1. What is WorldCat Local?
2. What am I searching when I search WorldCat Local?
3. What is not included in WorldCat Local?
4. Can I use WorldCat Local to search for material on Course Reserve?
5. Can I use WorldCat Local to search by title or by author?
6. Is WorldCat Local the new Library Catalogue?
7. Can I access WorldCat Local from off campus?

1. What is WorldCat Local?

WorldCat Local is a discovery tool that allows you to search for books, journals, magazines, newspapers, videos and DVDs, musical recordings and government publications available at the Mount Allison Libraries and at Libraries around the world.

It also allows you to search for articles in some, but not all, Mount Allison Library Databases and Indexes.

2. What am I searching when I search WorldCat Local?

When searching WorldCat Local, you are searching the contents of the Mount Allison Library Catalogue plus a number of article indexes and databases. WorldCat Local does not provide access to all ebooks or to all of the online content (such as online government publications) accessible through the library catalogue.

You also have the option of searching “Library Worldwide.” Choosing the “Libraries Worldwide” option permits you to search the holdings of many college and university libraries across North America and beyond. Items not available at the Mount Allison Libraries may be requested by interlibrary loan.

Fulltext articles are available for some, but not all, of our licensed databases in WorldCat Local. The following is a list of the licensed databases for which fulltext articles are retrieved via WorldCat Local:

• EBSCO America: History & Life
• EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
• EBSCO Business Source Elite
• EBSCO Historical Abstracts
• EBSCO PsycINFO
• EBSCO RILM Abstracts of Music Literature
• MLA International Bibliography
• New PlatformProQuest ABI/INFORM Global –
• New PlatformProQuest Canadian Business & Current Affairs Complete –
• New PlatformProQuest Canadian Newsstand Core –
• New PlatformProQuest Current Databases –
• LegacyWilson Art Index

3. What is not included in WorldCat Local?

Items that are on order (but not yet received) will not appear in WorldCat Local. Also, WorldCat Local does not provide access to all ebooks or to all of the online content (such as online government publications) accessible through the library catalogue.

WorldCat Local allows you to search for articles in many, but not all, of the libraries' indexes and databases. In other words, WorldCat Local can help you find some, but not all, of the articles available to you in Library databases.

The list of databases that may be searched using WorldCat Local can be accessed by clicking on Add/Remove Databases (on the Advanced Search page).

A complete list of all of the databases made available by the Mount Allison Libraries may be found on the Find Articles page.

4. Can I use WorldCat Local to search for material on Course Reserve?

Library materials (a library book, for instance) that have been placed on course reserve may be found using WorldCat Local. Course reserve items that do not belong to the Library (such as a personal copy of a book or article provided by a faculty member) may not be found using WorldCat. WorldCat cannot be searched by course name or number, or by instructor name.

To view a complete list of all items on reserve for a course, please use the Course Reserve module in the Library Catalogue.

5. Can I use WorldCat Local to search by title or by author?

WorldCat offers various types of keyword searches. The Advanced Search page allows you to limit search terms to specific fields, such as title or author.

For example, you can use the Advanced Search page to specify that one search term (Hamlet) be found in the title of items you find, and another search term (Shakespeare) be found in the author name of items you find.

WorldCat Local does not allow you to do an "Exact" or "Starts With" search (also known as “browse” searches).

For example, a Title search in Worldcat for “Silent Spring” will find the book with this title by Rachel Carson as well as books about Carson’s book and other items that also happen to have “Silent Spring” in the title.

To do an Exact or Starts With search that finds only those items that exactly match your search terms, please use the Library Catalogue.

6. Is WorldCat Local the new Library Catalogue?

No. WorldCat Local is a new discovery tool offering new search functionality and the convenience of searching for books and articles (as well as other formats and materials) at Mount Allison and beyond at the same time, but it does not replace the Library Catalogue.

7. Can I access WorldCat Local from off-campus?

Yes. You can search WorldCat Local from off campus. You will be prompted to log in with your Mount Allison user name and password only when accessing digital items in licensed library databases.