Skip to main content
OCLC Support

Image display in WorldCat Discovery

  1. Last updated
  2. Save as PDF
Learn about image display in WorldCat Discovery, including cover art, WorldCat DIgital Collection Gateway, and CONTENTdm digital repositories.

Cover art

OCLC does not load cover art for individual titles due to the large volume of titles covered in WorldCat, but instead we load large files from a variety of providers, with whom we have contractual relationships.

Titles that do not include cover art will show the default images below.

Cover art default icons
Format/Facet in WorldCat.org
label for display		 Cover art default icon
Archival Material Cover_art_archival_material.png
Article/Chapter Article/Chapter icon
Audiobook Cover_art_audiobook.png
Book Book icon
Computer File Cover_art_computer_file.png
Encyclopedia Cover_art_encyclopedia.png
Game Cover_art_game.png
Image Cover_art_image.png
Interactive Multimedia Cover_art_interactive_media.png
Internet Resource Cover_art_internet_resource.png
Journal/Magazine Cover_art_journal.png
Kit Cover_art_kit.png
Map Cover_art_map.png
Music Cover_art_music_recording.png
Musical Score Cover_art_musical_score.png
Newspaper Cover_art_newspaper.png
Object Cover_art_object.png
Sound Recording (Other) Cover_art_sound_recording.png
Toy Cover_art_toy.png
Unknown Default Cover_art_unknown_default.png
Video Cover_art_video.png
Visual Material Cover_art_visual_material.png

View thumbnails from digital repositories synced through WorldCat Digital Collection Gateway

Collections from CONTENTdm and other OAI-PMH compliant digital repositories which have been synced through WorldCat Digital Collection Gateway will display a thumbnail image in the brief results and detailed view in WorldCat Discovery.  For more information on syncing your collection, see Digital Collection Gateway.

Digital repository Required fields/subfields to display thumbnail in WorldCat Discovery 
CONTENTdm
  • 856 y contains the text thumbnail image of
  • 856 u contains a URL
  • 1st indicator is 4
  • 2nd indicator is 0

WorldCat Discovery will use the URL in the 856 u to display as the thumbnail.
Other OAI-PMH compliant digital repositories
  • 856 3 contains the text thumbnail image of
  • 856 u contains a URL
    • URLs must be https
  • 1st indicator is 4
  • 2nd indicator is 0

WorldCat Discovery will use the URL in the 856 u to display as the thumbnail.

View images from CONTENTdm digital repositories

Engage with images from CONTENTdm digital repositories using OpenSeadragon, an International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) viewer.

To qualify for viewer use, the image and CONTENTdm repository must meet the following qualifications:

  • Originate from a hosted CONTENTdm site
  • Images must be saved with IIIF enabled in the CONTENTdm repository
  • Have been synced through Digital Collection Gateway to create a citation in the WorldCat database
  • CONTENTdm hosted sites with custom domains must have a valid https certificate on file with OCLC

Click the expand icon on images that qualify for OpenSeadragon viewer use on both the search results and item details screen:

Screenshot of an image from a CONTENTdm digital reposistory with a red arrow pointing to the Enlarge button

Selecting the expand icon will open the image in the OpenSeadragon viewer as a modal.  Options in the viewer include: 

  • Zoom In
  • Zoom Out
  • Return to original size image
  • Display in Full Size screen mode
  • Rotate left
  • Rotate right

Screenshot of an expanded image in the OpenSeadragon viewer with the options highlighted by a red rectangle