There has been a flurry of WorldCat partnership activity going on lately. Here's a run-down:

More options for digitized books
As part of an agreement with Kirtas Technologies, WorldCat.org will show if a book is available as digitized content or that it can be made available for digitization. The agreement is signed. Now we just have to slot it into the development schedule.

"Find a Book" Web site links to WorldCat
The recently enhanced "Find a Book" Web site from the MetaMetrics helps to connect readers with books appropriate for their reading level, using the Lexile Framework® for Reading. Readers can either enter their Lexile measure, or their grade and if they find reading materials difficult or easy. Once they find the books they're interested in, now they can connect to their local library through WorldCat.org and check availability.

I'll post more about this site soon. It's got a great interface and makes it really easy for K-12 readers to find good books to read!

WorldCat Mobile pilot partner creates another app for librarians
While this isn't really a new partnership, we're so proud of our WorldCat partner organization, Boopsie, for taking the lead on helping librarians navigate the biggest library conference of the year in the U.S., going on next week. Librarians can download the ALA Mobile app from their mobile phone browser at http://ala.boopsie.com, or text "ala2009" to 41411.

More news on the WorldCat Mobile pilot coming next week. Stay tuned.

Last week we updated you on the WorldCat Identities integration enhancement, and you might be interested in a few other enhancements as well:

Updates to Advanced Search
Advanced Search has been streamlined and updated in anticipation of the single-search access to your library's OCLC eContent on WorldCat.org, coming this summer.

There are now three dropdown boxes that contain index choices such as OCLC number (also called Accession Number), Author, ISBN, ISSN, Keyword, Title and Subject.

Privacy settings now easier to spot
WorldCat.org respects your privacy, and now it's even easier to tell at a glance which items you've marked as public or private. Individual items such as favorite libraries, lists and saved searches are now marked with a red circle to indicate private, or a blue parentheses for public. Make any privacy updates from your profile page by clicking on each area's summary section header.

Each month we work on making the site more valuable and easier to use.

I don't know anyone who doesn't have strong and, in most cases, positive associations with at least a few books they read as a child. Some books bring back incredibly specific and meaningful memories, both of the works themselves, and often of the people and places related to when we first encountered them. Being able to hold a copy of a book we haven't seen in many, many years can be as powerful as seeing a photo from the deep past.

When my father was in grade school, in the late 1940's and early 1950's, his class read a number of books from the "Children of the Americas" series. He not only recalled the books, but retold many of the stories to my brother and me when we were young. When I became an adult, I kept an eye out for them. But, of course, in the days before the Web, it was difficult to search based on the scant information I had about a few of the books.

Last year, for Father's Day, I decided to take another look for some of the books. Even online, they are incredibly hard to find, and I wasn't able to find any of the ones he recalled for purchase anywhere. I did find a few of them in WorldCat, though. Not many, and not at many libraries. But enough...

Working with my local library, I got a copy of the book sent to me through ILL the week before I'd see Dad down in Tennessee for Father's Day. I wrapped the book, along with a card that said, "To be enjoyed briefly."

When he unwrapped the book and saw that it was one that he'd held in his hands more than 50 years before, he was thrilled. The ILL wrapper, however, confused him for a moment.

"This is a library book?" he asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "From Indiana. I got them to send it to Columbus so I could bring it to show you. I couldn't find one to buy anywhere, but thought you'd get a kick out of at least seeing one again."

He grinned like a kid and said, "Well, yeah. Of course." Then he started thumbing through it, remarking on how well it matched his memories. He recalled specific illustrations, passages and characters in great detail, talking them through as he read. Over the weekend he picked up the book several times, and in holding it, recalled related memories of school, friends and the times in my childhood when he'd made up stories based on the characters he'd read about.

When I left, I appologized that I hadn't been able to find one that he could keep. Like all Dads, from all times, when it comes to Father's Day gifts, he was dismissive of the idea that the gift wasn't perfect.

"I don't need one on the shelf," he said. "Just knowing it's there, and that my memories aren't failing me...yes... is a comfort."

I returned the book on time. From Indiana to Ohio to Tennessee to 1952 and back in a couple weeks.