Information resources and technologies provider ProQuest, US, and library information provider OCLC, US, have announced the launch of a far-reaching data exchange programme that will enhance the library discovery experience for users of OCLC's WorldCat Local service, ProQuest's Summon service, the full-text of ProQuest Central and ebrary e-books. The programme shares metadata across some of the world's most-widely used library resources, enriching the discoverability and comprehensiveness of all the services.
Once the data exchange is completed, libraries that subscribe to both WorldCat Local and ProQuest Central or that own any ebrary content will be able to discover ProQuest records and access associated content through the WorldCat Local interface. Further, the exchange will enhance the discoverability of catalogue records in the Summon service, creating the potential for libraries to view other institutions' WorldCat holdings information within the Summon experience.
ProQuest Central is the largest, multidisciplinary, full-text database available in the market. This resource provides access to 27 of ProQuest's most highly used databases, with a variety of content types across over 160 subjects, making this the broadest single research resource in the world.
WorldCat claims to be the world's largest database of bibliographic information built continuously by OCLC and 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. Institutions share these records, using them to create local catalogues, arrange interlibrary loans and conduct reference work. Since 1971, more than 280 million records have been added to WorldCat, spanning more than 6,000 years of recorded knowledge.
