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WorldCat Search API: Service Levels

The WorldCat API has two levels of service. Based upon whether or not you are able to determine the library affiliation of the users of your API-based application, you may present a full set of indexes and data or a partial set. The partial set is equivalent to what is offered in the WorldCat.org user interface.

Full Service

If you are able to determine that the users of your application are library staff, patrons with library cards, students of academic libraries, or patrons within the library, you can present the most complete set of indexes and data that the WorldCat API provides. Determining this library affiliation is expected to be similar to authenticating library users for most licensed databases, such as those offered by Proquest or FirstSearch.

Default Service

If you are not able to determine the library affiliation of users of your API-based application, the WorldCat API will support indexes and data at the level currently offered to WorldCat.org visitors. For these users, we require that you provide a path to obtain library holdings information as appropriate in your user interface when WorldCat data is presented, with links to participating library OPACs. The WorldCat API provides the OPAC URLs to support these links. The display of library holdings works best when the end user’s location (IP address, ZIP code, or country) can be provided in the link.

Configuring Service Levels in API Applications

The WorldCat Search API documentation describes how to profile and communicate the appropriate service level for your application.

Comparing Service Levels

Full Service Default Service
Searchable indexes All supported indexes WorldCat.org indexes and the Dewey index
Metadata presented Full bibliographic data Limited to fields presented in WorldCat.org
Holdings information Holdings for all known libraries Holdings of WorldCat.org participating libraries
Link to holding Libraries and their OPACs Optional Required

Full Service Indexes and Data

Indexes:

  • OCLC number
  • Keyword (word)
  • Title (word, phrase, mapped phrase)
  • Author (word, phrase, mapped phrase)
  • Personal Name (word, phrase, mapped phrase)
  • Corporate/Conference Name (word, phrase, mapped phrase)
  • Subject (word, phrase, mapped phrase)
  • Publisher (word, phrase)
  • Place of publication (word)
  • Series (word, phrase, mapped phrase)
  • Standard number
  • ISBN
  • ISSN
  • Publisher and music number
  • Government document Number
  • LCCN
  • LC Class number
  • Dewey Class number
  • Note
  • Access Method

As limits only:

  • Primary document type
  • Material type
  • Year
  • Language
  • DLC limit
  • Library holdings

Data: Full bibliographic record

Holdings: All holdings information and OPAC links of known libraries


Default Service Indexes and Data

Indexes:

  • OCLC number
  • Keyword (word)
  • Title (word)
  • Author (word)
  • ISBN
  • ISSN

As limits only:

  • Primary document type
  • Material type
  • Year
  • Language
  • Dewey Class number

Data found in the following MARC fields (http://www.oclc.org/bibformats/en/):

  • OCLC Number: 001
  • Date and date type found in the 008
  • Language value in the 008, 041, 546
  • Document and material type (derived from many fields)
  • Authorship: 100, 700, 110, 710, 111, 711, 720, 130
  • Title: 222, 240, 243, 245, 246, 730, 740
  • Citation: 250, 254, 255, 256, 260, 261, 262, 263, 300, 502, 773, 856
  • Standard numbers: 020, 022
  • Subjects: 600, 610, 630, 650, 651, 655
  • Note: 500
  • Content: 505
  • Abstract/Summary: 520
  • Non-Latin text for the above fields found in the 880

Holdings: All holdings information and OPAC links of libraries participating in WorldCat.org

API Background | Sample Apps | FAQ | Known Issues | Service Levels | Who can use the web service? | Service Terms and Conditions

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