User:Vuara/Open WorldCat

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Quick facts about the Open WorldCat pilot

Current status WorldCat records began to display within Google search results in December 2003 with the prefix "Find in a library" and linked to the domain "www.worldcatlibraries.org." WorldCat records are also appearing among results on Google affiliates Yahoo, America Online and Netscape.

Current page rankings for records are not indicative of final page rankings that will be in place when all records have been properly indexed. OCLC and Google continue to work on improving the ranking of WorldCat records.

To locate WorldCat records on Google, use:

"ISBN" and ISBN number (e.g. isbn 9630525119) search term plus "find in a library" (e.g., cats "find in a library") search term plus "worldcatlibraries" (e.g., cats worldcatlibraries) To see all the formatted WorldCat records on Google, click this link: http://www.google.com/search?restrict=-empty&q=site%3Aworldcatlibraries.org+-foo

Duration of pilot The Open WorldCat pilot will run through June 2004.

Goals Goals included increased awareness and use of library resources and a heightened awareness of WorldCat.

Number of participating libraries Approximately 12,000 libraries are participating, including academic, public and school libraries originally included, plus state, federal and special libraries that have asked to join.

Requirements for participation To participate in the Open WorldCat pilot, a library must have contributed records and/or ownership (holdings) information to WorldCat.

Subset of records The Open WorldCat pilot uses limited fields from 2 million records, a subset of the more than 54 million records in the WorldCat database.

Timeline By June 2004, OCLC will decide whether to proceed with implementation of an ongoing service.

Measures of success Sucess will be measured using statistical analysis of online traffic to participating library Web sites; evaluation of the service by library participants; and evaluation of the user experience through surveys, usability testing and other means.

Research OCLC has completed usability testing with end-users and librarians, and has held market research sessions with groups of academic, public and school librarians in the United States and academic librarians in the United Kingdom. Some changes have been made to the interface and to the labeling of the links to WorldCat records in Google results as a result.

Most librarians could see value in the Open WorldCat pilot, and were enthusiastic about making libraries more visible to students and others on the Web. Public librarians especially welcomed the opportunity to market themselves in another way, providing there would be a means of authenticating their registered users for functions like requesting interlibrary loans, access to reference databases, etc. Private academic librarians tended to be most concerned with inundation by requests for service from individuals outside their community whom they could not serve.

By the numbers Percentage of libraries automatically included that have withdrawn from the pilot: 1% Number of state libraries that have asked to join the pilot: 15 Percentage of the 2-million record subset harvested and formatted by Google: about 15% Average number of searches per month on the non-search engine sites (Abebooks, Alibris, Antiquarian Booksellers of America, BookPage, HCI Bibliography): 50,000 Number of searches for first full four-week period on Google and Google affiliates (AOL, Netscape): 32,000 Total number of clicks to WorldCat from Web sites participating in the pilot for January 2004: 93,000 (80% increase over December 2003)

Next steps Increase access to content by partnering with more search engines and Web sites Continue to track costs and usage to determine the viability of the service concept Conduct research with users to find out if they use the service and how OCLC can make it better

+++

How the Open WorldCat pilot works When most Web users scroll through results in a search engine, the links they see rarely point to books, serials and other materials owned by libraries. The Open WorldCat pilot changes this—it puts links to items in library collections alongside links to traditional Web content. The intended result is heightened awareness of libraries as informational resources and increased circulation.

Leveraging the WorldCat database The pilot allows a major Web search engine to access a subset of 2 million abbreviated WorldCat records representing the materials most frequently cataloged. Search results link directly to the Web sites of academic, public and school libraries that have cataloged the specific resource in WorldCat. These sites often feature online catalogs that permit the Web user to check if the resource is available.

Quick links to library information In most cases, the Open WorldCat pilot will provide users with detailed library information in as little as two clicks:

 A Web search engine provides a WorldCat link within other search results.

 The user quickly locates libraries that own the desired material based on the input postal code, state, province or country.

 The resulting list of libraries can let a user view a library's type and a map of its location, and also link further into its Web site or online catalog.

Participation is automatic If you are an academic, public or school library contributing records or holdings information to WorldCat, no action is required to participate in the Open WorldCat pilot. OCLC does ask that you provide or update basic information via the pilot feedback form (see "How to get involved").

+++

Frequently asked questions about Open Worldcat What is the Open WorldCat pilot? Why did OCLC develop the Open WorldCat pilot? When will WorldCat records be available in a major search engine? Who's included in the pilot? How was the subset of records to be included in the search engine selected? Do libraries have to participate in the pilot? What is the last day that libraries not wishing to participate in the pilot can submit their request to be removed? What is the timeframe for the pilot? Will the name "Open WorldCat" be used in Web sites rather than something that indicates libraries as the source? How are the libraries located around a ZIP code/postal code going to be determined? What order will libraries appear in the interface? Where does this information come from? Does the library name and city have to be the same as settings for WorldCat? Can libraries put something other than a city in the "City" field? Can libraries change the map and information links? Will the library type be clickable? Will they have more information? Will "consortia" be a type? OCLC will initially configure the information settings for libraries. Will we be able to do this configuration ourselves? Once a user has gotten into Open WorldCat pilot results from a search engine or Web site, can he then continue to search WorldCat for other items? When a user is in the Open WorldCat pilot interface, will there be a button so they can go back to the Web site where they started? Will my library see an increase in ILL requests if we participate in the Open WorldCat pilot? Why isn't my library's name hot-linked in the Open WorldCat pilot interface?

What is the Open WorldCat pilot? The Open WorldCat pilot is a test of a service designed to drive library visibility while directing information seekers on the Web to libraries. The purpose of the pilot is to further develop the service and gather information to determine if the service should be continued beyond the pilot phase as a live, for-fee offering. During the pilot OCLC will work with selected Web sites, including at least one major search engine, to provide links to WorldCat libraries, ultimately helping users find libraries with the items they want. Return to top

Why did OCLC develop the Open WorldCat pilot? The Open WorldCat pilot is designed to raise the visibility of libraries on the Web. Web-based information search-and-retrieval services pose a threat to libraries, but they present a tremendous opportunity as well. OCLC is seizing this opportunity to leverage the power of the Web and WorldCat to boost the visibility of libraries—libraries can make their collections accessible to Web searchers beyond their own Web portals. Extensive market research and close cooperation with advisory groups have indicated a strong case for the Open WorldCat pilot. Return to top

When will WorldCat records be available in a Web search engine? Highlighted with the prefix "Find It in a Library," WorldCat records began to display in the Google interface in December 2003. OCLC and Google continue to work on improving the ranking of WorldCat records within search results. These refinements will occur over a period of several months, and record rankings will fluctuate during this period. Return to top

Who's included in the pilot? The approximately 12,000 academic, public, and school libraries with holdings in WorldCat will be included in the pilot. End users will see these libraries' holdings when linking to the pilot service. Which holdings are displayed is based on geographic information (e.g. postal code) the user inputs. Return to top

How was the subset of WorldCat records to be included in the search engine selected? The 2 million record subset of WorldCat that will be used for the pilot was selected based on the number of libraries owning the titles. The subset is made up of WorldCat records with 100 or more library holdings attached. Return to top

Do libraries have to participate in the pilot? No. Libraries will have the option to decline participation. Libraries that wish not to participate can notify their regional service provider or use this feedback form. The holdings of these libraries will be removed from the service the following business day. Return to top

What is the last day that libraries not wishing to participate in the pilot can submit their request to be removed? There is no last day for submitting non-participants. Libraries may request to be removed at any time using this feedback form. Removal from the pilot should be complete on the business day following the date the request is submitted.

What is the timeframe for the pilot? The pilot runs from June 2003 through June 2004. During this period OCLC will roll out a series of releases with new functionality and features based on feedback from library advisory groups and end-user focus sessions. Return to top

Will the name "Open WorldCat" be used in Web sites rather than something that indicates libraries as the source? No. Open WorldCat is simply the name for the pilot. "Open WorldCat" will not appear in the Web sites that link to WorldCat or within the service interface. Users will see "Find in a Library" as a prefix on search engine listings, and "Find it in a WorldCat library," "Find it at a local library," or "Find it in a library" on other Web sites. The service interface will simply be branded with "WorldCat." These names are designed to promote libraries and build recognition of WorldCat. Return to top

How are the libraries located around a ZIP code/postal code going to be determined? Initially OCLC is using the postal code for the street address associated with each OCLC institution symbol. When users enter a postal code in the Open WorldCat pilot interface, they will see libraries near that postal code that hold the desired item. Please note that this could result in out-of-state libraries preceding in-state libraries in their order of appearance. The postal code entered by the user does not have to exactly match the library postal code; concentric radiuses of geographic proximity are employed to locate libraries near the postal code. These radiuses are 20 kilometers (12 miles), 50 kilometers (31 miles), 100 kilometers (62 miles), "region" and "worldwide." If at least 10 libraries are not found within the radius, the search expands out to the next radius. Return to top

What order will libraries appear in the interface? Initially they will be in alphabetical order. We are planning some focus sessions with end-users during the pilot to get feedback on this and other features in the service. Return to top

The interface includes library name, city, a link to a map, a link to information, and a library type. Where does this information come from? This information will be associated with each symbol in WorldCat. Initially, this information will be gathered and input by OCLC on behalf of libraries. This information can be changed now using the Open WorldCat pilot feedback form. Libraries with FirstSearch subscriptions will eventually be able to modify this information in the FirstSearch administrative interface. Return to top

Does the library name and city have to be the same as settings for WorldCat? The library name and city used in the pilot service can be different than the name and city used to profile the library (seen in FirstSearch and Cataloging displays). Return to top

Can libraries put something other than a city in the "City" field? Initially OCLC will display the city for the street address associated with the library's OCLC symbol. Alternative values, such as "see map" or listing multiple cities for a subsequent release, will be considered. Return to top

Can libraries change the map and information links? Initially OCLC is gathering links from library Web sites, including maps (if available). The information link will most likely be the library's home page. However, these links and others (including online catalog and reference desk) can be modified using the Open WorldCat pilot feedback form. This information will also be modifiable in the near future from the FirstSearch administrative module. Return to top

Will the library type be clickable? Will they have more information? Will "consortia" be a type? Initially the library type will not be clickable or provide additional information, and only public, school and academic will be displayed as library types. Clickable library types and consortia as a type are planned as future enhancements to the pilot. This information will also be modifiable in the FirstSearch administrative module at a future date. Return to top

OCLC will initially configure the information settings for libraries. Will we be able to do this configuration ourselves? OCLC initially performed the configuration to save libraries time and ensure there was adequate information available for the first release. Some information can now be modified using the Open WorldCat pilot feedback form, and will be modifiable from within the FirstSearch administrative module at a future date. Return to top

Once a user has gotten into Open WorldCat pilot results from a search engine or Web site, can he then continue to search WorldCat for other items? The Open WorldCat pilot interface is designed to take the user to the library Web site or online catalog, so the user can search there if they want to find more information. Currently there is not an option to initiate additional searches in WorldCat, but this is an option that could be explored in the future. Return to top

When a user is in the Open WorldCat pilot interface, will there be a button so they can go back to the Web site where they started? No. This is because users will be coming to the interface from a variety of Web sites. We expect that they will make use of their Web browsers' Back button to return to the original Web site. This is known to be typical behavior of Web users, but OCLC will be conducting user focus sessions during the pilot to verify this. Return to top

Will my library see an increase in ILL requests if we participate in the Open WorldCat pilot? Since the chief purpose of the Open WorldCat pilot is to promote greater awareness of your library to information seekers, yes, it's possible that ILL-related activity will increase. However, the checkpoints that your library may currently have in place (e.g., requiring authentication on your ILL web form) will help to control "ineligible" ILL requests, as will a clear, conspicuous ILL policy statement on your website. Still, your own patrons may generate more ILL requests due to increased awareness of your items. If you are concerned about a potential increase in OCLC ILL charges, it may make sense to consider moving to OCLC's subscription-based ILL plan. Please contact your regional service provider for more details. Return to top

Why isn't my library's name hot-linked in the Open WorldCat pilot interface? Your library's OPAC URL is not yet in our system. OCLC is in the process of collecting participating libraries' URLs for OPAC, homepage, map, information, direct-to-ISSN, direct-to-ISBN, and Ask-A Librarian/Reference Desk pages. You can help us by submitting your library's information at https://www3.oclc.org/app/openwc/.