In addition to indexing content in a library's catalog or a group's union catalog, OCLC provides access to other library collections such as databases that a library manages outside its catalog.
Licensed databases are accessible through a central index and via remote access to content provider sites. These include databases purchased from OCLC (FirstSearch, ArchiveGrid and CAMIO) and other content providers that include CSA, EBSCO, Gale, H.W. Wilson, Lexis-Nexis, Newsbank/Readex and ProQuest. OCLC plans to include as much licensed content as possible in the central index and provide access to content via remote access as a secondary option. All search results from electronic licensed content and WorldCat are integrated into a single result set for easy review by users. Consult the OCLC Web site for a complete list of available databases.
Resources already indexed in WorldCat.org that are included by extension in WorldCat Local are:
- Article-level records from a growing number of databases including ArticleFirst, MEDLINE, Elsevier, ERIC, British Library Inside Serials, JSTOR, OAIster, PapersFirst and ProceedingsFirst
- Licensed eSerials collections (via the OCLC eSerials Holdings service)
- Locally digitized materials created with CONTENTdm that have been added to WorldCat
- "Open access" content cataloged into WorldCat by librarians at participating institutions. This includes public domain eBooks and authoritative Web sites.