Cool Tools from OCLC
2008 June 26
OCLC has a bunch of really neat tools, in particular, the WorldCat Affiliate Tools which allow libraries to use data and services from OCLC in more meaningful ways. Some of my favorites that I’ve been playing with include
Many of these tools started out as OCLC Research Works projects, which has a few tools I feel are worth noting here.
- WorldCat Identities
Thomas Hickey has a couple posts about this service and commented on my WordPress WorldCat Widget presentation about how I might leverage this service in the widget - Linked Authority File
- I’ve been pondering how I might use this service with some forms I’m building to catalog digital objects. In particular being able to check and suggestion Geographic Subject Headings and Personal Name Headings would be helpful.
In addition to these tools, some of the new features that OCLC has built into Worldcat.org are really cool and helpful. Probably my favorite is the “Create list” functionality. Many of my librarians spend lots and lots of time creating list of resources for our users. So this tool is pretty neat (in theory).
Some things I wish OCLC would think about.
- Federated authentication – The librarians I work with don’t need any more usernames and passwords please. Has OCLC thought about implementing Shibboleth and federating authentication for libraries? This would be good for librarians but even better for our users. Faculty and students could use an existing login and this would also tell OCLC their affliation, which would potentiall enhance the OpenURL Gateway service which is currently reliant on IP address.
- How are you going to make this work for smaller libraries? – To me these services are just as important for big libraries as for little ones. Additionally, being able to see the holdings of smaller libraries is important. They may have materials that are unique. Can OCLC make this work for non-members? Or make it easier for those libraries to become members?
- API for your Lists and Bibliography tools – This would make this content reusable and give you a potential competitive advantage over services such as LibGuides. Particularly if you could make links not break!