Find WorldCat Entities to improve resource discoverability through connections
Funded in part by a grant from the Mellon Foundation, in partnership with an advisory group of 28 libraries, and built on OCLC’s decades of linked data research, WorldCat Entities represent a critical next step toward making linked data work for libraries.
Use the search box on entities.oclc.org to find and view WorldCat Entities for Persons, Places, Events, and Works. Browse through different languages and explore the way each entity links to other external vocabularies and authority files for further context.
Since 2009, OCLC has taken a lead role in helping libraries realize the promise of linked data through our ground-breaking research projects and subsequent reports. WorldCat Entities marks a seminal next step in the journey by putting our research into practice. For library staff, linked data makes metadata workflows more efficient by putting contextual information and authorities into the description process. For researchers, linked data empowers the discovery and connection of new and unexpected information. Join us as we continue to work with libraries of all types to deliver exciting, enhanced experiences to their users.
“...a solid foundation”
Shared entity management infrastructure advisory group
Members of the advisory group worked closely with us over two years to assess and enhance WorldCat Entities, test APIs and user interface prototypes, and provide feedback on the value of linked data in libraries. Their thoughtful insights and commitment to the future of linked data have been essential to helping us reach this major milestone on the journey toward practical library linked data.
Agence bibliographique de l’enseignement supérieur (ABES)
Biblioteca Universitaria di Bologna
Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Roma
Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF)
Brigham Young University Library
British Library
Central Michigan University Libraries
Cleveland Public Library
Cornell University Library
Deutsche Nationalbibliothek (DNB)
Harvard University
National Library Board, Singapore
National Library of Medicine
National Library of New Zealand
New York University Libraries
Oxford University Libraries
Princeton University Library
Smithsonian Libraries
Temple University Libraries
U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center
University of California, Davis Library
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Minnesota Libraries
University of Pennsylvania Libraries
University of Tennessee Libraries
University of Victoria Libraries
Yale University Library
Have a question about WorldCat Entities or linked data?
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