Tips & Tools: WorldCat

Link: http://www.worldcat.org/
Notes: Free

Back in the day, when you wanted to find out whether your local library had a particular book, you were sent to the card catalog. WorldCat works on this same idea, only on a grander scope. It is a website that is designed as a search engine for all of the world's libraries. Simply type the name of a book or other material int o worldcat's search box, provide your zipcode and it will tell you what libraries near you have this resource. This is a great way to find out where to borrow materials and it can also lead you to free information online.

WorldCat is a great resource for locating any book, magazine or journal you might want to borrow for your family history research. After checking WorldCat, I was pleased to find that the Atlanta Public Library had a copy of Loretto Szucs' (1996) Chicago and Cook County : a guide to research. Maybe even more convenient, though, is that world cat can also point you to books that are available online. Many libraries have begun to scan in old books. The copyright has expired on many old books that family historians may be interested in, and so many of these can be found online.

For example, the National Archives has an article from 1995 posted about sources to check for people who served in the civil war navy. They refer to two indexes of people who served: Lewis R. Hamersly, General Register of the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 1792-1892 (1900); and Edward W. Callaban, List of Officers of the Navy of the United States and of the Marine Corps from 1775 to 1900 (1901, reprinted 1969). The full text of versions of both of these sources can be found free online through worldcat.

http://www.worldcat.org/title/general-register-of-the-united-states-navy-and-marine-corps-arranged-in-alphabetical-order-for-one-hundred-years-1782-to-1882-including-volunteer-officers-with-a-sketch-of-the-navy-from-1775-to-1798/oclc/468858494

and

http://www.worldcat.org/title/list-of-officers-of-the-navy-of-the-united-states-and-of-the-marine-corps-from-1775-to-1900-comprising-a-complete-register-of-all-present-and-former-commissioned-warranted-and-appointed-officers-of-the-united-states-navy-and-of-the-marine-corps-regular-and-volunteer/oclc/262831170