Search

This article explores the potential, possibilities, and problems associated with the libraries and their use and increasing dependence on the Internet, the World Wide Web, and whatever computing systems may supplant them in the near and distant future. This article also suggests that, with the Web, as with most things that humans in general and librarians specifically get involved in, we learn from our past endeavours.

The article provides information on a new initiative started by Online Computer Library Center Inc. (OCLC) to expose the data contributed by member libraries to WorldCat in useful new ways. It notes that OCLC provides a growing suite of mashup-enabled services to enable libraries to take advantage of these capabilities. It explores the benefits of the WorldCat Search application program interface (API), the flagship API from OCLC released in August 2008.