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When library systems and online book sharing systems aren't enough to find books and cataloging details, some people try using WorldCat - an online book-cataloging organization site - to give a larger view of where books are nationwide, in rich databases containing many types of libraries worldwide. However, while the initial search can seem a little lax (with some boldness), its searches can actually be quite powerful and reaching, and you may discover books you never thought you'd find.
Steps
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2Run a basic search. From the unfiltered top-level website, you can access a basic keyword search. Type in your search for a book by name or category in the "Items" field, then click the "Search" button to the right of the search box.
- Expand your search. Search for Libraries, or to see what libraries exist in the system, or search for member-created lists. Either way, to expand your search, click the drop-down to the left of the search box, and click either "Libraries" or "Lists". After that, click into the search box and search away.
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3Open up your search a little further. Use the Advanced Search feature, found to the right of the "Search" button, both on the regular website and the mobile-responsive website.
- This feature gives you three initial search boxes - "Keyword", "Title", and "Author" - but these can be changed at any time with each line's drop-down box to the left of each search box.
- However, don't skip a line. Instead, use the drop-down for each line and don't type anything in lines you don't want to use.
- Use the Boolean search term boxes to the right of the search boxes, if you'd like. You can either leave the Boolean boxes on "AND", or change them to "OR" or "NOT", depending on your search term.
- If you have more than 3 lines of search terms, you can add another line via the "+" button just below the second Boolean button, and it will expand this search area by one additional line.
- Learn about the other search topic labels you can provide. You will have access to the following by clicking the drop-down: "ISBN", "ISSN", "Journal Name", "OCLC", "Publisher", and "Subject".
- Think about other search types - including "Year," "Format," and "Language."
- With Year, you'll provide an approximate year of publication. If you're sure a book was published in a certain year, type the same year in both "Year" boxes.
- Format is a very long list, and even contains non-book entries that can often be stored in libraries. Select your publication format from the list.
- Language is another long list, and refers to the language the book was written in.
- This feature gives you three initial search boxes - "Keyword", "Title", and "Author" - but these can be changed at any time with each line's drop-down box to the left of each search box.
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4Read the basic listing details from the search results page. Here, you can find not only the cover art and name of the book, but also the Authors, Summary, Format, Language, Publication Year, Publisher, Publisher Location, and whether or not a book is an ebook.
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5Click the title of the book to expand out the book information and view all card-cataloging details.
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6Read through the component page. Although the component page contains all basic information firsthand, with a click of the "Show more information" button, it opens additional details for books or by scrolling down and reading, you can find member libraries. You should be able to find most books within the WorldCat system.
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- Within "Show more information," you can read through cataloging details such as the book's genre, physical description, ISBN, OCLC Number-Unique Identifier, Subject, and/or Notes.
- Physical description gives page totals, types of illustrations, and approximate longest dimension (in cm).
- Once you arrive at the book's page on WorldCat, you can also find a button to create a citation for the book, if necessary.
- Within "Show more information," you can read through cataloging details such as the book's genre, physical description, ISBN, OCLC Number-Unique Identifier, Subject, and/or Notes.
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7Find your book within the WorldCat libraries near your location (off cellphone connection) or address (off physical residential WiFI). You'll find this section in the titled section called "Find a Copy at a Library" and with a subtab called "Featured Libraries" or "All libraries" anywhere in the system.
- You'll have access to Library details including the library's Location and Name, mileage from location, and address. Some places also include a Borrow button.
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8Look for the Goodreads reviews of these books. This section can be found below the lengthy list of libraries containing the book, and the button to sign in to WorldCat.
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9Look in the right pane of the book, well above the Library details. Here, you'll spot links to the buying location for books through links. You can find places where you can buy that particular book (if available). Popular places to find these books include "Abe Books", "Amazon", "Better World Books", and "Bookshop.org" - all within that tab.
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10Watch out for Rent this Item. Here, unlike borrowing books, you'll pay for books until they are no longer needed then return them. However, only select online libraries, such as "Perlego", offer this feature.
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