Frohring Library Launches Worldcat, First Global Online Catalog in Italy

John Cabot University’s Frohring Library welcomes 2014 with a new discovery tool for its global community, JCU Worldcat. The first implementation in Italy of OCLC Worldcat Local, it connects library users with a wealth of resources, integrating all the library collections, digital and print, with holdings from OCLC Worldcat, the global library catalog representing over 70,000 libraries. Depending on each library’s subscriptions, Worldcat Local provides access to up to 1.346 billion items from authoritative content sources.

The information that was traditionally distributed in different searching spaces (library catalog, journal lists, and different on-line resource platforms) is now unified in a single search box, including e-books and articles on e-journals as well as books, hard copy journals and multimedia items. Inbound and outbound links give users immediate access to the available on-line content, whereas bibliographic information provided by libraries worldwide further expands their research possibilities with document delivery and interlibrary loan services.

The implementation was made possible by OCLC, a worldwide library cooperative, providing services and research to improve access to the world’s information, and its active support to the AMICAL consortium.