Using OpenRefine and the WorldCat Metadata API to get current OCLC numbers
By Karen Coombs
One issue that a lot of catalogers and metadata librarians struggle with is getting the current OCLC number for a given record into their local system. This is because records and OCLC numbers are merged over time. When a library pulls a record, they get the record and OCLC number at that moment in time. However, most libraries want to keep their OCLC numbers current. So, what’s the best way to do this?
One could write some Python, Ruby, Perl, or whatever programming language to look for merged OCLC numbers, but that requires coding skills. Non-coders can use OpenRefine in combination with the WorldCat Metadata API to accomplish this task.