# /research/projects/worldmap/default.htm

originally: http://www.oclc.org/research/projects/worldmap/default.htm

# WorldMap The OCLC WorldMap is a prototype system that provides an interactive visual tool for selecting and displaying international library holdings represented in WorldCat, and publishing, library, cultural heritage, and collection data. ## Why we developed this prototype People can be inundated by an overwhelming amount of information. One method for organizing and retrieving geographically-based information is to use maps for data visualization. Data such as those presented in this prototype can be used to provide information for decision making in regards to remote storage, collection management, marketing, and cooperative collection development, preservation, and digitization. ## Overview The OCLC WorldMap allows users to select countries of interest, then to compare various library and cultural heritage data by country. WorldMap will generate interactive graphs that compare several different kinds of data for up to four countries at a time. The data includes the number of: Holdings in WorldCat for titles published in each country, Languages represented in WorldCat for titles published in each country, Titles in WorldCat published in each country; or Libraries in each country (broken down by type of library), Library volumes in each country (broken down by type of library), Certified/degreed librarians in each country (broken down by type of library), Registered library users in each country (broken down by type of library), Library expenditures (in US $), for each country (broken down type of library), Cultural heritage institutions (museums and archives) in each country, and Publishers in each country. Results are displayed on a new screen. In addition, the tabs for each country on the new screen allow viewing of the complete dataset for each country, and the sources for the data (N/A indicates no data are available). A key to the display (.pdf: 607K/6 pp.) is available. The data for the map were generated from WorldCat and more than forty other sources. The non-WorldCat data in the prototype, however, may not be complete. OCLC is not responsible for incomplete or inaccurate data. If you know of other data sources that can be used to update our data, please let us know. ## Requirements The OCLC WorldMap was designed to run on a screen with 1024x768 or higher resolution. It requires the use of Adobe Flash Player 9 (download it here). ## Let us know what you're thinking! Because this is a research prototype, we are interested in your feedback. Click on the green "Send us your ideas" button to contact us. ## Additional resources Lynn Silipigni Connaway and Larry Olszewski. 2008. "OCLC WorldMap: Visualizing Information About Collections and Libraries Worldwide." OCLC Inclusion Council Presentation, 31 January, Dublin, Ohio (USA). Available online at: http://www.oclc.org/research/presentations/connaway/worldmapfinal2008-01-31.ppt (.ppt: 9.29MB/35 slides) Lynn Silipigni Connaway and Larry Olszewski. 2006. "A Geographical Representation of WorldCat Resources: A Decision-Making Tool for Acquisitions and Collection Management." Presented at the XXVI Annual Charleston Conference, 10 November, Charleston, South Carolina (USA). Available online at: http://www.oclc.org/research/presentations/connaway/20061110-charleston-worldmap.pdf (.pdf: 1.1MB/26 pp.) Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Clifton Snyder, and Larry Olszewski. 2005. "Geographical Representation of Library Collections in WorldCat: A Prototype." Presented at the poster session at the 2005 ASIS&T Conference, 1 November, Charlotte, North Carolina (USA). Pre-print available online at: http://www.oclc.org/research/publications/archive/2005/connawayetal-asist05.pdf. (.pdf:226K/10 pp.) Lawrence Olszewski, Lynn Silipigni Connaway, and Clifton Snyder. 2005. "What in the World: Leveraging Corporate Assests for Internal and External Use." SLA Toronto 2005: Putting Knowledge to Work. Proceedings of the Special Libraries Association 2005 Annual Conference, 5-8 June, Toronto, Ontario (Canada). Available online at: https://www.sla.org/Documents/conf/toronto/Olszewski.doc (.doc:617K/12 pp.) ## Research team Lynn Silipigni Connaway (Lead) Larry Olszewski Jeremy Browning JD Shipengrover Timothy J. Dickey |
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Additional information Key to OCLC WorldMap display (.pdf: 607K/6 pp.) OCLC Collection Analysis Service