First, ebrary news/WorldCat news. They sure have been making a lot of it lately.
Today, word that all ebrary titles will soon be searchable via WorldCat.
ebrary currently offers more than 170,000 ebook titles.
Libraries that subscribe to ebrary ebooks can have ebrary set holdings automatically for the relevant records. WorldCat Local authenticated users will then be able to link directly to ebrary ebooks from the corresponding WorldCat records.
Web users searching through WorldCat.org will be able link to the ebrary platform to preview the ebooks and find out how their library might be able to access them.
Quote:
"We, at ebrary, are very pleased to have entered into this partnership with OCLC," said Christopher Warnock, CEO of ebrary. "This is something that our customers have been requesting from us for a long time, and we are very happy to have done this...
---Christopher Warnock, CEO of ebrary
2) Last night we posted about RedLaser, the barcode-scanning company that offers not only the technology but also an iPhone app. Since January, 2010 they have partnered with OCLC allowing RedLaser users to scan books and then see (via WorldCat) if the title was available in a local library. Yesterday, RedLaser was sold to eBay. No word if the online auction company will allow various RedLaser partnerships to continue. One thing we do know is that the iPhone app that used to cost $1.99 is now free.
This leads us to yet another new and "non traditional" way of searching WorldCat. According to Mike Teets on the OCLC Cooperative Blog, you can now search WorldCat via Twitter. The info comes in an interesting blog post. Teets not only talks about the new Twitter service but also a few stats and plenty of insight about who uses library catalogs.
He writes:
Depending on the measurement service, library catalogs attract primarily those over 45 or 55 years olds and not the, "much broader (and younger) audience" many believe catalogs are being designed for.
And adds:
An online catalog presence remains the foundational service of the library to their users. However, a well designed online catalog by itself is just not enough to reach the broad range of users in a convenient way. We need a holistic program of services leveraging the investment we have made to connect with the communities we serve.
Teets then talks about how for many mobile and social go together.
That appears to be right on the mark. Two recent ResourceShelf posts point out numbers that go along with this view:
+ Finally, slide #10 from Mary Meeker's recent Internet Trends update shows that social networking is #2 (approx. 41%) right behind searching (48%) as an activity mobile browser users have done online.
+ #askforstuff is the tag to begin your WorldCat/Twitter Search
+ For example: #askforstuff Chicago Blackhawks
+ What You'll Get Back is a Link for the Search Directly Into WorldCat.org
So, while you can Tweet without a web connection (via SMS for example), you do need a web connection to access the WorldCat
+ You can also add another hashtag to localize your search: #askforstuff #CGP [Chicago Public Library] Chicago Cubs
Teets Adds:
Why would you want to generate a Twitter-based search of library materials through WorldCat? Keep in mind that this first implementation is more suggestive than an end in itself. We thought that as it stands, it could be useful in its current form. Many people use Twitter for reminders or just simple notes to their peers. You may want to share a search with your social network and mark it with another hash tag. Or you might want to store the results in your tweet stream just like bookmarks. You might want save a thought for later work through a mobile device. The point is, people are using Twitter for all kinds of reasons. If libraries can get their data and services into that space, it will bring more users to the library.
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