WorldCat Discovery: Frequently Asked Questions

Search for books, articles, journals, music, movies and more at the Mount Allison Libraries and at Libraries around the world.

WorldCat Discovery FAQs

1. What is WorldCat Discovery?
2. What am I searching when I search Worldcat Discovery Service?
3. What is not included in Worldcat Discovery Service?
4. Can I use Worldcat Discovery Service to search for material on Course Reserve?
5. Can I use Worldcat Discovery Service to search by title or by author?
6. Is Worldcat Discovery Service the new Library Catalogue? 
7. Can I access Worldcat Discovery Service from off campus?
8. What if I have trouble linking to a particular article?

1. What is WorldCat Discovery?

Worldcat Discovery Services (WorldCat Discovery for short) is a discovery tool that allows you to search for books, journals, magazines, newspapers, videos and DVDs, sound 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 Discovery?

When searching Worldcat Discovery, you are searching the contents of the Mount Allison Library Catalogue (with some exceptions, see #3 below) plus a number of library databases (but not all databases, see #3 below).

To view a list of all of the databases that may be searched using WorldCat go to the Advanced Search page.  You may choose which databases to include in your search by selecting individual databases, groups of databases, or all databases.  Click on the group name to see (and select) the databases in that group or click on Select All in Group.  Be sure to click on Save Changes once you’ve made your selection. 

To access a particular databases, or to consult the complete list of all library databases, please see the A-Z List of Library Databases on the Library website. 

WorldCat Discovery searches may be limited to the collections and databases of the Mount Allison University Libraries or broadened to include Libraries 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.

3. What is not included in Worldcat Discovery Service?

Items that are on order (but not yet received) will not appear in Worldcat Discovery.  On-order items do appear in the Library Catalogue. Some older library items may not have Mount Allison holdings listed in WorldCat Discovery. The Library Catalogue will be a more complete source for finding materials that we own.

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

4. Can I use Worldcat Discovery 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 Discovery. 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 click on "Course Reserves" in the Library Catalogue.

5. Can I use Worldcat Discovery 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 Discovery does not allow you to do an "Exact" or "Starts With" search (also known as “browse” searches).

For example, a Title search for “Silent Spring” in Worldcat 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 Discovery the new Library Catalogue?

No. Worldcat Discovery Service is a discovery tool offering different 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 Discovery Service from off-campus?

Yes. You can search Worldcat Discovery Service 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.

8. What if I have trouble linking to a particular journal article?

Clicking on View Full Text will often lead you directly to a full text article, but sometimes this won’t work as it should. Try searching for either the specific article or the journal in Journal Finder (https://mta.on.worldcat.org/atoztitles/search#article). If this doesn’t help, be sure to Ask a Librarian for assistance!