WorldCat Manage Bibliographic Records API is one of 20 APIs that WorldCat publishes on the APIs.io network, described by a machine-readable OpenAPI specification.
Tagged areas include Manage Bibliographic Records. The published artifact set on APIs.io includes an OpenAPI specification and API documentation.
This API exposes
6 operations
across 5 paths,
and defines 49 schemas.
It is described by OpenAPI 3.2.0, at version 2.0.0.
Requests are made against a single base URL, https://metadata.api.oclc.org.
6 operations5 paths49 schemas2 GET3 POST1 PUT
Metadata
The identity and technical contract details declared by the specification.
WorldCat Manage Bibliographic Records API declares
1 security scheme
for authenticating requests.
It supports OAuth 2.0 (worldcat_metadata_auth) using the clientCredentials and authorizationCode flows, exposing 15 scopes.
By default, every request must be authenticated.
Paths & Operations 6
Across 5 paths, the API surfaces 6 operations — 2 GET, 3 POST, 1 PUT. Each is listed below with its method, path, parameters, and response codes.
The contract defines 49 schemas that model the data the API accepts and returns. The most detailed are HoldingBrief (14 properties), BibRecordBrief (14 properties), HoldingPart (14 properties), HoldingDetail (13 properties). Each schema is shown below with its type and property counts.
MergedOclcNumbers
array
Merged OCLC numbers [v019sa]
Address
object
8 properties
DisplayCallNumber
string
Display call Number [LHR - v852 |k,h,i,m / |j/ |l]
Longitude
number
Longitude
schemas-OclcNumber
integer
the oclc number of a given bibliographic record
ItemLanguage
string
Language of the item [v041sa,j]
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]
The identifier in the WorldCat Registry for the institution
CatalogingInfo
object
4 properties
Isbns
array
International Standard Book Number [v020sa]
MARCXML
object
see https://www.loc.gov/standards/marcxml/schema/MARC21slim.xsd
HoldingLocation
object
Local holding location [LHR - v852sa,b,c]
3 properties
Issn
string
International Standard Serial Number [v022sal v700,v710,v711,v773,v776,v777,v780,v785 - sx]
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
SharedPrintCommitment
object
11 properties
InstitutionType
string
The type of institution
ProblemType
string
A URI reference [RFC3986] that identifies the problem type.
HoldingBrief
object
14 properties
Latitude
number
Latitude
PostalCode
string
Postal Code
TemporaryLocation
string
Temporary location [876-878 |l]
HasSharedPrintCommitment
string
institution has shared print commitment [Holdings/LibHasSharedPrint || LHR - HldDetRec/Admin/SPReg]
BibRecordBrief
object
14 properties7 required
ShelvingLocation
string
Shelving location [LHR - v852sc]
Date
string
machine readable date 008
InstitutionHolding
object
3 properties
Problem
object
RFC 7807 description of an error.
5 properties
Issns
array
International Standard Serial Numbers
TotalEditions
integer
Total number of editions in the workgroup
SpecificFormat
string
Specific Format Type [Admin/OCLCDef/StdRT2]
EditionStatement
string
Edition Statement [v250sa]
MaterialSpecified
string
[876-8 |3]
Specification
The full machine-readable OpenAPI contract behind this narrative.
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