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Last updated 1/31/06

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California Libraries Have Gone Global
Seniors Can Now Discover the World From Home

Spectrum Staff

Californians can now find items in libraries throughout the state and world thanks to the new online California Libraries Catalog (CalCat), a super-sized catalog that allows customers to view state and worldwide library collections without leaving home. CalCat connects to WorldCat, a global database that lists more than 62 million records of items owned by libraries in the U.S. and 81 countries.

CalCat transforms local libraries into state, national and international resources. “Technology is changing how we do business, but not why we do it,” explains California State Librarian Susan Hildreth. “Our goal is to connect all state residents with the riches held by libraries in California and beyond.”

To access the service, Californians need only log on at their local public library’s web sites or go to www.calcat.org. To make the catalog searching even easier, users can also use Google and Yahoo, which now connect to open WorldCat, to look for books and materials located in local libraries.

Hildreth says the new catalog will be a boon to seniors who can’t leave home, students, business people, researchers and others with special interests and needs, such as history, genealogy, music, film, foreign language, Braille and large print.

CalCat users can find everything from information first recorded on stone tablets to sheet music to MP3 audio books, newspapers, government documents, DVDs and, of course, books. The catalog tells whether materials are available locally, can be borrowed through interlibrary loan or delivered to the user’s closest library.

The California Libraries Catalog is supported by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) administered in California by the State Librarian. WorldCat is a service of OCLC, a worldwide library cooperative.