Global library cooperative OCLC, US, has announced that the British Library has added 12 million bibliographic records to WorldCat, an online resource for finding library materials.
OCLC staff worked closely with the British Library staff to add the records over a four-month project. As a result of the cooperative effort, OCLC and the British Library have enhanced the process to add these records to WorldCat for the benefit of researchers worldwide. According to the British Library, WorldCat is an increasingly important resource used to expose its holdings worldwide, and for supporting a number of its core services including resource sharing and document delivery.
Prior to this latest data load, about 4.5 million British Library records had been added to WorldCat over the last 25 years. This volume has now effectively tripled, and the quality and accuracy of the records have been significantly enhanced. Ongoing automated batch loads will further improve the quantity and quality of British Library records in WorldCat.
WorldCat is a database of bibliographic information built continuously by OCLC libraries around the world since 1971. Each record in the WorldCat database contains a bibliographic description of a single item or work and a list of institutions that hold the item. The institutions share these records, using them to create local catalogues, arrange interlibrary loans and conduct reference work. Libraries contribute records for items not found in WorldCat using the OCLC shared cataloging system.
Once records have been added to WorldCat, they are discoverable on the Web through popular search and partner sites, and through WorldCat.org.
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