Library staff still get confused faces every once and while when asking that question of patrons. What does that mean? Answer: Most libraries in the United States (and many throughout the world) participate in the Interlibrary Loan system known as WorldCat. This network allows for libraries to share parts and pieces of their collections, trading within different library systems.
If you are a fan of Home Box Office (HBO) on television, you may have seen a movie that really impressed me! The movie, Temple Grandin, is about a woman who has made great accomplishments in her life, even though she was diagnosed with autism at the age of four years. The movie recently received 15 Emmy nominations! Temple Grandin went to college and earned a doctorate in Animal Science.
These books on display at the Buckner library are only a few of the titles in our system that deal with recycling items you might have stashed away in your basement.
When you put in a request for the latest bestseller by your favorite author or a car repair book from Chilton's, the library's truck drivers are the ones who deliver for you. We borrow books, videos, cassettes, CDs, and more from 29 other libraries in three counties. But it doesn't just stop at our district borders.
While researching at the Midwest Genealogy Center, have you ever found that we did not have a certain book on your family? There is a way you can still get it (for free!), and it is called WorldCat, which stands for World Catalog.
Mid-Continent Public Library has an inventory of over three million books, audiobooks, videos, and CDs. But, what if you would like something not in our library catalog? Then, it is time to turn to a tool called WorldCat. Through WorldCat, you can look at the holdings of libraries across the United States, and place requests for items you would like.
Need a Book? Got a Question? We Can Help You With That!
I sit on a shelf and watch as you pass Pass over my spine, read, and move on On to where I can’t see—past the stack, but please come back Back to me, for I am a Book and in desperate need Need to be read and pass on what I know No one understands how lonely I am Am sitting on this shelf as you pass Pass over—no—wait!! You pick me up Up to be read, and now I know what a dream come true Truly is!
A customer came in looking for an obscure church history. It was not available on microfilm, and he was looking for a library that might do an interlibrary loan. WorldCat is a database that allows anyone to search for books in almost any library in the world. You can access WorldCat through the MCPL website with your library card. WorldCat opens automatically to look for books only in Missouri libraries, so be sure to change the setting to World Libraries on the Search page.
WorldCat is the tool we use to request items that MCPL does not own. This is just one more way that we do our best to give you access to the items you want.
Basically, many libraries in the United States and around the world will loan out their items to other libraries. So, if we don’t have what you want, you can request it using WorldCat.
What Does a Greyhound Bus Have to Do With the Library?
When I talk to people about my job and Interlibrary Loan, I am always surprised how many do not realize how we get the books back and forth between libraries. They know that the request goes out, and within a couple of weeks, the item they requested is ready for them to pick-up at their local branch. Our customers know that we have trucks that go back and forth between our branches, but how do the outside items come in?
