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WorldCat Collection Analysis: Quick Start

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Quick Start: WorldCat Collection Analysis

With WorldCat Collection Analysis (WCA), you can determine your library's subject-matter strengths, gaps, and overlaps. WCA also enables you to compare your collection to the collections of other institutions without using valuable staff time or financial resources.

It’s easy to get up and running with WCA. 

Your Password

To access your WCA results, you must set a service staff password.  To do this: Log on to the WorldCat Services Administrative Module at: http://firstsearch.oclc.org/admin and enter your FirstSearch Administrative authorization number and password (included in your WCA Welcome e-mail).  This will give you access to administrative functions.

In the Administrative Module, click on the Authentication/Access tab, then Passwords. If a service staff password has not been created already, fill in the blank password box next to "FirstSearch service staff password" with your chosen password, then save. This will be your password to use WCA. If a service staff password has already been created, you should use the existing password.  To use WCA, exit the Administrative Module and log on to the FirstSearch user interface at: http://firstsearch.oclc.org, and type in the authorization number and password that you created or retrieved in the Administrative Module. Then click on the Collection Analysis tab in the FirstSearch user interface.

Using Collection Analysis: Scenarios

The following scenarios demonstrate three ways to use WCA to get information about your institution or group’s collections. As you try these scenarios for yourself, or just follow them in the attached files, you will see how easy it is to generate detailed reports about your collections. Just click on a scenario to see how you can start using WCA.

If you are unsure whether you have an individual or group subscription, please refer to your Welcome e-mail.

Individual Subscription Scenarios   

With an individual subscription, you can compare your institution's holdings to all of WorldCat, to authoritative lists, to predefined groups, or to other institutions. You can also examine your ILL activity.                 

Group Subscription Scenarios

With a group subscription, you can compare your group's holdings to all of WorldCat, to authoritative lists, to predefined groups, or to other institutions in your group.

  • Scenario #1 Determine areas of overlap between your group members' music collections published between 1900 and 1924.
  • Scenario #2 Analyze your group's collection in a subject area by publication date.
  • Scenario #3 Request a predefined group in the WorldCat Services Administrative Module.