Quick Guide: WorldCat

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1. Scope of the Database

WorldCat is a worldwide catalog of books, periodicals, sound recordings, visual materials, and maps held in thousands of libraries, in hundreds of languages.

Research: Use WorldCat to search thousands of library catalogs simultaneously. The results will indicate which books are held by Gelman Library (or any other library in the WRLC).

Borrowing: Use WorldCat to find resources that are not owned by or available from Gelman Library or from any other WRLC library. Request these items through Gelman Library's Interlibrary Loan department by using the online form within WorldCat.

WorldCat is restricted to use by GW students, faculty, and staff. It can be accessed from any computer with web access, both on and off campus.

2. Accessing the Database

You may find WorldCat by going:

• To the ALADIN Research Portal (http://aladin.wrlc.org).
• (If you are off campus, here is where you will be asked to log in. See NOTE, below.)
• In middle column, click on Databases by Title.
• On the next page, click on the letter 'W' in the horizontal alphabet.
• In the full list of the Ws, locate WorldCat, and click on the database name to open it.

*NOTE*If you are logging in from an off-campus computer, you will have to log on to ALADIN to be allowed access to the ALADIN Databases. In the first box, type in your last name. In the Patron ID box, type in either your Institutional ID number or Library User Barcode number, located on the back of your GWord card and beginning with the numbers 22882. For the Institution, select George Washington from the dropdown box. Finish by clicking Continue.

3. Enter your search

Enter your search terms. WorldCat is often used to locate (and request) books that are not available anywhere in the WRLC. In those cases, the researcher knows exactly what he or she is looking for.

In the example below, he is looking for the most recent copy of a FBI publication entitled 'The Science of Fingerprints'. The beginning article ('The') is always ommitted and the phrase is searched as a 'Title phrase'. The year range is specified in order to capture only the most recent issues of the book.

4. View results

Your results should now be displayed. In the example below, the first record is the one we're looking for.



To view the full record, click on the underlined title. To request the item through Gelman Library's Interlibrary Loan unit, press either the 'ILL' button at the top or the 'Borrow this item from another library' button below. The next screen will be a request form which you will fill out with your personal information and submit.

5. Printing, e-mailing, or exporting

Printing To print a citation, open it (by clicking on its title in the results list), and then click on the icon near the top of the page. The record will display in a ready to print format.

E-mailing To e-mail a citation, open it (by clicking on its title in the results list), and then click on the icon near the top of the page. The e-mail form will appear. Enter your e-mail address into the form provided and click the gray Send button at the top of the form.

Exporting To export a citation, open it (by clicking on its title in the results list), and then click on the icon near the top of the page. This will allow you to export your citation directly into an EndNote or Refworks library, or you can save that record as a text file onto a disk.

Printing, E-mailing, or Exporting Multiple Citations To print or e-mail multiple citations, mark them by clicking in the checkbox to the left of each citation in the results list. When you have finished selecting your citations, click on the gray Marked Records button toward the top of the page. This will display your selected list. At this point you can click on the 'Print', 'Export', or 'E-mail' buttons near the top of the page and follow the directions.

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Revised 8/29/05. This page maintained by Janet Olsen.
If you require additional assistance in using Gelman's databases, please go to the Reference and Information Desk on the first floor of the library, or see the Ask A Librarian web page for more Help options, including telephone and e-mail.

Research Guides Home

How did you find this Research Guide? from the Gelman Library home page from the ALADIN home page from Google other, please explain: What exactly are you looking for? background information on your topic journal or newspaper articles a guide to Gelman Library resources in your topic, both online and printed links to ALADIN resources on your topic links to other online resources other, please explain: Did you find what you were looking for? yes no no, but I did find other useful information You are a: GW student GW faculty member student or faculty member at another college or university librarian independent researcher other, please explain:

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