Library cooperative OCLC and electronic research databases provider EBSCO Publishing, US, have expanded their partnership to enhance the discovery experience for users of WorldCat Local and the EBSCO Discovery Service through an expanded data exchange agreement. The new agreement is projected to create more value for libraries that subscribe to services from OCLC and EBSCO.
WorldCat Local libraries that subscribe to EBSCOhost full-text databases will continue to be able to discover EBSCO records and access associated full-text content through the WorldCat Local interface. The new agreement is expected to improve access to these databases by removing the requirement for users of WorldCat Local to authenticate before searching the metadata for EBSCO databases to which their library subscribes. However, users will continue to be required to authenticate before accessing full text.
OCLC member libraries with a cataloging and WorldCat discovery subscription using EBSCO Discovery Service will now have the option to access WorldCat data through EDS. They can also access holdings information for their library, their resource sharing partners as profiled in WorldCat, and all libraries with holdings in WorldCat. Additionally, libraries will be able to use EBSCO Discovery Service to facilitate interlibrary loan via OCLC.
OCLC will make records from OAIster, a union catalogue of about 25 million records representing open access resources, available to all EBSCO Discovery Service users. OCLC will also make records from ArchiveGrid, an online service that provides access to detailed archival collection descriptions, available to ArchiveGrid subscribers through the EBSCO Discovery Service.
The agreement is expected to continue OCLC’s efforts, on behalf of its member libraries, to make WorldCat data available where it is needed in order to facilitate broad access to library collections and services. EBSCO and OCLC will work together over the next few months on an implementation plan and timeline for enabling access.
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