Library and Archives Canada has launched Voilà, Canada's new National Union Catalogue that will make the country's documentary heritage more widely accessible and available to library users in Canada and around the world through WorldCat.
Library and Archives Canada (LAC) catalogue data from Canadian libraries has been added to and will now be maintained in WorldCat, the most comprehensive union catalogue that represents the collections of hundreds of Canadian libraries and thousands of libraries around the world. Voilà is a subset of WorldCat created specifically to produce a Canadian view of the catalogue. As part of WorldCat, libraries in Canada have access to records of collections from libraries around the world; libraries around the world now have access to unique records from Canadian libraries.
Berthiaume introduced Voilà during the opening plenary session of the Ontario Library Association Super Conference 2018 on 1 February.
Later this year, LAC will begin implementing OCLC WorldShare Management Services (WMS) as its library services platform to manage and provide access to its own collection. WMS offers all of the applications needed to manage a library, including acquisitions, circulation, metadata, resource sharing, license management and a single-search discovery interface for library users. WMS also includes analytics tools and a range of standard reports, and allows library staff to develop their own analytics so they can better understand their activities and track key metrics over time.
LAC will maintain its LAC French-language name authority file using WMS. Once these authority records are migrated to the WMS platform late this summer, LAC will use WorldShare metadata management applications to create and update French name authorities. LAC French-language authority data will be integrated into OCLC's cataloguing services and also continue to be freely accessible through the Virtual International Authority File.
In addition to Library and Archives Canada, OCLC also partners with the national libraries of France, Germany, Japan, China, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and many others.
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