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Search WorldCat

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Discover how to perform a basic, advanced, or expert WorldCat search using Discover Items in WorldShare Acquisitions.

 

Overview

Use Discover Items to search through WorldCat for print or other physical format monographs and serials. WorldCat is a bibliographic database that contains tens of millions of online records maintained and contributed by member libraries.

There are three search methods you can use to search WorldCat:

  • Basic search
  • Advanced search
  • Expert search

When you search using any of the methods listed above, your results will be displayed on the Search results screen.

You can find records quickly using the basic search. For example, the basic search can be useful when you have an ISBN or other standard number.

Watch a video

Searching for bibliographic records in WorldCat

Run time: 13:08

This video will show you how to search for records in WorldCat using the Discover Items feature in WorldShare Acquisitions. You will need to find a record in WorldCat for both ordering and for adding holdings for items you have in hand, or for items that you have acquired outside of the WMS Ordering process (e.g. gifts). You can use these searching techniques in WorldShare Management Services Acquisitions or Circulation and also in WorldShare Metadata Record Manager.

 

Basic

Search for a bibliographic record

  1. On the left navigation, click Discover Items.
  2. From the Scope drop-down list, select a search scope.
    • Select My Library Holdings if you already have at least one copy of an item.
    • Select All WorldCat if you do not own any copies of the item.
  3. From the Index drop-down list, select an index.
  4. In the Term(s) text field, enter your search terms. The text field will expand to fit your search terms, if needed.
  5. Click Search or press <Enter>.
Bibliographic record scopes and indexes - Table
Scope Indexes
All WorldCat
  • Keyword
  • Title
  • Author
  • ISBN
  • ISSN
  • OCLC Number - You can submit up to 250 OCLC numbers in a search. The OCLC numbers are automatically linked by Boolean OR.
My Library Holdings

 Note: All My Library Holdings indexes support wildcard searching with an asterisk (*).
  • Keyword
  • Title
  • Author
  • ISBN
  • ISSN
  • OCLC Number - You can submit up to 250 OCLC numbers in a search. The OCLC numbers are automatically linked by Boolean OR.

Search for a local holdings record

 Note: Some indexes provide sub-selection drop-down lists rather than a Term(s) text field.

  1. On the left navigation, click Discover Items.
  2. From the Data Type drop-down list, select Local Holdings Records.
  3. From the Index drop-down list, select an index.
  4. In the Term(s) text field, enter your search terms. The text field will expand to fit your search terms, if needed.
    Or
    From the sub-selection drop-down list(s), select the relevant options.
    Local holdings record indexes and sub-selections - Table
    Index Field/subfield(s) indexed Available sub-selections
    Action Note 583 a c h i l 2 3 5  
    Barcode  
    Bibliographic Control Number 014 when ind1=1, a  
    Branch/Shelving Location 852 a b c
    Sub-selection Available options
    Branch Select a branch location from the drop-down list.

    Or

    Enter the name of a branch location in the text field. As you type, the system automatically suggests names of potential matches. If the branch name entered does not appear in the drop-down list, press <Enter> to add it to the list.
    Shelving Location Select a shelving location from the drop-down list.

    Or

    Enter the name of a shelving location in the text field. As you type, the system automatically suggests names of potential matches. If the shelving location entered does not appear in the drop-down list, press <Enter> to add it to the list.
    Call Number 852 h i j k l m  
    Holdings Record Number 014 when ind1=0, a  
    Lending Policy 008/20
    Sub-selection Available options
    Options Limited lending policy
    Will lend
    Will lend hard copy only
    Will not lend
    Unknown
    LHR Control Number 001  
    MARC Organization Code 014 b  
    OCLC Number 004 You can submit up to 250 OCLC numbers in a search. The OCLC numbers are automatically linked by Boolean OR.
    Private Note  
    Public Note  
    Reproduction Policy 008/21
    Sub-selection Available options
    Options

         		 Will not reproduce
    Will reproduce
    Unknown
    Temporary Shelving Location 876 l
    Sub-selection Available options
    Branch Select a branch location from the drop-down list.

    Or

    Enter the name of a branch location in the text field. As you type, the system automatically suggests names of potential matches. If the branch name entered does not appear in the drop-down list, press <Enter> to add it to the list.
    Shelving Location Select a shelving location from the drop-down list.

    Or

    Enter the name of a shelving location in the text field. As you type, the system automatically suggests names of potential matches. If the shelving location entered does not appear in the drop-down list, press <Enter> to add it to the list.
  5. Click Search or press <Enter>.

Browse local holdings records

  1. On the left navigation, click Discover Items.
  2. From the Data Type drop-down list, select Local Holdings Records.
  3. From the Scope drop-down list, select My LHRs - Browse. The only available index for browsing local holdings records is the Call Number Browse index, which searches the following field and subfields: 852 h i j k l m
  4. In the Term(s) text field, enter an LHR call number.
  5. Click Search or press <Enter>.

Advanced

Use the advanced search to perform a more in-depth search than the Basic search allows. You can combine up to five indexes and apply limits to retrieve a more precise set of search results.

  1. On the left navigation, click Discover Items.
  2. Click Advanced Search.
  3. On the Advanced Search window, select the Search Scope:
    • Select My Library Holdings if you already have at least one copy of the item.
    • Select My Group Holdings to search for items held by any institution in your group (only available to WMS libraries with "group aware").
    • Select All WorldCat if you do not own any copies of the item.
  4. Select an Index from the list. For a list of all indexes, see Indexes.
  5. Based on the index you selected, enter your search terms into the search field.
  6. (Optional) Enter up to five combinations of indexes and search terms:
    • Click the Add button (Add button) to add an index and the Remove button (Remove button) to remove an index.
    • Select a Boolean operator (AND, OR, NOT) for each index that you add.
  7. Fill out the remaining fields. See Advanced search settings below for details.
  8. Click Search.
Advanced search settings - Table

This table describes all of the fields you can use on the Advanced Search window (you are not required to fill in all the fields).

Setting Description
Abbreviated-level records only Select the check box to search for bibliographic records in WorldCat with an encoding level of 3. For more information on encoding levels, see Abbreviated-level cataloging guidelines in Bibliographic Formats and Standards.
Format(s) Select one or more formats from the list. Format is defined in the WorldCat record. For more information, see Searching WorldCat Indexes.
Languages(s) Language of the item. Select one or more languages from the list.
Language(s) of Cataloging Language used for the description of the item. Select one or more languages from the list.
Reset Click Reset to clear out all fields on the Advanced Search window. If you have Set your search user preferences, the search will reset to your default preferences.
Source of Cataloging

Select the source of cataloging from the list:

  • Any
  • DLC: Library of Congress
Year(s) Limits a search by year. Enter a single year or a range.

Expert search

Use the expert search to perform a complete search in a single string. An expert search is made up of a combination of index labels and search terms. With the use of Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT), you can search through several indexes at once and apply limits at the same time. Expert searches can be performed in the basic search area or the advanced search window.

  1. On the left navigation, click Discover Items.
  2. From the first list, select a search scope. See Search Scopes in the table above for details.
    • Select My Library Holdings if you already have at least one copy of the item.
    • Select All WorldCat if you do not own any copies of the item.
  3. From the second list, select any index other than OCLC Number. An expert search will not work if this index is selected.
  4. In the search field, enter your expert search in this format: [Index label][Search terms]
    • For example: ti:girl dragon tattoo mt:nsr pb=random house
    • When you are performing an expert search with multiple indexes, the Boolean AND is implied. If you are using the Boolean operators OR or NOT, you must type the operator and use capital letters.
  5. Click Search.

Search results

After you search for a record under Discover Items (using any of the search methods - Basic search, Advanced search, or Expert search), any search results matching the terms you entered will display. From the search results screen, you can perform different actions using the sections described below.

Search tabs

The tabs on the side of the screen show any searches you have performed.

  • Click on a search to return to it.
  • To remove a search, click the x next to the search. All searches are saved until you remove them or sign out of WorldShare.
  • To close all searches, click Close All Tabs.

Facets

Use the facets to filter your results.

  • To filter your results, select the check box next to the value(s) you want to apply. Results filter automatically. The facets you select will appear at the top of the facet list under Selected Facets.
  • To remove a selected facet, click the x next to the value at the top of the list, under Selected Facets, or deselect the check box next to the value.
  • Click Hide Facets to remove the facets from view.
Available facets - Table
Facet Description
Language of Cataloging The language used for the description of the item.
Format The format of the item (e.g. eBook, DVD, etc.).
Year The year of publication for the item.
Author The author of the item.
Language The language of the item.

Search results display

The Enhanced Search Results screen is displayed by default. Click View Condensed Search Results to switch to the Condensed Search Results screen.

From the Condensed Search Results screen, click View Enhanced Search Results to return to the Enhanced Search Results screen.

Results

The number of results you receive and your place in the results list appears at the top and bottom of the results list.

  • To refresh the results list, click the Refresh button (Refresh button).

Sort by

Use the options in the Sort by list to determine how your search results are sorted.

  • Select how to sort your search results from the Sort by list:
    • Relevance (default)
    • Author (A-Z)
    • Title (A-Z)
    • Date (Newest first)
    • Date (Oldest first)
    • Library Count (Highest first)
    • Library Count (Lowest first)

Search Result

The first column in the results list displays brief bibliographic information about each record, including: Title, Author, Publisher, ISBN, ISSN, Series, Source of cataloging, Language of the item, Level of the record, and OCLC Number.

  • Click View/Edit Metadata to view or edit the bibliographic record in WorldShare Record Manager.

  • Click the title to:

    • View item details (on the Details screen)
    • Add and edit holdings (on the Copies screen)
    • Place holds (on the Holds screen)
  • Hover over the information icon (Information icon) to see detailed information about a record, including:
    • Copies Owned: The number of copies held by your library
    • Number of holds: The number of holds on the item
    • Copies selected: The number of copies in open orders
    • Copies ordered: The number of copies ordered but not received

Rows

The number of rows per page and page navigation buttons appear at the top and bottom of the results list.

  • Select a number from the Rows list to change the number of rows you see per page.
  • If there is more than one page of results, use the navigation buttons to move between pages.

(Not) Held by my library

This column indicates whether your library has added holdings to the record. If your library has added holdings, this means your library owns or has access to one or more items represented by the record. The column also displays how many libraries in WorldCat have added their holdings to the record.

  • Click the LHR(s) link to view a list of the local holdings records that your library has added to the bibliographic record.
  • Click the Other Libraries link to open the WorldCat Holdings screen for the item. The Holdings on the WorldCat Holdings screen displays a local holdings record summary link if the institution has LHR data associated with the record.
    • Click Local Holdings Available to view the LHR(s).
      • If the record has a single associated LHR, the LHR dialog opens.
      • If the record has multiple associated LHRs, the View Multiple LHRs screen opens. Click a call number or barcode to open the LHR dialog.

Add to...

Click Add to... in the Action column to:

  • Add the item to an order or plan
  • Create a purchase request
  • Add the item to an existing series