Comments on: Open WorldCat pilot [OCLC] http://www.openindex.org/2004/07/06/open-worldcat-pilot-oclc/ Whose Internet is it , anyway? Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:57:59 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Paul Wilford http://www.openindex.org/2004/07/06/open-worldcat-pilot-oclc/#comment-8 Paul Wilford Thu, 05 Aug 2004 04:01:34 +0000 /?p=32#comment-8 The OCLC is a non-profit cooperative of member libraries, so I assume fees (if any) are due to expenses which are distributed among the members libraries - not the users. There is a fee (according to the referenced State University of New York web site) for searching via the FirstSearch research service. This is a service which accesses WorldCat among other databases (such as Medline and ERIC). FirstSearch isn't WorldCat: it's a research service which access WorldCat. The search engines have been carrying a subset of WorldCat data as a pilot project. OCLC hopes to make search engine access of WorldCat a permanent part of their service to member libraries. The OCLC is a non-profit cooperative of member libraries, so I assume fees (if any) are due to expenses which are distributed among the members libraries - not the users.

There is a fee (according to the referenced State University of New York web site) for searching via the FirstSearch research service. This is a service which accesses WorldCat among other databases (such as Medline and ERIC). FirstSearch isn’t WorldCat: it’s a research service which access WorldCat.

The search engines have been carrying a subset of WorldCat data as a pilot project. OCLC hopes to make search engine access of WorldCat a permanent part of their service to member libraries.

]]> By: Tom Booth http://www.openindex.org/2004/07/06/open-worldcat-pilot-oclc/#comment-5 Tom Booth Fri, 09 Jul 2004 16:50:41 +0000 /?p=32#comment-5 According to information on this site: http://www.oclc.org/worldcat/pilot/facts/default.htm there will be a transition to some form of "membership" service.: "Next steps Transition Open WorldCat from pilot service to permanent membership..." No mention is made in regard to membership fees if any. Though I believe library membership in OCLC is already a requirement: "To participate in the Open WorldCat pilot, a library must have contributed records and/or ownership (holdings) information to WorldCat." Will there be an additional fee on top of the current OCLC library membership fee? One site mentions: "When you want to do a search, you access the databases through OCLC's fee for service (means not free!) system" - http://www.oneonta.edu/library/critical/INFOLIT/course/libsys/lim6p1.htm According to information on this site: http://www.oclc.org/worldcat/pilot/facts/default.htm there will be a transition to some form of “membership” service.: “Next steps
Transition Open WorldCat from pilot service to permanent membership…”

No mention is made in regard to membership fees if any. Though I believe library membership in OCLC is already a requirement: “To participate in the Open WorldCat pilot, a library must have contributed records and/or ownership (holdings) information to WorldCat.”

Will there be an additional fee on top of the current OCLC library membership fee?

One site mentions: “When you want to do a search, you access the databases through OCLC’s fee for service (means not free!) system” - http://www.oneonta.edu/library/critical/INFOLIT/course/libsys/lim6p1.htm

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