Use case 10: Supply records to a commercial service for discovery

Supply

Description

Librarians are continuously trying to promote use of their collections, and in the current internet environment where Google is most users’ default search strategy, this means making their records visible to Google. This is true for both common materials and special collections. Providing catalogues of common materials can provide users with convenient local access, whereas providing catalogues of special collections can significantly increase usage as scholars discover information that was previously very difficult to locate.

At one level, this can be achieved by making the institutional catalogue visible to search spiders [use-case 1], but it may be possible to negotiate with search engines to integrate catalogues directly – particularly for high-value, high-volume collections.

Record flow

Records would be supplied from the institution (or possibly an organisation such as a consortium) to the commercial entity. The types of record flow are described in detail here.

Current examples

OCLC’s WorldCat catalogue is the default “find in a library” link from Google Books.

Discussion

This use case demonstrates the complexity in defining commercial vs non-commercial use. Although the institution is not being paid for its records, the search engine is a commercial entity that may be able to drive revenue through sales or referrals to sites.

Please note that the legal implications for your institution of this use case will depend upon your specific contractual relationships - for more information see the discussion of suppliers' and libraries' current viewpoints on what is allowable, and the legal environment. 

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