Written for 52 Weeks To Better Genealogy – Challenge #5
I love WorldCat.
I downloaded the app onto my iPhone, thinking, as a librarian, I should have it there, but not imagining that I would ever use it. Not so. I have used it multiple times when I’ve found myself away from my computer and wondering about the availability of a title.
WorldCat is an uber catalog. When folks at the library where I work ask me about a title we don’t have within our 4 walls, I nearly always offer to do a lookup for them in WorldCat. Most of them don’t know what WorldCat is, so it’s an opportunity to shed some light as well. I tell them it’s one way to determine if that particular title is available in our area–we are privileged to have a wonderful public library system in our area and also to have the holdings of 4-5 college and university libraries available to us. So sometimes it’s just a matter of visiting an area library. Other times, I can tell them how to request the item through interlibrary loan at their public library.
This caveat regarding interlibrary loan is also always given–many libraries will not loan their genealogical titles. BUT, customers can request photocopies of the table of contents or the index or perhaps the entries for a certain person. Most libraries are willing to do this copying of a specific topic when they are not willing for their books to go out the door.
And of course, books are not the only format of information cataloged in WorldCat. It’s possible to search for serials or microfilm or cds or musical scores or maps and even internet links.
One of the ways I used WorldCat is to find the actual title of a work. Since I work in a historical society library, the library where folks come to do their genealogical research, I use it a lot to help customers who start by saying something like, “My mother’s cousin’s uncle’s grandmother wrote a book about our family. It’s blue. Do you have it?”
Using WorldCat, I can determine what titles have been published about that given family. I ask about the family name–the customer doesn’t have to know the name of the author or the title of the book. Then WorldCat can be searched using “Mitchell Family” as a subject search, and I can see what books have been published about the Mitchell family and also what libraries hold those titles. For such a common name, I might also throw in a keyword search as well, such as including the name of the state where they lived or perhaps one of the collateral lines.
Knowing that the cover is blue, however, is not all that helpful. :-)
With Amy and others posting about this tool, I encourage you to get acquainted with WorldCat. I typically access it through my public library’s website–if “my” library system has the title, WorldCat lets me know that with a highlighted line. Otherwise, I can look to see how many libraries hold it and where I might find it in my area.
Use it to see what’s been been published on a topic of interest–your family names or location where they lived. You’ll feel so smart!
