If you’ve ever used online resources from a library, there’s a good chance that you’ve used WorldCat. Using WorldCat is like using the online catalog for your library, except that it includes materials from thousands of libraries around the world (mainly North America, but still!). It’s a great way to find what’s out there and which libraries have the things you want. It’s what most libraries use for the foundation of their InterLibrary Loan services.

Anyway, what’s really cool is that WorldCat.org is now online! Also called Open WorldCat, it’s a way for you to use WorldCat without having to find a library that’s a member. And even better is the fact that they have made it possible for you to add their search box to your website or blog. They even show you how to get results in Google and Yahoo! And there are also browser toolbars that they’ve created, so you can download a “WorldCat Edition” Yahoo!- or Google-related toolbar for Internet Explorer or a Search Extension (plugin) for Firefox!

One last cool feature is that they’ve made a way for you to create a link to the WorldCat page for a specific item. So you can use the link wherever you like and have it always go to that particular entry in WorldCat. VERY helpful!

You’ll see that I now have a WorldCat search box on my blog sidebar. Feel free to try it out.

[tags]worldcat, libraries, databases, books[/tags]