Thursday, November 29

WorldCat - World's Largest Network of Library Content & Services!

Over 1 billion items in more than 10,000 libraries worldwide!


WHAT?
WorldCat is the world's largest network of library content and services. WorldCat libraries are dedicated to providing access to their resources on the Web, where most people start their search for information. It lets you search the collections of libraries in your community and thousands more around the world.

JUICE?
  • Search many libraries at once for an item and then locate it in a library nearby
  • Find books, music, and videos to check out
  • Find research articles and digital items (like audiobooks) that can be directly viewed or downloaded
  • Link to "Ask a Librarian" and other services at your library
  • Post your review of an item, or contribute factual information about it
Pleasant interface, quick search, but how do you download resources that are actually free (or free when you search Google)? A lot of metadata, but sometimes a simple 'Download' (or view) button would do wonders (if possible). Although, I have only been playing with WorldCat for a few minutes, it should have been intuitive enough to guide me how to download freely available resources (if possible. Do you need to register?).

Actually, what I like about this learning tool (after a few minutes of learning!) is the "Cite this Item" feature, which I suppose are in all other online library systems, too. Amazingly, I have failed to notice this super feature before elsewhere (probably been around for decades!). Though, now that I have noticed it, I believe this feature is extremely useful for people who don't know how to cite correctly (Like me!). For example, citation styles for "Giving knowledge for free : the emergence of open educational resources"
  • APA
    Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, & Centre for Educational Research and Innovation. (2007). Giving knowledge for free the emergence of open educational resources. [Paris, France?]: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
  • Chicago (Author-Date)
    Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and Centre for Educational Research and Innovation. 2007. Giving knowledge for free the emergence of open educational resources. [Paris, France?]: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
  • Harvard
    ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, & CENTRE FOR EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND INNOVATION. (2007). Giving knowledge for free the emergence of open educational resources. [Paris, France?], Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
  • MLA
    Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and Centre for Educational Research and Innovation. Giving Knowledge for Free The Emergence of Open Educational Resources. [Paris, France?]: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2007.
  • Turabian
    Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and Centre for Educational Research and Innovation. Giving Knowledge for Free The Emergence of Open Educational Resources. [Paris, France?]: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2007.

Easy! Search for the resource in WorldCat (hopefully there!), find it, click 'Cite this Item', Copy/Paste, and I am done (Isn't this feature in Google Scholar, too? If not, it should be!). Now, I (or we) know how to cite the 'Harvard' way! Hmm, hopefully I can write the 'Harvard' way one day in the... :)

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