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Add open access content (Fundamentals)

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 Note: If you are a WMS library or using full WorldShare Collection Manager, see Add open access content.

Depending on your library's subscriptions, choose one of the options below to add open access content to get records and/or links to open access titles. There is little risk to enabling open access content. You can easily disable the features if you do not like the results.

Note: See the collections available in the WorldCat knowledge base for a current list of open access collections in Collection Manager Fundamentals. Filter the Open Access column for Yes. Columns such as the following are also included: Total Records Available, Percentage of OCLC Number Coverage.

Option 1: Select open access knowledge base collections

You can search for and select open access knowledge base collections in Collection Manager Fundamentals.

  • Settings for maintaining holdings in WorldCat are disabled by default for open access collections even if your institution setting is enabled

To search for open access collections:

  1. Sign in to the WorldShare interface. Navigate to the Metadata > Collection Manager Fundamentals.
  2. Select All Collections as the Scope and click the search button. This will display a list of all available collections in the global WorldCat knowledge base.
  3. Filter search results for open access collections by selecting Contains Open Access Content from the Filter by drop-down menu.

To select open access collections and titles:

  1. Click Select to select a collection in full. Alternatively, click on a collection's title to open the collection. Select titles in the collection. 
  2. You might need to change the proxy setting within the collection-level settings to "No proxy needed." To change it, open the collection and expand the Linking accordion. See the Use Proxy setting.
  3. See the sections below to Configure settings for MARC records delivery or to Enable full-text links for WorldCat Discovery.

Enable full-text links for WorldCat Discovery

For WorldShare Management Services libraries and WorldCat Discovery libraries.

You must enable settings in OCLC Service Configuration in order for links from knowledge base collections to appear in your Discovery interface. If you set WorldCat holdings on your open-access collections, they will appear as held by your library and appear higher in the results set in your WorldCat Discovery interface. See Display full-text links and elevate links from a specific provider for more information.

To enable full-text links:

  1. Sign in to OCLC Service Configuration.
  2. Navigate to the  WorldCat Discovery and WorldCat Local > Full Text and Open Access Links.
  3. Check Links from the WorldCat knowledge base to full text content under Detailed Record.
    Note: This will automatically select the settings for links to appear on the detailed record and on the brief record on the search results page. If for some reason you do not want links in search results, adjust the Search Results setting.

Option 2: Display links from WorldCat record 856 and 956 fields to open access content

For WorldCat Discovery libraries.

WorldCat Discovery libraries have the option to enable the display of links from 856 and 956 fields to open access content. Once these are enabled for display, they will show up in the detailed record results of your discovery interface.

Note: Use this method of enabling open access links via displaying 856 and 956 links with caution. Many but not all links are truly open access. OCLC has no way to weed out those that are not open access. For example, if Cornell did original cataloging in WorldCat and included an 856 link that ends in cornell.edu, the link will surface as open access even though the resource is not actually available to those without authentication for Cornell. Moreover, not all links are guaranteed to be current. It is possible that some links will not resolve, turning up a 404-error message.

To display links from 856 and 956 fields:

  1. Sign in to OCLC Service Configuration.
  2. Navigate to the  WorldCat Discovery and WorldCat Local > Full Text and Open Access Links.
  3. Towards the bottom of the Search Results page - display the following links section, check the box Links from WorldCat record 856 and 956 to open access content/free content.
  4. Uncheck the boxes beside any link sources that you do not wish to display.

In the Full Text and Open Access Links section, you'll notice there are various options for setting up links from WorldCat records. Check these boxes as needed. Notice that links manage by the setting Links from the WorldCat record Non-open access content/free content might require payment to access content.

If you wish to suppress these links, uncheck the box beside this option.