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WorldCat Genres

Genre profiles allow users to browse genre terms for hundreds of titles, authors, subjects, characters, places, and more, ranked by popularity in WorldCat.

Overview

A genre profile consists of a genre/form term and a series of related authors, titles, and subject headings linked to WorldCat Identities and WorldCat.org. Many profiles also include links to lists created by WorldCat users.

The project applies principles of the FRBR model to aggregate author and title information and statistical association techniques to generate related subject headings (e.g., topics, characters, people, places, and organizations). The initial set of profiles is based on genre terms selected from the Guidelines On Subject Access To Individual Works Of Fiction, Drama, Etc. (GSAFD), 2nd edition. Genre definitions are adapted from scope notes in GSAFD, and the Library of Congress authority file and Moving Image Genre-Form Guide. More genre/form profiles will be added over time.

Examples

Click on the following examples or try the online demo to view a genre profile.

Arthurian romances
Comedy television programs
Horror films
Romantic suspense fiction
Spy stories

Impact

Genre profiles provide users with a unique way to browse WorldCat.

Details

WorldCat Genres is a joint experiment from OCLC Research and the WorldCat.org team.