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A how-to of the Kettering & MeL databases

WorldCat

Using WorldCat

WorldCat is a massive online catalog that allows you to search the catalogs of libraries around the world giving you access to over 1.5 Billion item records.
 
By using WorldCat you can find resources not owned by Kettering University and request them through Interlibrary Loan. 
 
This is particularly helpful when doing research on subjects that may have limited resources.
 
Search WorldCat for books, eBooks and media items in the library. You can even grab a citation from WorldCat in APA, Chicago and MLA style.
  • Get APA, Chicago, Harvard, MLA and Turabian style citations.
  • Narrow your search by format.
  • Refine your search by:
    • Author
    • Year
    • Language
    • Content
    • Audience
    • Topic
  • Sort your search by:
    • Library and Relevance (the default)
    • Relevance Only
    • Author
    • Title
    • Date (Newest First)
    • Date (Oldest First)
  • Get permalinks to library items and searches.
  • Use multiple languages.
  • Find items in other libraries.
  • Preview the books
  • Share on social networks

More often than not you will not need to use Advanced search, but it's available when you need it. Look for Advanced Search next to the Search button. A good time to use Advanced Search is when you want to restrict your search more than once, such as both a specific author and a specific subject.

Restrictions in Advanced Search can restrict your search by many options. These are just the most popular. Use the pull down menu by the search field to see each option:

  • keyword(same as regular search)
  • title
  • author
  • subject

Limits in Advanced Search you can limit your search to:

  • library
  • year
  • audience
  • content
  • format
  • language

Save Time!
WorldCat gives you lots of ways to save time when searching for sources on your papers. Here are a few ways to save time from the result list.

Use the Sort by pull down menu
You can use Sort by pull down menu above your result list (see by watch, below) to re-sort your result list. The default is Relevance Only (how closely it matches your search) but you can change it to sort by author, title or date.

Use the Format options
By default all formats show up on your result list, but you can narrow it down to just books, eBooks, map, video, VHS, DVD, LP and more depending on the items your search retrieved.

Use the Format or Refine Your Search column
Refine your results offers some quick limits to save you time in your research. Usually year and topic will be most useful, but content, audience and even language can also be useful.

  1. Author
  2. Year
  3. Language
  4. Content
  5. Audience
  6. Topic

Save Time!
WorldCat gives you lots of ways to save time on the book page. Here are a few ways to save time from the result list.

Cite/Export
Get citations for library print books, eBooks and media from WorldCat.

Add to List
If you have created your own free WorldCat account, you can easily make a list of books and eBooks you plan to use or are considering using for your paper.

More Like This
Take a look here to see the subjects your book covers. By clicking on one of these links you might find even more books on your topic.

Preview This Item
If you see Preview this Item below the book cover you can actually take a peek online and get a better idea if the the book will work for your paper.

Status
See if the book is available--you don't want to waste time looking on the shelves if it is checked out!

Use the Sort by pull down menu
You can use Sort by pull down menu above your result list (see by watch, below) to re-sort your result list. The default is Relevance Only (how closely it matches your search) but you can change it to sort by by author, title or date.

You'll need a free account to take advantage of lists, saved searches and tags.

  1. Get to the Create an Account screen by clicking the WorldCat Sign in link in the upper right corner of the screen on any WorldCat page.
  2. From the pop-up, click create a free account.
  3. Enter a unique user name, password and e-mail address. [Required fields are marked with an asterisk (*). Note: User names must be fewer than 35 characters, letters or numbers only with no special characters or spaces. Once you have established your account, your user name cannot be changed. If you want another user name, you must create another account with a different e-mail address.
  4. Read the Terms of Service.
  5. Check the age certification check box.
  6. Type the word(s) shown in the image directly below the check box.
  7. Select the I agree button. You know you're done when the Thank you for registering! screen appears, followed shortly by a confirmation e-mail to the address you specified

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