Frequently Asked Questions about WorldCat Local
Updated 8/29/2007
Benefits
Interoperability with Integrated Library Systems (ILS)
Costs
Cataloging and library holdings
Features and functionality
Access to library collections or library-subscribed content
Integration with WorldCat.org
Implementation
WorldCat Local and group catalogs
What benefits does WorldCat Local deliver to libraries and their users?
- Patrons use a single interface that seamlessly integrates with your current infrastructure
- Search results emphasize your collection and those of your group while still providing access to the entire universe of WorldCat libraries
- Simplified access to electronic content and circulation services such as full text, purchased and locally indexed databases, and placing of holds and resource sharing requests
- Deliver your library's resources at the point of need: Your search box can be placed on any Web page and in Web-enabled workspaces such as e-learning courses
- Meet users' Web-influenced expectations with simple keyword search and social-networking tools such as list sharing, reviews and personal profiles
- Simple, hosted implementation means no local installation of hardware or software and full OCLC support
- Greater visibility in your community and beyond: Web users reach you from Google, Yahoo! and other partner Web sites by way of the WorldCat.org platform
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How does WorldCat Local work with a library's ILS?
WorldCat Local layers a customized version of WorldCat.org on top of the ILS you already have. Every implementation of WorldCat Local integrates with the systems in place at your library using the most appropriate method.
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Does WorldCat Local use protocols such as NCIP or Z39.50?
WorldCat Local supports the NCIP and Z39.50 communication protocols. Note that these protocols must also be supported by the purchasing libraryÕs ILS or its intra-consortial borrowing system.
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With which ILSs does WorldCat Local work?
During the pilot phase, OCLC has integrated WorldCat Local with the following systems:
- Innovative Interfaces: Millenium
- SirsiDynix: Horizon and Unicorn
- Ex Libris: Voyager
OCLC will continue to integrate WorldCat Local with additional ILSs.
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With which library services will WorldCat Local interface?
As of late August 2007, WorldCat Local supports a number of activities for authenticated users:
| With these types of items... |
...users can perform these actions... |
...on these systems |
| Returnable items such as books, CDs and DVDs |
|
- Innovative: Millennium
- SirsiDynix: Horizon
In development:
- Ex Libris: Voyager
- SirsiDynix: Unicorn
|
|
- WorldCat Resource Sharing
- OCLC ILLiad
- Innovative: INN-Reach
- OCLC VDX*
In development:
- Endeavor Universal Borrowing
|
| Non-returnable items, such as articles |
- Link to full text from FirstSearch or Electronic Collections Online
- Link to article full text through a library's OpenURL resolver via the OpenURL Resolver Gateway**
|
N/A |
* Available at launch of the University of California
implementation
** Your resolver(s) must be compliant with version 1.0 of the NISO standard for OpenURL
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How is WorldCat Local priced?
WorldCat Local requires a one-time implementation fee and an annual subscription—typical for centrally hosted services—and is based on the size of a library's user population. Contact an OCLC representative at libservices@oclc.org or your regional service provider to obtain pricing for your library.
Library groups will be provided custom quotes.
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The costs of WorldCat Local are in addition to those of an ILS. How can a library justify this additional cost?
When a library subscribes to WorldCat Local, it pays for a hosted service that expands discovery of its collection on the Web and better integrates the disparate resources it provides into that discovery experience. Users search collections through a single, simple Web interface and find:
- Items in the traditional library catalog;
- Materials (increasingly, digital assets) in special collections outside the catalog;
- Article records from a growing number of familiar databases.
The breadth of the OCLC cooperative lets a library that implements WorldCat Local deliver a world of physical and electronic library-owned content to their users while still keeping the focus on the library's collections. WorldCat Local search results list local holdings first, followed by those of a consortium or group, and then those of all WorldCat libraries globally.
Libraries that manage timely updates of their holdings into WorldCat for discovery through WorldCat Local also ensure that resources in their collections will be discoverable on the open Web through WorldCat partners such as Google and Yahoo! Search and social tools such as link sharing and listmaking.
So, for an incremental cost, WorldCat Local libraries receive benefits far beyond any system they could have implemented independently. WorldCat Local absorbs the complexity of providing single-search and makes physical and electronic collections more discoverable and thus more easily accessed by library users.
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How can smaller libraries be expected to pay for this additional service on top of the ILS they already maintain?
Many smaller libraries that cannot support an individual subscription might choose to join or form a library group. Most often, group purchases reduce the level of financial commitment required of individual libraries.
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My library adds its holdings to WorldCat through a monthly batchload. Through WorldCat Local, it sounds as if our holdings would always be out-of-date. How would we make sure users see the most up-to-date information about our collections?
OCLC staff will work with you to modify your current practices in ways that ensure delivery of up-to-date information about your collections. This will require a change in the frequency of your batchload to daily updates.
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If I catalog a record today, when will it be visible through WorldCat Local?
New cataloging additions to your collection will be visible in WorldCat Local within 24 hours.
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How many tiers of holdings can be configured within a WorldCat Local implementation?
At present, a purchasing library can have three tiers of holdings as part of its relevancy ranking. The first two tiers are configurable by the library, and the third tier is always the global view of resources in all WorldCat libraries.
Later in 2007, OCLC will increase the number of holdings tiers configurable by the purchasing library to three, again with the global WorldCat view representing the fourth and final tier. So a WorldCat Local implementation could, for example, have local holdings in the first tier, group/consortial holdings in the second, a state library system's holdings in the third, and then WorldCat libraries.
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My library is not part of a consortium. Can I choose a consortium I know is familiar to my users as the second tier of holdings displayed in my WorldCat Local implementation?
Yes, even though your library is not in a formal consortial agreement with other libraries, you may still select a group of libraries with which you are most interested in sharing as your second tier.
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How does the FRBR algorithm used in WorldCat.org affect a library's local holdings display in WorldCat Local?
Items derived from a source work are combined into worksets using the FRBR algorithm developed by OCLC Research. Multiple-language items are placed into their own worksets so that they may be represented separately within the search results. On WorldCat.org, the representative records for the worksets are those items which are the most widely held; in WorldCat Local, the representative records for the worksets are those items which are the most widely held or the most widely held that are also held by the institution/group.
All items in a workset may be discovered under the Editions tab in the detailed WorldCat record.
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How does relevancy ranking work in WorldCat Local?
WorldCat Local determines relevancy in the same way as WorldCat.org, but also factors in the holdings of the purchasing library to elevate them in search results.
WorldCat.org's proprietary algorithm produces relevancy ranking for a standard, non-index-specific search by evaluating the appearance and proximity of the searched terms in the title, subject and author fields within WorldCat records. Primary weight is given to title; secondary and tertiary weights are given respectively to author and subject. The algorithm also matches against other bibliographic fields, but these three receive the most emphasis.
Also considered is how recently an item was published or released and how many WorldCat institutions hold the item.
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Can my library configure its own relevancy algorithm for a WorldCat Local installation?
The relevancy of your library's WorldCat Local implementation is configured primarily by the placing of your library's holdings in WorldCat, which elevate the resources you own to the top of search results. Relevancy is also affected by the WorldCat-based holdings of the institutions or consortium you select as your second tier. Relevancy cannot be configured further; however, OCLC regularly evaluates and adjusts its algorithm to ensure your users receive the best possible result sets.
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What types of content can a library integrate into WorldCat Local?
In addition to indexing the contents of a library's catalog or a group's union catalog, WorldCat Local will index other library collections such as databases that a library manages outside its catalog. An example of this type of resource is DSpace, an open-source digital archiving system designed by MIT Libraries and Hewlett Packard to capture, manage and share research in digital formats.
Resources already indexed in WorldCat.org that are included by extension in WorldCat Local are:
- Article-level records from four databases (GPO, ArticleFirst, Medline, ERIC)
- Licensed eSerials collections (via the OCLC eSerials 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.
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How will WorldCat Local work with our OpenURL resolver?
If your library uses an OpenURL server to connect its users to content from a variety of services beyond OCLC's and to freely available Web resources, OCLC staff work with you to establish links from WorldCat records to your resolver. (Your resolver(s) must be compliant with version 1.0 of the NISO standard for OpenURL.) If you have already set up the OpenURL resolver link in FirstSearch, you will find the process for establishing this link is similar.
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My library does not have an OpenURL resolver. Can we purchase this service from OCLC?
OCLC currently offers a resolver service and is also piloting a hosted OpenURL resolver solution that is intended to easily integrate into a WorldCat Local implementation.
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Will WorldCat Local use our library's authentication system for online services such as NetLibrary or FirstSearch?
Yes, WorldCat Local will utilize your current delivery systems and the associated authentication methods already in place at your library.
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Is an IP-authenticated user who begins a search at WorldCat.org switched over to the WorldCat Local implementation?
Yes. A user who initiates a search in WorldCat.org from an IP address associated with a WorldCat Local implementation will receive results displayed in the appropriate locally-branded WorldCat Local interface.
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How long will it take to implement WorldCat Local for my library?
Presently, OCLC anticipates a period of 90 to 120 days will be necessary to implement WorldCat Local. During this timeframe, OCLC establishes interoperability, determines the library's preferred workflows and performs a batchload or reclamation if necessary.
Your wait time may be impacted by the number of institutions on queue for WorldCat Local implementations, which are processed by OCLC in the order they are received. OCLC is working quickly to streamline its internal implementation process.
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What configuration options are available to a library in WorldCat Local?
Configuration options include the following:
- Unique URL as a subdomain of worldcat.org
- Branded interface with logo and color options for backgrounds and links
- Branded version of the WorldCat search box for use on your Web site
- Definition of institution and group to determine the priority position in search results
- Interoperability with a library's local systems in areas such as display of item availability, circulation and resource sharing
- Definition of the workflow for institution requests, group requests and requests made to other WorldCat libraries
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How does WorldCat Local differ from OCLC's Group Catalog service? Why would my library want to purchase WorldCat Local if we already have a group catalog through OCLC?
WorldCat Local delivers a locally configured view of your library's and/or group's collections through the WorldCat.org environment. This functionality goes beyond what is available in group catalogs today and what will be available in group catalogs as they transition to the WorldCat.org interface.
OCLC group catalogs currently reside as separate databases within the FirstSearch interface. Each database contains the holdings of group members, with search limits determined by the group by library type, geography, etc.
As group catalogs transition to the WorldCat.org environment beginning in 2008, they will continue to feature the holdings of an individual group with views of subgroups as determined by each group. Specific details about group catalog implementations will be shared with administrators beginning in late 2007.
WorldCat Local offers functionality that is not provided by a group catalog, including:
- Automatic display of the purchasing library's holdings (followed by holdings of consortium member libraries) at the top of the results list.
- Interoperability with the purchasing library's ILS. Beyond the linking to item location and availability available in a group catalog, WorldCat Local facilitates placing holds or initiating an interlibrary loan request in the local library system. Availability and location information for an item is displayed with the item record in the WorldCat Local interface.
- Access to locally-indexed information resources beyond the library catalog holdings. Librarians can set up search access to non-WorldCat, non-FirstSearch content from their WorldCat Local implementation. This could include a special digital collection that is maintained outside the library OPAC or a local OpenURL resolver.
- Custom branding of the interface. In addition to the color and logo options available for group catalogs, WorldCat Local lets you customize navigation links to additional library services such as virtual reference/Ask a Librarian, feedback forms and local library account information.
- A custom URL for each WorldCat Local library's search box, plus customized HTML code for the box that allows it to be placed on any Web page.
- Superior relevance ranking of search results. Due to a proprietary relevancy algorithm in WorldCat.org, search results are closely tied to the term(s) searched.
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Can we configure the WorldCat Local interface to display only some of the available interface languages?
No. All languages available within the WorldCat.org interface are displayed in WorldCat Local implementations.
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Can we add our WorldCat Local search box to its e-learning tools such as Blackboard?
Yes. Library staff may place their WorldCat Local search box on any Web site or in any Web-enabled environment where they want it to be accessible to library users. OCLC provides the HTML code associated with the box, and staff may add it to environments that accommodate such enhancements.
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Librarians' Toolbox:
