Status Line

• Reference Services
• Jul-Aug 07
• Issue: 214

WorldCat.org/Open WorldCat Enhanced With Social Networking Features

WorldCat.org now has the following social networking features:

• Personalized Lists. Web users can create Personalized Lists of items cataloged in WorldCat. Users (including libraries) can build as many lists as they like on any subject and either share their Personalized Lists publicly by using the “Share” link or keep them private for personal use only. Users can add any book, video, article or other item to a Personalized List right from its WorldCat.org record, or use the checkboxes and “Save to” button in WorldCat search results. List items can be added or removed at any time, and items can be copied between lists. Users can also reorder a list by title, author, publish date or date added to the list, save a short note for each item and export a list in CSV (comma-delimited) format The only prerequisite for making Personlized Lists in WorldCat.org is for an end-user to sign up for a WorldCat account with their email address at http://worldcat.org/account/?page=register.
• WorldCat Profiles can be created by end-users that allow them to provide details about their interests and occupation; link to any WorldCat lists they have created; and link to a personal web page, RSS feed or instant messaging address. Providing this personal information is optional, and the user can control the public availability of their email address or their entire profile in the privacy settings for their account.

Items in WorldCat search results can now be added to personalized lists. Lists can be either public or private. Public lists can be shared with friends and colleagues.

OCLC Reference and FirstSearch Contact Information

For more information about OCLC FirstSearch, please contact Nylink’s Joyce Rambo (ramboj@nylink.org) or Jennifer Hawkes (hawkesj@nylink.org).