WorldCat for Genealogical Research: A Researcher’s Assistant

Curt B. Witcher MLS, FUGA, IGSF

Allen County Public LibraryFort Wayne, Indiana

You’ve come a long way, baby!

• From “MAX” –the Maximum Catalog—to WorldCat, OCLC’s offering of the world’s largest bibliographic database for direct customer use continues to make a substantial contribution to the genealogical field.

• If next to knowing is knowing where to find out, then next to having is knowing where/how to get the desired data.

Allen County Public Library

• Serve between 87K and 100K genealogists each year from all corners of the continent and beyond…

• While our collections are a significant asset, our expertise & programming as well as our interest in and ability to teach is most consequential.

• WorldCat is a great partner!

Data Gathering Techniques

Hunters ‘n’ Gatherers to Crime Science Investigators—no matter the strategy (very sophisticated or quite pedestrian) some of the underlying techniques are the same.

–Find answers–Find clues–Find sources of more answers and

clues & possibilities

Gathering Strategy

• Five-point strategy for seeking the most relevant data:

–family name–geographic location–ethnicity –religion–occupation

• WorldCat is a great partner!

Family Name/Surname

Family Name/Surname

Family Name/Surname

Family Name/Surname

Family Name/Surname

Family Name/Surname

Geographic Location

Geographic Location

Geographic Location

Geographic Location

Ethnicity

Ethnicity

Ethnicity

Ethnicity

Ethnicity

Ethnicity

Ethnicity

Ethnicity

Ethnicity

Religion

Religion

Religion

Religion

Religion

Religion

Religion

Religion

Religion

Religion

Occupation

Occupation

Occupation

Occupation

Occupation

Occupation

FHL Catalog FHL Catalog WorldCatWorldCat

WorldCatA Genealogist’s

Research Companion