OCLC/Google Link, Trade Data

OCLC and Google have cut a deal to exchange data and link Google Book Search to WorldCat.org, which, they claim, “will drive traffic to library OPACs and other library services.” OCLC said that Google is sharing its data and links to digitized books, “making it possible for OCLC to represent the digitized collections of OCLC member libraries in WorldCat.” WorldCat metadata will be accessible by Google directly from OCLC or member libraries participating in the Book Search program.

Google already has been working with OCLC and has released an application programming interface (API) that links to titles in its Book Search via ISBNs, LCCNs, and OCLC numbers and lets WorldCat users connect via a “Get It” link to books that Google has scanned. OCLC said the link “works both ways: if a user finds a book in Google Book Search, a link can often be tracked back to local libraries through WorldCat.org.” The new deal also empowers OCLC to create MARC records describing the Google digitized books from OCLC member libraries and link to them.