WorldCat Blog tag:worldcat.org,2007-11-27:/blogs/1 2009-11-20T16:17:54Z Movable Type 4.23-en Book Bloggers fear new FTC disclosure rules? Link to WorldCat! tag:worldcat.org,2009:/blogs//1.179 2009-11-19T19:28:28Z 2009-11-20T16:17:54Z Book bloggers can link to WorldCat and do reviews, so it eliminates the concern about bookseller site affiliate status and disclosure. Alice Sneary http://worldcat.org/profiles/alicesneary As most of the rest of the United States gets ready for some serious holiday shopping (or perhaps, unshopping as the case may be this year) at the end of this month, the bloggers among us--at least, the amateur ones--will be readying themselves to start a program of full disclosure because of a change on Dec. 1 with new FTC rules for testimonials.

Full what? Full disclosure meaning that a blogger or a person on a social network needs to make it clear if s/he is being compensated for the review of a product. It could be that a company or publishing house sent him a free product sample, which is fine. When he reviews the sample in his blog, he needs to make it clear how he got the sample. Or if someone who works for a company goes in and bashes a competitor's site, then she needs to disclose their employer. More about this change over on Wired and PC World blogs. Also, Publishers Weekly reassures us that the rules are not aimed at individual bloggers as much as the advertisers.

You may be wondering where WorldCat fits in with all of these new rules. Well for one thing, anything the WorldCat bloggers receive is immediately eaten with gusto. And we give high praise for baked goods. What? You're saying you've never seen anything about baked goods on this blog? Well readers, if someone ever sends us holiday cookies (hint hint), we will review them and say nice things about you. AND disclose that they were a gift.

But seriously, if you're an bookselling site affiliate and are concerned that doing a review (and receiving your 10 cents) might get you in hot water with the FTC, then you can start linking to WorldCat citations and doing reviews in WorldCat instead. Not only does it give your readers all the available formats and editions, but it also lets them find the material in a library near them. (In addition to having several purchase options, too.)

So get those links and reviews ready for WorldCat!

]]> Twitter update (10/17/09 - 11/13/09) tag:worldcat.org,2009:/blogs//1.178 2009-11-13T18:32:19Z 2009-11-13T22:02:36Z Andy http://worldcat.org/profiles/andyhavens Tweets from the @OCLC twitter account from 10/17-11/13.

Subscribe to OCLC tweets at: http://twitter.com/oclc
]]> The Top 20 Popular Items for October tag:worldcat.org,2009:/blogs//1.177 2009-11-06T18:51:52Z 2009-11-06T19:24:35Z Here's the Top 20 List for October. I changed the qualifications this time to have only items that were held in more than 1,000 libraries worldwide on the list. This eliminated some of the more bizarre items while elevating more... Bob Schulz http://www.worldcat.org/profiles/bobschulz Here's the Top 20 List for October. I changed the qualifications this time to have only items that were held in more than 1,000 libraries worldwide on the list. This eliminated some of the more bizarre items while elevating more topical and, unsurprisingly, popular items. This also gives you a list of things that are more than likely available in a library near you.

Here they are, in order of views:

1. A Star Called Henry by Roddy Doyle
2. Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man by Steve Harvey
3. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
4. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
5. Musicophilia by Oliver W. Sacks
6. Nursing Theorists and Their Work edited by Ann Marriner-Tomey and Martha Raile Alligood
7. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
8. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
9. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling
10. The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman
11. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
12. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
13. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association by the American Psychological Association
14. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
15. The World Factbook by the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Foreign Assessment Center
16. Push by Sapphire
17. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
18. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
19. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett
20. Hope's Boy by Andrew Bridge

]]> New Items at WorldCat Libraries in October tag:worldcat.org,2009:/blogs//1.176 2009-11-03T15:47:00Z 2009-11-03T15:47:38Z The top 5 items added by WorldCat libraries in October are: 1- The spire : a novel, by Patricia Cornwell. Added by 1213 WorldCat libraries. 2- 10-10-10 : 10 minutes, 10 months, 10 years - a life-transforming idea, by Suzy... Laura http://www.worldcat.org/profiles/ljendress The top 5 items added by WorldCat libraries in October are:

1- The spire : a novel, by Patricia Cornwell. Added by 1213 WorldCat libraries.
2- 10-10-10 : 10 minutes, 10 months, 10 years - a life-transforming idea, by Suzy Welch. Added by 863 WorldCat libraries.
3- Nine dragons : a novel, by Michael Connelly. Added by 845 WorldCat libraries
4- Evidence : an Alex Delaware novel, by Jonathan Kellerman. Added by 809 WorldCat libraries
5- The Scarpetta Factor, by Patricia Cornwell. Added by 783 WorldCat libraries

Lists of recent items added to WorldCat libraries for the month of Oct. are now available. You can see these lists on your library's WorldCat profile page which can be accessed via the 'Library info' link in the list of holding libraries on the item details page or the library name in the library search results (to search for your library, go to WorldCat.org/libraries).

The recent items list for each library now provides a breakdown of different item types by: all new items, new fiction, new non-fiction, new juvenile and new non-juvenile.

October stats include:
- 9,393 libraries added new items to WorldCat in October
- Of those, 490 did not have an existing recent items list, so WorldCat automatically created a new list.
- 8,903 existing recent items lists were updated.

]]> Using WorldCat lists for Facebook fun tag:worldcat.org,2009:/blogs//1.159 2009-11-02T14:05:00Z 2009-11-02T14:06:16Z I don't use Facebook a ton. Being a GenXer, I tend to live on email and Twitter. I do enjoy it when I have time, and have re-connected to a bunch of old high school friends and folks who have... Andy http://worldcat.org/profiles/andyhavens I don't use Facebook a ton. Being a GenXer, I tend to live on email and Twitter. I do enjoy it when I have time, and have re-connected to a bunch of old high school friends and folks who have moved away over the years.

I have noticed, though, that there seem to be a lot of games, polls and memes making the rounds of FB. I haven't played any of the dedicated FB games (like Mafia Wars). I am a gamer, but I tend towards Xbox with my 10-year old. Similarly, I haven't taken advantage of any of the "Which Greek God Are You Most Like?" type polls. Unless I understand the criteria, I'm not interested. I mean, come on... if you're going to tell me I'm more like Circe than Mercury, I need to know why.

I have, however, taken part in a couple of "memes" that friends have passed along. These usually take the form of a questionnaire delivered in a note, which the initiator tags with your name. You are encouraged to answer the question and pass it on to 10, 15, etc. of your friends.

The most recent couple of these I've been invited to reply to involved listing of favorite "Top 10" or "Top 15" things. What I did when responding was to create my replies as WorldCat lists to make them easier to share. You can see my WC lists for "Top 15 movies" and "Top 15 books."

For the "movies" list, I also made sure to add the editions of the movies that had cool "cover" art (although I guess it's "box" art for VHSs or DVDs), and then pointed folks to the "Covers Only" view of that list via the WC List link, as part of my FB reply.

A couple friends commented that they thought it was a much more interesting and helpful way to do a list like this. It was certainly more fun for me. I can even see, from the WC List page for each list, how many other WorldCat users have viewed my lists.

Sharing lists of "favorites" is fun. And WorldCat can add a bit of library flavor to the mix.


]]> Are you ready for Halloween? tag:worldcat.org,2009:/blogs//1.175 2009-10-26T19:00:00Z 2009-10-26T19:00:25Z Contributed by Jasmine de Gaia The popularity of Halloween seems to be increasing steadily - I just read the other day that two-thirds of all grown-ups will celebrate Halloween and half of them will spend more than $100 doing so.... Laura http://www.worldcat.org/profiles/ljendress Contributed by Jasmine de Gaia

The popularity of Halloween seems to be increasing steadily - I just read the other day that two-thirds of all grown-ups will celebrate Halloween and half of them will spend more than $100 doing so. With Oct. 31st just a a few days away perhaps you're still trying to put together a costume or helping your kids map out their trick or treating routes. Whatever your Halloween festivities, the library has some great resources to generate some ideas or help get you in that spooky frame of mind. Take a look at all the great Halloween lists other WorldCat users have created, covering everything from decorating to costumes to movies and even the history of Halloween. Check out the identities of some favorite Halloween characters, such as Jack the Ripper or related authors like Stephen King.
Happy Halloween!

]]> Personal vs professional: two views of WorldCat lists tag:worldcat.org,2009:/blogs//1.174 2009-10-23T19:10:23Z 2009-10-23T20:33:02Z Making lists on WorldCat.org is getting to be pretty popular. We currently have over 200,000 of them on the site, with more being added daily. I've done a few of them myself, including a recent one that is simply a... Andy http://worldcat.org/profiles/andyhavens lists on WorldCat.org is getting to be pretty popular. We currently have over 200,000 of them on the site, with more being added daily. I've done a few of them myself, including a recent one that is simply a copy of the items mentioned in a recent io9 blog post, "Where to start with young adult science fiction." WorldCat lists are great for things like that; keeping track of books that I'd eventually like to borrow from the library and read to/with my son at some point... in the frighteningly-ever-nearer future when he goes from "kid" (he's 10) to "young adult."

With a list like that, it's neat to be able to share it or send a simple link to a friend. WorldCat makes it easy for anybody to do that. Some lists, though, are quite a bit more... well... research intensive. And WorldCat is a great place to work on bibliographies of a much more substantive nature, especially if you want help from others.

A great example of such a list is one being created by the Senior Information Specialist here in OCLC's corporate library. Tam Dalrymple provides the writers and editors on my team with absolutely AWESOME research service for many of the pieces we work on, including some of the OCLC membership reports. But she also works on long-term projects related to the profession as a whole. Tam is currently assembling the list, "Library Users and Non-Users - A Bibliography from the OCLC Library." This is a collection of studies on how -- or whether -- libraries fit into people's information-seeking behavior. Right now Tam is concentrating on published books, reports or dissertations, rather than articles. Currently many of the items focus on library use and users, but one of her goals is to include more studies that start from the perspective of the information seeker.  There are 50 items on the list as of today... worth taking a look if you have any interest in research involving library use.

And... As you can guess from reading that description, this is a work in progress. Tam is actively soliciting idea for additions to the list. If you can think of something, feel free to email her at: dalrympt@oclc.org.

Two great ways to use WorldCat Lists: personal forget-me-nots, and shared, major research efforts. My guess is that there are a lot of other lists on WorldCat that fit somewhere in between.

PS: You can search for others' WorldCat lists by clicking on the "Search" drop-down box at the top of the WorldCat.org screen, and choosing "Search for Lists."
]]> Register now for the WorldCat Mashathon tag:worldcat.org,2009:/blogs//1.173 2009-10-21T18:08:00Z 2009-10-21T18:09:04Z Register now for WorldCat Mashathon Seattle: http://worldcat.org/devnet/wiki/2009WAMashathon Alice Sneary http://worldcat.org/profiles/alicesneary 214045_wc_mashathon_header_strip.gifIf you're interested to learn more about doing mash-ups and creating other apps with WorldCat data, be sure to checkout and then register for the upcoming WorldCat Mashathon in Seattle.

There are still plenty of spaces for app developers who would like to know how to incorporate noncommerical book and article data into their apps and mash-ups. You can build an app that helps people find good information about a certain subject, for example, and then connect them to the local library that has the material. (Through WorldCat, of course!)

The WorldCat Mashathon is a great place to test drive the WorldCat Search API and other WorldCat Web tools. Plus you'll see a preview of the new WorldCat Basic API that is coming soon and will be available to anyone and everyone. Here's a quick run-down of the event details:

WorldCat Mashathon Seattle
Sponsored by the OCLC Developer Network and the University Libraries of the University of Washington.
Thursday-Friday, Nov. 5-6, 2009
Odegaard Undergraduate Library, University of Washington campus
Register now

You bring your laptop and ideas, and we'll take care of everything else. (Breakfast, lunch, snacks and copious amounts of caffeine are included for the 2 days.)

]]> CiteMe app recognized by Mashable.com tag:worldcat.org,2009:/blogs//1.172 2009-10-19T18:57:00Z 2009-10-19T18:58:02Z CiteMe recognized by Mashable.com as one of 15 essential Web tools for students. Alice Sneary http://worldcat.org/profiles/alicesneary mashable.jpgI just realized today that I forgot to blog this tasty tidbit when it came out last month--but it's even more helpful as midterms and more complex essays now loom. The WorldCat CiteMe app for Facebook was recognized in the article, "Back to School: 15 Essential Web Tools for Students" by Mashable, the world's largest blog focused exclusively on Web 2.0 and Social Media news.

I was just commiserating yesterday with a friend who does an online course each semester towards her master's degree in nursing, and the APA citations were really making her cranky.

Luckily, there are actually two Facebook apps for WorldCat:
• WorldCat- an app that lets you find items in WorldCat from right within Facebook
• CiteMe- an app that delivers formatted citations from WorldCat in one of 5
standard styles: APA, Chicago, Harvard, MLA or Turabian.

We've posted previously about how to add the apps to your personal profile or Page. The good news is, now there's a WorldCat Page where you can see the apps in action. And while you're there, be sure to become a Fan of WorldCat!

]]> The week(s) in Tweets: 10/3/09 - 10/16/09 tag:worldcat.org,2009:/blogs//1.171 2009-10-16T19:12:14Z 2009-10-16T20:01:52Z News from the OCLC Twitter stream, from 10/3/09 through today.Now online: Distinguished Seminar Series, "Finding the Phoenix" by Helene Blowers, Dir of Digital Strategy, Col Metro Lib Google Editions aims to bring e-books to all devices (Ars Technica) OCLC Research... Andy http://worldcat.org/profiles/andyhavens News from the OCLC Twitter stream, from 10/3/09 through today.

]]> WorldCat.org Terms and Conditions updated tag:worldcat.org,2009:/blogs//1.167 2009-10-12T14:15:00Z 2009-10-12T14:15:23Z WorldCat.org Ts& Cs have been updated. See Exhibit A. Alice Sneary http://worldcat.org/profiles/alicesneary The legal advisors for WorldCat.org would like to make sure you know about the latest updates for WorldCat.org's Terms and Conditions. Here is the explanation they would like you see:
Please note that Exhibit A to the OCLC WorldCat.org Services Terms and Conditions has been updated regarding use of Google API services made available through WorldCat.org

What this really means to you is that WorldCat.org now also includes links to Google Maps, to help you find the libraries you're looking for when you're driving or walking around.

]]> September Popular Recent Items in WorldCat tag:worldcat.org,2009:/blogs//1.170 2009-10-06T20:53:00Z 2009-10-07T20:53:30Z The 3 most popular WorldCat juvenile items added in September were: When You Reach Me, added by 2,183 WorldCat libraries in Sept. Just the Right Size: Why Big Animals are Big and Little Animals are Little, added by 2,164 WorldCat... Laura http://www.worldcat.org/profiles/ljendress The 3 most popular WorldCat juvenile items added in September were:
When You Reach Me, added by 2,183 WorldCat libraries in Sept.
Just the Right Size: Why Big Animals are Big and Little Animals are Little, added by 2,164 WorldCat libraries in Sept.
The Magical Ms. Plum, added by 2,012 WorldCat libraries in Sept.

Other top juvenile items added to WorldCat libraries in September can be seen here.

The 3 most popular WorldCat non-juvenile items added in September were:
The Defector, added by 1,187 WorldCat libraries in Sept.
The Lost Symbol: a novel, added by 1,167 WorldCat libraries in Sept.
and The Traffickers, added by 1,047 WorldCat libraries in Sept.

Other non-juvenile items added to WorldCat libraries in September can be seen here.

Lists of recent items added to WorldCat libraries for the month of Sept. are now available. You can see these lists on your library's WorldCat profile page which can be accessed via the 'Library info' link in the list of holding libraries on the item details page or the library name in the library search results.
September stats include:
- 13,669 libraries added new items to WorldCat in September
- Of those, 703 did not have an existing recent items list, so WorldCat automatically created a new list.
- 12,966 existing recent items lists were updated.

]]> The Top 20 Most-Viewed Items for September tag:worldcat.org,2009:/blogs//1.169 2009-10-05T19:52:22Z 2009-10-05T20:12:39Z The September Top 20 List doesn't have too many surprises. Notable and new are Fault Lines: Tort Law as Cultural Practice and, the first DVD to make the top 20, Generation M: Misogyny in Media and Culture. New to the... Bob Schulz http://www.worldcat.org/profiles/bobschulz The September Top 20 List doesn't have too many surprises. Notable and new are Fault Lines: Tort Law as Cultural Practice and, the first DVD to make the top 20, Generation M: Misogyny in Media and Culture.

New to the List

#8 The Joy of Gay Sex
#9 Lang Xianping Shuo Shui Du Tao Bu Diao De Jin Rong Wei Ji
#10 Fault Lines: Tort Law as Cultural Practice
#14 Santa Rosa De Lima En El Museo Lazaro Galdiano
#17 Generation M: Misogyny in Media and Culture
#18 Rock & Roll Never Forgets
#19 Kumpulan Materi Khotnah Dan Ceramah: Agama Islam Kebutuhan Pokok Umat Manusia

Gone from the Top 20 (with August ranking)

Contadora and Diplomacy of Peace in Central America (#1)
Crna Gora: Auto Karta = Montenegro: Road Map (#7)
The Gulf Stream: Tiny Plankton, Giant Bluefin and the Amazing Story of the Powerful River in the Atlantic (#12)
Si Kabayan Dan Beberapa Dongeng Sunda Lainnya (#13)
The Early Fiction of H.G. Wells: Fantasies of Science (#15)
Bekal Dakwah Ceramah Singkat Untuk Kuliah Tujuh Menit (Kultum), Kuliah Subuh Di Bulan Ramadhan, Halal Bi Halal, Peringatan Hari-Hari Besar Islam DLL (#19)
Encyclopedia of Human Biology (#20)

]]> Week in tweets (9/25 - 10/2/2009) tag:worldcat.org,2009:/blogs//1.168 2009-10-02T20:41:22Z 2009-10-02T22:45:23Z Disney to Introduce Children's E-Book Site (NYTimes.com) Two-Thirds of Americans Object to Online Tracking, Study Says (NYTimes.com) Great Twitter Quiz and Polling Apps (ReadWriteStart) Amazon settles 1984 suit, sets limits on Kindle deletions (Ars Technica) OCLC announces partnership with WALDO... Andy http://worldcat.org/profiles/andyhavens
  • Disney to Introduce Children's E-Book Site (NYTimes.com)
  • Two-Thirds of Americans Object to Online Tracking, Study Says (NYTimes.com)
  • Great Twitter Quiz and Polling Apps (ReadWriteStart)
  • Amazon settles 1984 suit, sets limits on Kindle deletions (Ars Technica)
  • OCLC announces partnership with WALDO (the Westchester Academic Library Directors Organization)
  • Reputation enhancement (Lorcan Dempsey's weblog)
  • Resources to Find the Data You Need (FlowingData)
  • Educause: 7 Things You Should Know About Federated Identity Management (pdf)
  • Full archive up for #digref WebJunction webinar
  • Registration open for WorldCat Mashathon Seattle: November 5-6, 2009
  • Webcast of Anne R. Kenney's DSS Presentation, "Approaching an Entity Crisis..." now available (OCLC)
  • Registration open for OCLC Digital Forum East. 11/5/09, Arlington County Public Library, Virginia
  • OCLC 2009 Technical Services Forum @ British Library,18th November. Karen Calhoun presenting on latest report
  • Google Docs adds student-specific features: equation editor, super/subscripts, translation options, better bullets
  • Google acquisitions as a metro map
  • Washington Post Develops Visual, Web-like Commenting System (via O'Reilly Radar)
  • WPI + AT&T study: leakage of personal data from social networks (PDF)  (via Ars Technica)
  • The coming tablet wars (TechCrunch)
  • 10 Web design usability findings and guidelines (Smashing Magazine)
  • Social networking use in the US nearly triples in last year (Nielsen Wire)
  • Banned Books Week starts today. WC List: 100 most frequently challenged books 1990-2000
  • Mendeley scrobbles your papers (hangingtogether.org)
  • VIAF as linked data (Outgoing)
  • WorldCat Search API at the Access Hackfest
    • ]]>     WorldCat Mobile pilot on the Road tag:worldcat.org,2009:/blogs//1.166 2009-10-01T19:31:00Z 2009-10-01T19:31:19Z Come see the WorldCat Mobile pilot presentations at 2 different conferences in October. Alice Sneary http://worldcat.org/profiles/alicesneary iStock_000003785888XSmall phone jumble.jpgThis month is going to be a busy one for WorldCat folks. Particularly for the WorldCat Mobile pilot team, as there are 2 industry conferences that they'll be presenting at in October:

    LITA National Forum
    Friday, Oct. 2, 4:20-5:30 pm
    Alpine West, Hilton Salt Lake City Center
    Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

    Internet Librarian 2009
    Tuesday, Oct. 27, 1:30 to 2:30 pm
    Room C203, Monterey Conference Center
    Monterey, California, USA

    For both these presentations, it's not so much about showing off the WorldCat Mobile pilot--as much as we like it--but it's really set up to share what we've learned about people trying to find library materials on the mobile platform. What works, what doesn't, what the motivations might be for using a mobile device over a large-screen one and how do we take that into the user experience, etc.

    Speaking of the WorldCat Mobile pilot, there have now been more than 17,500 downloads of the WorldCat Mobile pilot app (or accesses of the Web "lite" version, if your phone does not support downloads.)

    If you live in Canada, France, Germany, The Netherlands, UK or US and haven't downloaded the WorldCat Mobile pilot app and tried it out yet, there's no time like the present. Even with the latest enhancements like more images and improved relevancy rankings, we would still like to hear your ideas of how to make it better, faster, smarter, snappier and in general--more useful for you.

    ]]>