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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://metadata.api.oclc.org
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
getWorldcatSearchV2BibsByOclcNumber 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), BibRecordBrief (14 properties). Each schema is shown below with its type and property counts.

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

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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