Travel the World with “WorldCat”

by Curt B. Witcher

Among the many challenges facing genealogical researchers is the challenge of trying to identify, and then locate, all the relevant data about a particular ancestor or potential ancestor. The explosion of indices and digitized data on the Internet has certainly aided millions of researchers in this quest for data. Typically, though, it is the databases with the greatest “star-power” that are frequented most often, almost to the exclusion of other very useful sites.

One of the databases that may be frequently overlooked by genealogists is “WorldCat.” “WorldCat” is the largest bibliographic database of both published works, and a growing number of manuscript and archival collections, in the world. If you’re attempting to pull together the largest pool of relevant data for your genealogical endeavors, it is a must-use data file.

“WorldCat” can be (and should be!) searched not only by surname of interest but also by geographic location (city, county, state, country), ethnic group (Germans, Finns, Irish, Swedes, African Americans, etc.), religion, and occupation. Tens of millions of records from library and archive catalogs around the world are included in this database. Searching on all five of the factors listed above can bring a significant amount of information to light. Besides indicating to you what publications may exist for the family name, ethnic group or geographic area you are researching, “WorldCat” also indicates which member institutions own the item. And increasingly, for items found in “WorldCat” there are links directly from “WorldCat” into the owning institutions’ online catalogs where additional, more specific information often can be gleaned.

There are a number of other features that can be explored when using “WorldCat” including the ability to email yourself the bibliographic records of the materials you are interested in exploring further--a super way to create a complement to your research plan and compile the beginnings of a great research log. You can also browse various indices to assist in executing better searches, export data, or initiate an interlibrary for those materials that can be borrowed between libraries.

“WorldCat” can be found in many public and academic libraries around the country and certainly here at the Allen County Public Library--the Main Library and the thirteen branches. In our library system, look under “E-Resources” on the right-hand side of the library’s[1] homepage and click on “FirstSearch.” “WorldCat” is one of the databases available through “FirstSearch.” It is certainly worth your time.

Article taken from the Genealogy Gems[2]: News from the Fort Wayne Library
No. 28, June 30, 2006