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WorldCat Bibliographic Resources API

The Bibliographic Resources API from WorldCat — 6 operation(s) for bibliographic resources.

WorldCat Bibliographic Resources API is one of 20 APIs that WorldCat publishes on the APIs.io network, described by a machine-readable OpenAPI specification.

Tagged areas include Bibliographic Resources. The published artifact set on APIs.io includes an OpenAPI specification and API documentation.

This API exposes 6 operations across 6 paths, and defines 124 schemas. It is described by OpenAPI 3.2.0, at version 2.0.0.

Requests are made against 2 base URLs: https://metadata.api.oclc.org, https://americas.discovery.api.oclc.org.

6 operations 6 paths 124 schemas 6 GET

Metadata

The identity and technical contract details declared by the specification.

Specification
OpenAPI 3.2.0
API Version
2.0.0
Base URL
https://americas.discovery.api.oclc.org/worldcat/search/v2
Authentication
OAuth 2.0, OAuth 2.0
Resource Areas
1

Authentication & Security 2

WorldCat Bibliographic Resources API declares 2 security schemes for authenticating requests. It supports OAuth 2.0 (worldcat_metadata_auth) using the clientCredentials and authorizationCode flows, exposing 15 scopes. It supports OAuth 2.0 (worldcat_search_auth) using the clientCredentials and authorizationCode flows, exposing 8 scopes.

Paths & Operations 6

Across 6 paths, the API surfaces 6 operations — 6 GET. Each is listed below with its method, path, parameters, and response codes.

Bibliographic Resources 6
GET
/worldcat/search/bibs/{oclcNumber}
Retrieve specific Bibliographic Resource
retrieve-bib 2 params → 200400404405406500
GET
/worldcat/search/v2/bibs
Search Bibliographic Resources
search-bibs 42 params → 200206400405406500
GET
/worldcat/search/v2/bibs/{oclcNumber}
Retrieve specific Bibliographic Resource
retrieve-bib 3 params → 200400404405406500
GET
/worldcat/search/v2/brief-bibs
Search Brief Bibliographic Resources
search-brief-bibs 41 params → 200206400405406500
GET
/worldcat/search/v2/brief-bibs/{oclcNumber}
Retrieve specific Brief Bibliographic Resource
retrieve-brief-bib 5 params → 200400404405406500
GET
/worldcat/search/v2/brief-bibs/{oclcNumber}/other-editions
Retrieve Other Editions related to a particular Bibliographic Resource
retrieve-other-editions 33 params → 200400404405406500

Schemas 124

The contract defines 124 schemas that model the data the API accepts and returns. The most detailed are BibRecord (25 properties), RelatedItem (20 properties), Note (15 properties), HoldingPart (14 properties). Each schema is shown below with its type and property counts.

BibRecord
object
25 properties
ReproductionNotes
array
Reproduction Notes [v533]
UseAndReproductionNotes
array
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction [v540sa]
Contributor
object
3 properties
AdditionalRelationship
object
6 properties
PublicationPlace
string
Publication Place [v260sa v264sa]
ArticleWorkset
object
2 properties
GeneralFormat
string
General Format Type [Admin/OCLCDef/StdRT]
SeriesTitle
object
2 properties
DissertationNotes
array
InternationalText
object
4 properties
CatalogingLanguage
string
Language record was cataloged in [v040sb]
ReproductionNote
object
Reproduction Note [v533]
10 properties
GeneralNotes
array
General Notes [v500sa, v501sa, v590sa,s3, (v59x sa-z)]
PhysicalDescription
string
Physical Description [v300sa,b,c,d,e,f,g,3]
Database
object
2 properties
StandardIdentifier
object
2 properties
MaterialsSpecified
string
Materials specified |3
FormOfWorks
array
Form of Work [v380sa]
Publisher
object
Publisher Information [v260sa,b v264sa,b v880sa,b]
2 properties
GpoNumber
array
GPO Item number [v074sa]
PeerReviewed
string
Is this a peer reviewed work [Admin/OCLCDef/PR]
Dissertation
object
Disseration notes [v502sa,b,c,d,g,o]
6 properties
ItemLanguage
string
Language of the item [v041sa,j]
LinkPublicNote
array
A note pertaining to the electronic location of the source identified in the field |z
Work
object
3 properties
Identifier
object
9 properties
Format
object
3 properties
IsPrimaryCreator
boolean
whether or not this contributor is the primary one (the 1xx)
OclcNumber
integer
the oclc number of a given bibliographic record
CastNotes
array
Cast Notes [v511sa]
AudienceNote
string
Target Audience Note [v521sa]
IssuedWithEntry
object
8 properties
ExternalIdentifier
object
4 properties
Creator
object
[v100sa,q,b,c,d,e,4,k v110sa,q,b,c,d,e,4,k,n v111sa,q,c,d,e,j,k,n v700sa,q,b,c,d,e,4,k v710sa,q,b,c,d,e,4,k,n v720sa v711 sa,q,c,d,e,j,k,n v790sa,q,c,d,e,j,k,n…
9 properties
Issn
string
International Standard Serial Number [v022sal v700,v710,v711,v773,v776,v777,v780,v785 - sx]
Description
object
11 properties
SpecificFormat
string
Specific Format Type [Admin/OCLCDef/StdRT2]
DateObject
object
5 properties
CartographicData
array
Cartographic Mathematical Data [v255sa,b,c]
Edition
object
2 properties
Relator
object
2 properties
Classification
object
4 properties
LinkText
array
Text associated with a link |y
Language
object
2 properties
Subject
object
Subjects [v600sa,b,c,d,n,v,x,y,z,e,j,4 v610sa,b,n,v,x,y,z,e,j,4 v611sa,c,d,n,v,x,y,z,e,j,4 v630sa,d,e,f,k,l,m,n,o,d,p,r,s,v,x,y,z,e,j,4 v650sa,b,x,y,z,v,e,j,4…
5 properties
MainTitles
array
Main Titles [v245sa,b,c,f,g,k,n,p,s]
Content
object
Formatted Contents Note [v505sa,t,r,g,u]
5 properties
Note
object
15 properties
Instrumentation
object
Instrumentation [v382sa,b,d,e,n,p,r,s,t,v]
9 properties
LocalizableText
object
2 properties
Isbns
array
International Standard Book Number [v020sa]
Title
object
4 properties
LanguageNotes
array
language note [v546sa]
EventNotes
array
ProblemType
string
A URI reference [RFC3986] that identifies the problem type.
StatementOfResponsibility
MaterialTypes
array
Material Types [Admin/OCLCDef/MT[@form='gen']]
Event
object
Notes about event [v518sa,d,o,p,3]
5 properties
GovDocClassificationNumber
array
Government Doc number [v086sa]
Issns
array
International Standard Serial Numbers
EditionStatement
string
Edition Statement [v250sa]
RelatedItem
object
20 properties
SeriesName
string
[(v490,v810,v830 - sa)]
MergedOclcNumbers
array
Merged OCLC numbers [v019sa]
Genres
array
Genre of work [v655sa,b,v,x,y,z v380sa, (v600,v610,v611,v630,v648, v650,v651,v654 sv) v653sa]
EditionInfo
object
1 property
Related
object
Related [v787] Preceeding [v780] Succeeding [v785] (sa,b,c,d,g,h,i,k,m,n,o,r,s,t,u,w,x,y,z)
5 properties
CreditNotes
string
Production Credits Notes [v508sa]
AdditionalTitles
array
Added Entry Uniform Titles [v730sa,d,f,g,k,l,m,n,o,p,r,s,i,t,x]
PerformerNotes
array
Performers Notes [v511sa]
DigitalAccessAndLocation
object
9 properties 1 required
EditionIdentifier
string
An id associated with a particular edition cluster [Admin/Edition/ID]
MusicInfo
object
5 properties
MediumOfPerformance
array
LinkRelationship
string
Relationship to the item described in the record as a whole [v856 second indicator]
PublisherName
Publisher Name [v260sb v264sb v880b]
Problem
object
RFC 7807 description of an error.
5 properties
TotalEditions
integer
Total number of editions in the workgroup
SimpleSource
object
9 properties
Source
object
5 properties
HoldingDetail
object
13 properties 7 required
SubFacetValue
object
2 properties
RegistryId
integer
The identifier in the WorldCat Registry for the institution
HoldingLocation
object
Local holding location [LHR - v852sa,b,c]
3 properties
Unit
string
The unit of measure is either (M) for miles or (K) for kilometers
SharedPrintCommitment
object
11 properties
ItemType
string
Filter values for General Format
HoldingBrief
object
14 properties
BibResultSet
object
3 properties
InstitutionHolding
object
3 properties
Address
object
8 properties
SubFacet
object
3 properties
TextualHoldingsStatement
string
[866-8 |a]
CreatorString
string
List of creators as single string
SummaryOfHoldings
string
Summary of Holdings [https://www.loc.gov/marc/holdings/echdcntf.html]
CallNumber
object
Local call number [LHR - v852sh,i,j,k,l,m]
9 properties
HoldingRange
object
2 properties
FacetValue
object
4 properties
PieceDesignation
string
Piece Designation [852/863-865/866-868/876-878 |p]
SimpleTitle
string
Linked [v880sa,b] if present or [v245sa,b]
HoldingPart
object
14 properties
CatalogingInfo
object
4 properties
HasSharedPrintCommitment
string
institution has shared print commitment [Holdings/LibHasSharedPrint || LHR - HldDetRec/Admin/SPReg]
BibRecordBrief
object
14 properties 7 required
ShelvingLocation
string
Shelving location [LHR - v852sc]
Date
string
machine readable date 008
MaterialSpecified
string
[876-8 |3]
Country
string
Two-character Country Code, per ISO 3166.
detailedHoldings
array
CaptionValuePair
object
The caption and value pair for a caption describing a numeric, alphabetic, and/or date designation for an item. The caption is defined as an attribute on the e…
2 properties
InstitutionType
string
The type of institution
Latitude
number
Latitude
TemporaryLocation
string
Temporary location [876-878 |l]
OCLCSymbol
string
institution OCLC Symbol. Special characters need to be encoded properly.
DisplayCallNumber
string
Display call Number [LHR - v852 |k,h,i,m / |j/ |l]
Longitude
number
Longitude
SublocationCollection
string
Sublocation or collection [LHR - v852sb]
BibBriefResultSet
object
3 properties
ItemSubType
string
Facet values returned and possible filter Values itemSubType [Admin/OCLCDef/StdRT1 + Admin/OCLCDef/StdRT2]
briefHoldings
array
State
string
Name of the State/Province, per ISO 3166-2.
SearchFacet
object
3 properties
PostalCode
string
Postal Code

Specification

The full machine-readable OpenAPI contract behind this narrative.

Source

worldcat-bibliographic-resources-api-openapi.yml Raw ↑

Other APIs WorldCat publishes across the network.

WorldCat Knowledge Base API
WorldCat Local Bib Resources API
WorldCat Local Holdings Resources API
WorldCat Manage Bibliographic Records API
WorldCat Manage Institution API
WorldCat Manage Local Bibliographic Data API
WorldCat Manage Local Holdings Records API
WorldCat Member Enabled Collections API
WorldCat Member Enabled Providers API
WorldCat Member Enabled Title by OpenURL API
WorldCat Member Enabled Titles API
WorldCat Member Enabled Titles by OpenURL API
Where this information came from

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