15 January 2014

OCLC & Worldcat + FamilySearch Catalog = Very Happy Genealogists!


WorldCat is such a great resource. I am always using it to see what materials are extant for a community.  I do this by searching in the catalogs of libraries around the world for published volumes, microfilm, digitized material and much more for a locale, person or topic of interest.  Historically, in parallel, I would do the same with the FamilySearch catalog.

Just about a year ago, I blogged about plans by OCLC (and WorldCat) and FamilySearch to partner up so that the WorldCat catalog would included entries from FamilySearch, OCLC and FamilySearch Partner Up -- WorldCat Just Continues to Get Better

“Under this new partnership, OCLC will incorporate data from FamilySearch’s catalog of genealogical materials into WorldCat, and FamilySearch will use OCLC cataloging services to continue to catalog its collections in WorldCat.”

It’s very nice to be able to report that this is now an actuality!  I did a spot check for Madison County KY.  First I checked a few books with no success and then when I checked on some original microfilmed records (see image), I did find an entry that these records are held by the Family History Library (aka FamilySearch).

To learn more, read these two articles -- FamilyHistory Catalog a Part of OCLC (Rootdig.com) and OCLC Link Appears in FamilySearch Library Catalog (Genealogy’s Star).

This is a very nice feature since eventually I will be able to check one catalog to find out what extant records and published works exist for whatever place or topic I am researching.  Once I have identified what exists and where it is located, I can then develop my plan to access material which just might answer a key question.



Editor’s Note: Do recognize that this is a work in progress and that the full contents of the FamilySearch catalog is not yet available via WorldCat.

Editor’s Note: Here is a piece written on OCLC & WorldCat back in 2007.





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