libraries in useful new ways By Don Hamparian and Roy Tennant Searching for “trains” at the Cushman Photograph Collection of the Indiana University Libraries brings back more than simply photos of trains. Clickable links for related searches, such as “transportation” and “subways,” are offered as well. It is not apparent, but the information for creating these links comes from servers in Ohio rather than Indiana University, and are merged or “mashed up” on the fly.
A mashup is any merged view of two or more data sources that is produced dynamically at the point of need by software. Standards and protocols as well as a fast network are required to make mashups possible. Technologies such as the Internet and XML have created a world where data and computer services can be mixed and matched at will to create richer, more useful applications. Welcome to Web Services for WorldCat OCLC is moving quickly to enable libraries to take advantage of these capabilities by offering a growing suite of mashup-enabled services, including the one that suggests related terms for the Cushman Photograph Collection search. These services are the beginning of a major new initiative to expose the data contributed to WorldCat by member libraries in useful new ways. A common term for data services that are used by software is “application program interface” or API. The flagship API from OCLC is the WorldCat Search API, which was released in August 2008 after testing by a group of OCLC member libraries. A number of institutions have already been using the WorldCat Search API to enrich their local services in various ways. The University of Houston is one such institution, where the WorldCat Search API, as Karen Coombs explains, “allows our librarians to mashup bibliographic data with covers and reviews from other sources to seamlessly create vivid Web pages that highlight the library’s collections to our users.” OCLC programmer Bruce Washburn has also used the WorldCat Search API to create an iPhone application for searching WorldCat, and two Facebook widgets (one for searching WorldCat, and one called CiteMe for formatting citations in several common styles). Additional services presently offered, either in production or as an experimental service, include:
All of these Web services are available to OCLC cataloging institutions at no additional charge. More services will be added on an ongoing basis, and library developers—programmers around the world working to create similarly useful services—are also helping to enhance the existing services. Software developers need support too In turn, OCLC aims to serve the needs of library developers using these services by providing a place for them to get documentation, submit code, discuss issues and get support. Called the “OCLC Developer’s Network” (available at worldcat.org/devnet/), a beginning set of services are offered, such as a mailing list and service documentation. A code repository will be coming as well. To foster a community of developers who can share solutions and code for using these services, OCLC holds regular meetings for the development community at ALA and sponsors special events. In November 2008, OCLC sponsored the WorldCat Hackathon with the New York Public Library, where more than 30 library developers spent two days learning about and using OCLC-supported APIs. OCLC is planning a similar event in Europe in the first half of 2009. Wanted: Code Monkeys If you are a library software developer, or you know of one, check out the new Web services OCLC is developing at worldcat.org/devnet/wiki/Services. You’ll find a rich array of possibilities for enhancing local systems and services. And if you don’t find what you need or expect, make a suggestion. In addition to Web services developed by OCLC, useful APIs from a variety of sources are now available for your mashup needs. A list of library-related APIs can be accessed at techessence.info/apis. It may be a cliché to say that the only limit is your imagination, but it isn’t far off. There are many more possibilities for creating rich user interfaces than there were even a couple years ago, and OCLC is working to make sure our member institutions are at the forefront of using these powerful new technologies to better serve their users.
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