WorldCat

OCLC WorldCat REST API for searching 500 million+ library holdings worldwide, accessing bibliographic records, finding library locations, and retrieving rich metadata for books, videos, music, and other media. Provides access to the WorldCat Search API, WorldCat Metadata API, WorldCat Knowledge Base API, and WorldCat Entities data API for libraries and developers building discovery and cataloging applications.

WorldCat publishes 20 API contracts indexed on the APIs.io network, including Bibliographic Resources API, Local Bib Resources API, Local Holdings Resources API, and 17 more. Tagged areas include Library, Bibliographic Records, WorldCat, OCLC, and Cataloging.

The WorldCat catalog on APIs.io includes 1 JSON-LD context and 1 Spectral governance ruleset.

WorldCat’s developer surface includes authentication, documentation, engineering blog, pricing, and 12 more developer resources.

🌐 Visit website 📡 Profile data on GitHub

33.2/100 thin ▬ flat Agent 35/100 agent ready Front door AI 1/6 silent Heartbeat 29/100 slowing saas Full breakdown ↓
scored 2026-11-06 · rubric v0.27.0 · Show this score on your site →

AccessPaid

4 published contracts

Library Bibliographic Records WorldCat OCLCCatalogingMetadata Discovery Books Media Linked Data

What this lets a business do 1

Business capabilities this provider's published APIs can perform, derived from its own contracts. Browse all capabilities →

Educational Content & Learning Resource Management

BC-4790

Bibliographic ResourcesLocal Bib ResourcesLocal Holdings ResourcesManage Bibliographic RecordsManage Local Bibliographic DataManage Local Holdings Records

POST /worldcat/manage/lhrs GET /worldcat/search/v2/bibs-holdings GET /worldcat/search/brief-bibs GET /worldcat/search/classification-bibs/{oclcNumber}

Kin Score

Kin Score How this is scored →
scored 2026-11-06 · rubric v0.27.0

Composite quality — 33.2/100 · thin

Contract Quality 10.7 / 19

Developer Ergonomics 3.6 / 15

Access Clarity 1.2 / 15

Operational Transparency 2.8 / 10

Contract Governance 0.9 / 9

Discoverability 5.4 / 8

Regulatory Posture 4.0 / 15

Create-or-Update Ergonomics 0.0 / 10

Agent readiness — 35/100 · agent ready

Machine-Readable Contract 18 / 18

Agentic Access Contract 10 / 10

Documented Reversibility 0 / 6

MCP Server 0 / 12

Machine-Readable Auth 10 / 10

Idempotency 0 / 9

Stable Error Semantics 8 / 8

Request/Response Examples 7 / 7

Rate-Limit Signaling 7 / 7

Typed Event Surface 0 / 6

Agent Skills 0 / 5

Well-Known Catalog 0 / 4

Consent & Bot Identity 0 / 3

A2A Agent Card 0 / 8

Dry-Run / Simulate Mode 0 / 4

Delegated User Identity 6 / 6

Protected Resource Metadata 0 / 5

Registration Without a Human 0 / 6

Agentic Commerce Well-Known Document 0 / 5

Pagination 5 / 5

Distinct Operations 3 / 3

MCP Tool Quality 6 / 6

Regulatory Posture applies to this provider. Its tags matched the Education & Research regime, so Regulatory Posture carries 15 points of the composite. If this regime is wrong for your business, say so on your provider repo — the applicability map is public and we will correct it.

Create-or-Update Ergonomics applies to this provider. This API accepts writes, so it carries 10 points of the composite. It is scored from the published contracts themselves: whether a caller can create-or-update in one call, whether the write accepts a key the caller already holds, and whether the response says which branch ran. Without that, every write needs a search-and-branch in front of it, and the first time that check is skipped a duplicate record is created. Scored against the observed mean rather than raw — a provider at the catalog average is unchanged by this facet, not penalised by it.

The six quality facets above are damped to 75 points between them, because the conditional facet above carries the other 25. That is why each facet's contribution is shown against a damped maximum: raising a quality facet moves the composite by 75% of its nominal weight, not 100%. The full arithmetic is at apis.io/rating/.

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Agent readiness — checks not met, largest first (exact, from this profile):

MCP Server +12 pts — deployment.mode + probe verdict on the mcp/ manifest, not the pointer; an unprobed slug falls back to authorship
Idempotency +9 pts — OpenAPI mutating operations declare an idempotency key — a header, a request-body property, or a named de-duplication token whose own description says so (verified); else common[].type matches /idempoten/i (documented)
A2A Agent Card +8 pts — a2a/-a2a.yml manifest, graded on conformance.grade against A2A 1.0.0
Registration Without a Human +6 pts — a `registration_endpoint` in the served RFC 8414 / OIDC discovery document
Typed Event Surface +6 pts — AsyncAPI document, OR webhooks/callbacks objects in the as-published OpenAPI, OR common[].type includes Webhooks
Documented Reversibility +6 pts — a reversal operation in the contract, graded up when a window is documented too

6 more unmet checks in the Agent Readiness table above.

Kin Score — facets with the most composite points still available (weight × headroom):

Access Clarity scores 7.9 — up to +18.4 composite points
Developer Ergonomics scores 23.8 — up to +15.2 composite points
Contract Governance scores 9.8 — up to +10.8 composite points

Each check links to what satisfies it. Publish the artifact, or tell us where it already lives, and the score moves on the next scoring run.

Improve this rating by publishing the missing artifacts — every area above can be raised, and the full rubric is at apis.io/rating/. Every facet and dimension name above is a link: it opens that measurement's own page — what it means, the exact checks that feed it, how the whole catalog distributes on it, and the providers at the top of it. This rating is computed from the provider profile at artifacts.apis.io/worldcat/apis.yml: open an issue on github.com/api-evangelist/worldcat to ask a question or point us at an artifact you publish. Submit an artifact on GitHub — free → Manage your own listing — the Influence plan, $499/mo →

Markets this provider is in provisional

The Kin Score Market layer reads a provider inside its market: its position, and how deep its integrations go. Depth is only comparable within a position. Provisional and unweighted: not part of the Kin Score or agent readiness.

Market	Position	Depth	Registered MCP server	Declares compatibility
Book Publishing (ONIX / ISBN / EPUB supply chain)	undeclared	-	-	-

Registered MCP server and declares compatibility are report only — not weighted. Undeclared means we found nothing we can read, so there is no number: we never infer integrations.

Standards implemented 2

Standards this provider implements or carries. De facto ones are profiled and measured by the API Commons; formal ones come from the standards directory and are linked by the provider's own tags. The evidence column says how each claim was established — not that it was made.

OpenAPI

measured — observed by APIs.io (published)

OAuth 2.0

measured — observed by APIs.io (declared)

APIs 20

Individual APIs this provider publishes, each with its own machine-readable definition.

WorldCat Knowledge Base API

Provides developer-level access to a library's information in the WorldCat Knowledge Base, combining data about a library's e-content with access through linking features. Suppo...

WorldCat Bibliographic Resources API

The Bibliographic Resources API from WorldCat — 6 operation(s) for bibliographic resources.

WorldCat Local Bib Resources API

The Local Bib Resources API from WorldCat — 2 operation(s) for local bib resources.

WorldCat Local Holdings Resources API

The Local Holdings Resources API from WorldCat — 3 operation(s) for local holdings resources.

WorldCat Manage Bibliographic Records API

The Manage Bibliographic Records API from WorldCat — 5 operation(s) for manage bibliographic records.

WorldCat Manage Institution API

The Manage Institution API from WorldCat — 9 operation(s) for manage institution.

WorldCat Manage Local Bibliographic Data API

The Manage Local Bibliographic Data API from WorldCat — 2 operation(s) for manage local bibliographic data.

WorldCat Manage Local Holdings Records API

The Manage Local Holdings Records API from WorldCat — 2 operation(s) for manage local holdings records.

WorldCat Member Enabled Collections API

The Member Enabled Collections API from WorldCat — 2 operation(s) for member enabled collections.

WorldCat Member Enabled Providers API

The Member Enabled Providers API from WorldCat — 2 operation(s) for member enabled providers.

WorldCat Member Enabled Title by OpenURL API

The Member Enabled Title by OpenURL API from WorldCat — 1 operation(s) for member enabled title by openurl.

WorldCat Member Enabled Titles API

The Member Enabled Titles API from WorldCat — 2 operation(s) for member enabled titles.

WorldCat Member Enabled Titles by OpenURL API

The Member Enabled Titles by OpenURL API from WorldCat — 1 operation(s) for member enabled titles by openurl.

WorldCat Member General Holdings API

The Member General Holdings API from WorldCat — 3 operation(s) for member general holdings.

WorldCat Member Shared Print Holdings API

The Member Shared Print Holdings API from WorldCat — 1 operation(s) for member shared print holdings.

WorldCat Retrieve entity API

The Retrieve entity API from WorldCat — 1 operation(s) for retrieve entity.

WorldCat Search Bibliographic Resources API

The Search Bibliographic Resources API from WorldCat — 4 operation(s) for search bibliographic resources.

WorldCat Search Local Holdings Resources API

The Search Local Holdings Resources API from WorldCat — 4 operation(s) for search local holdings resources.

WorldCat Search Member General Holdings API

The Search Member General Holdings API from WorldCat — 2 operation(s) for search member general holdings.

WorldCat Search Member Shared Print Holdings API

The Search Member Shared Print Holdings API from WorldCat — 1 operation(s) for search member shared print holdings.

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Open Collections 19

Open, tool-agnostic API collections (OpenAPI-derived and Bruno).

WorldCat Entity Data Bibliographic Resources API

OPEN COLLECTION

WorldCat Entity Data Bibliographic Resources Local Bib Resources API

OPEN COLLECTION

WorldCat Entity Data Bibliographic Resources Local Holdings Resources API

OPEN COLLECTION

WorldCat Entity Data Bibliographic Resources Manage Bibliographic Records API

OPEN COLLECTION

WorldCat Entity Data Bibliographic Resources Manage Institution API

OPEN COLLECTION

WorldCat Entity Data Bibliographic Resources Manage Local Bibliographic Data API

OPEN COLLECTION

WorldCat Entity Data Bibliographic Resources Manage Local Holdings Records API

OPEN COLLECTION

WorldCat Entity Data Bibliographic Resources Member Enabled Collections API

OPEN COLLECTION

WorldCat Entity Data Bibliographic Resources Member Enabled Providers API

OPEN COLLECTION

WorldCat Entity Data Bibliographic Resources Member Enabled Title by OpenURL API

OPEN COLLECTION

WorldCat Entity Data Bibliographic Resources Member Enabled Titles API

OPEN COLLECTION

WorldCat Entity Data Bibliographic Resources Member Enabled Titles by OpenURL API

OPEN COLLECTION

WorldCat Entity Data Bibliographic Resources Member General Holdings API

OPEN COLLECTION

WorldCat Entity Data Bibliographic Resources Member Shared Print Holdings API

OPEN COLLECTION

WorldCat Entity Data Bibliographic Resources Retrieve entity API

OPEN COLLECTION

WorldCat Entity Data Bibliographic Resources Search Bibliographic Resources API

OPEN COLLECTION

WorldCat Entity Data Bibliographic Resources Search Local Holdings Resources API

OPEN COLLECTION

WorldCat Entity Data Bibliographic Resources Search Member General Holdings API

OPEN COLLECTION

WorldCat Entity Data Bibliographic Resources Search Member Shared Print Holdings API

OPEN COLLECTION

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WorldCat API pricing

Not yet checked against WorldCat's own pricing page. Compiled by API Evangelist on 2026-06-13; confirm before you rely on a figure.

Plan	Price
WorldCat Cataloging and Metadata Subscription Subscription	—
WorldCat Knowledge Base Subscription Subscription	—
WorldCat Meridian Subscription (Entities) Subscription	—
Commercial Partnership Commercial	—

Plan details, limits and sources →

Rate limits

: rolling 24 hour
: per day
: per day

Compiled by API Evangelist, not yet checked against WorldCat's documentation. All 4 limits →

Pricing Plans 1

Published pricing tiers and plan structures.

Worldcat Plans Pricing

4 plans

PLANS

Rate Limits 1

Documented rate limits and quota policies.

Worldcat Rate Limits

4 limits

RATE LIMITS

Service Levels 1

Uptime the provider promises or reports, as SLA4OAI. Read from its own pages; APIs.io runs no monitors.

WorldCat

SLA

FinOps 1

Cost, billing, and metering signals for API financial operations.

Worldcat Finops

FINOPS

Semantic Vocabularies 1

JSON-LD contexts and semantic vocabularies used across these APIs.

Worldcat Context

0 classes · 13 properties

JSON-LD

Spectral Rules 1

Spectral governance rulesets for linting and validating these APIs.

WorldCat — jsonschema rules

5 rules · 3 warnings 2 info

SPECTRAL

JSON Schema 4

Standalone JSON Schema definitions for this provider's data models.

BibRecordBrief

14 properties

JSON SCHEMA

BibRecord

25 properties

JSON SCHEMA

Edition

2 properties

JSON SCHEMA

InstitutionHolding

3 properties

JSON SCHEMA

Security Posture 2

Authentication, domain security, vulnerability disclosure, and trust-center signals.

Worldcat Authentication

apiKey/oauth2 · 2 schemes

SECURITY

Worldcat Domain Security

TLSv1.3 · HSTS · DNSSEC · DMARC

SECURITY

Scopes 1

OAuth scopes governing access to this provider's APIs.

Worldcat Scopes

26 scopes · clientCredentials/authorizationCode

26 scopes

SCOPES

Agentic Access 1

Recommended x-agentic-access execution contracts for AI agents.

Worldcat Agentic Access

58 operations · 15 acting · 4 human-in-the-loop

58 operations · 15 acting

AGENTIC

Resources

Documentation 1

Reference material describing how the API behaves

Documentation

Documentation

Agent Surfaces 1

MCP servers, agent skills, and machine-readable catalogs

AgenticAccess

AgenticAccess

Build 1

SDKs, sample code, and the tooling you integrate with

GitHubOrg

GitHubOrg

Access & Security 3

Authentication, authorization, and security posture

DomainSecurity

DomainSecurity

Authentication

Authentication

OAuthScopes

OAuthScopes

Operate 2

Status, limits, changes, and where to get help

StatusPage

StatusPage

RateLimits

RateLimits

Commercial 3

Pricing, plans, and the legal terms of use

Pricing

Pricing

Plans

Plans

FinOps

FinOps

Company 3

The organization behind the API

Website

Website

LinkedIn

Blog

Blog

Other 2

Properties that don't map to a standard resource type

CapabilityMap

CapabilityMap

Source (apis.yml)

aid: worldcat
name: WorldCat
description: OCLC WorldCat REST API for searching 500 million+ library holdings worldwide, accessing bibliographic records,
  finding library locations, and retrieving rich metadata for books, videos, music, and other media. Provides access to the
  WorldCat Search API, WorldCat Metadata API, WorldCat Knowledge Base API, and WorldCat Entities data API for libraries and
  developers building discovery and cataloging applications.
deliveryModel:
  model: saas
  open_source: false
  commercial: true
  callable_host: true
  label: Hosted service · you call their endpoint
  confidence: high
  source:
  - openapi
  - pricing
  generated: '2026-08-28'
  method: derived
accessModel:
  pricing: paid
  onboarding: unknown
  trial: false
  try_now: false
  public: false
  label: Paid
  confidence: medium
  source:
  - plans
  - authentication
  - security
  generated: '2026-11-06'
  method: derived
image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/icons/worldcat.png
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/worldcat/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
created: '2026-06-13'
modified: '2026-06-13'
specificationVersion: '0.23'
tags:
- Library
- Bibliographic Records
- WorldCat
- OCLC
- Cataloging
- Metadata
- Discovery
- Books
- Media
- Linked Data
tags_raw:
- Libraries
- Bibliographic Records
- WorldCat
- OCLC
- Cataloging
- Metadata
- Discovery
- Books
- Media
- Linked Data
apis:
- aid: worldcat:worldcat-knowledge-base-api
  name: WorldCat Knowledge Base API
  description: Provides developer-level access to a library's information in the WorldCat Knowledge Base, combining data about
    a library's e-content with access through linking features. Supports OpenURL requests for matching citations and retrieving
    access links, and REST requests for browsing and searching library subscription resources.
  image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
  humanURL: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-knowledge-base-api.en.html
  baseURL: https://worldcat.org/webservices/kb
  tags:
  - Knowledge Base
  - E-Resources
  - OpenURL
  - Library
  - Subscription
  tags_raw:
  - Knowledge Base
  - E-resources
  - OpenURL
  - Libraries
  - Subscriptions
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-knowledge-base-api.en.html
  contact:
  - FN: OCLC Developer Network
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api.en.html
    email: devnet@oclc.org
- aid: worldcat:worldcat-bibliographic-resources-api
  name: WorldCat Bibliographic Resources API
  description: The Bibliographic Resources API from WorldCat — 6 operation(s) for bibliographic resources.
  humanURL: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  baseURL: https://metadata.api.oclc.org
  tags:
  - Bibliographic Resources
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/worldcat-bibliographic-resources-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-metadata-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-entities-data.en.html
- aid: worldcat:worldcat-local-bib-resources-api
  name: WorldCat Local Bib Resources API
  description: The Local Bib Resources API from WorldCat — 2 operation(s) for local bib resources.
  humanURL: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  baseURL: https://metadata.api.oclc.org
  tags:
  - Local Bib Resources
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/worldcat-local-bib-resources-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-metadata-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-entities-data.en.html
- aid: worldcat:worldcat-local-holdings-resources-api
  name: WorldCat Local Holdings Resources API
  description: The Local Holdings Resources API from WorldCat — 3 operation(s) for local holdings resources.
  humanURL: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  baseURL: https://americas.discovery.api.oclc.org/worldcat/search/v2
  tags:
  - Local Holdings Resources
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/worldcat-local-holdings-resources-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-metadata-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-entities-data.en.html
- aid: worldcat:worldcat-manage-bibliographic-records-api
  name: WorldCat Manage Bibliographic Records API
  description: The Manage Bibliographic Records API from WorldCat — 5 operation(s) for manage bibliographic records.
  humanURL: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  baseURL: https://metadata.api.oclc.org
  tags:
  - Manage Bibliographic Records
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/worldcat-manage-bibliographic-records-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-metadata-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-entities-data.en.html
- aid: worldcat:worldcat-manage-institution-api
  name: WorldCat Manage Institution API
  description: The Manage Institution API from WorldCat — 9 operation(s) for manage institution.
  humanURL: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  baseURL: https://metadata.api.oclc.org
  tags:
  - Manage Institution
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/worldcat-manage-institution-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-metadata-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-entities-data.en.html
- aid: worldcat:worldcat-manage-local-bibliographic-data-api
  name: WorldCat Manage Local Bibliographic Data API
  description: The Manage Local Bibliographic Data API from WorldCat — 2 operation(s) for manage local bibliographic data.
  humanURL: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  baseURL: https://metadata.api.oclc.org
  tags:
  - Manage Local Bibliographic Data
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/worldcat-manage-local-bibliographic-data-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-metadata-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-entities-data.en.html
- aid: worldcat:worldcat-manage-local-holdings-records-api
  name: WorldCat Manage Local Holdings Records API
  description: The Manage Local Holdings Records API from WorldCat — 2 operation(s) for manage local holdings records.
  humanURL: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  baseURL: https://metadata.api.oclc.org
  tags:
  - Manage Local Holdings Records
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/worldcat-manage-local-holdings-records-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-metadata-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-entities-data.en.html
- aid: worldcat:worldcat-member-enabled-collections-api
  name: WorldCat Member Enabled Collections API
  description: The Member Enabled Collections API from WorldCat — 2 operation(s) for member enabled collections.
  humanURL: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  baseURL: https://worldcat.org/webservices/kb
  tags:
  - Member Enabled Collections
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/worldcat-member-enabled-collections-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-metadata-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-entities-data.en.html
- aid: worldcat:worldcat-member-enabled-providers-api
  name: WorldCat Member Enabled Providers API
  description: The Member Enabled Providers API from WorldCat — 2 operation(s) for member enabled providers.
  humanURL: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  baseURL: https://worldcat.org/webservices/kb
  tags:
  - Member Enabled Providers
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/worldcat-member-enabled-providers-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-metadata-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-entities-data.en.html
- aid: worldcat:worldcat-member-enabled-title-by-openurl-api
  name: WorldCat Member Enabled Title by OpenURL API
  description: The Member Enabled Title by OpenURL API from WorldCat — 1 operation(s) for member enabled title by openurl.
  humanURL: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  baseURL: https://worldcat.org/webservices/kb
  tags:
  - Member Enabled Title by OpenURL
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/worldcat-member-enabled-title-by-openurl-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-metadata-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-entities-data.en.html
- aid: worldcat:worldcat-member-enabled-titles-api
  name: WorldCat Member Enabled Titles API
  description: The Member Enabled Titles API from WorldCat — 2 operation(s) for member enabled titles.
  humanURL: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  baseURL: https://worldcat.org/webservices/kb
  tags:
  - Member Enabled Titles
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/worldcat-member-enabled-titles-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-metadata-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-entities-data.en.html
- aid: worldcat:worldcat-member-enabled-titles-by-openurl-api
  name: WorldCat Member Enabled Titles by OpenURL API
  description: The Member Enabled Titles by OpenURL API from WorldCat — 1 operation(s) for member enabled titles by openurl.
  humanURL: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  baseURL: https://worldcat.org/webservices/kb
  tags:
  - Member Enabled Titles by OpenURL
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/worldcat-member-enabled-titles-by-openurl-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-metadata-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-entities-data.en.html
- aid: worldcat:worldcat-member-general-holdings-api
  name: WorldCat Member General Holdings API
  description: The Member General Holdings API from WorldCat — 3 operation(s) for member general holdings.
  humanURL: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  baseURL: https://americas.discovery.api.oclc.org/worldcat/search/v2
  tags:
  - Member General Holdings
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/worldcat-member-general-holdings-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-metadata-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-entities-data.en.html
- aid: worldcat:worldcat-member-shared-print-holdings-api
  name: WorldCat Member Shared Print Holdings API
  description: The Member Shared Print Holdings API from WorldCat — 1 operation(s) for member shared print holdings.
  humanURL: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  baseURL: https://americas.discovery.api.oclc.org/worldcat/search/v2
  tags:
  - Member Shared Print Holdings
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/worldcat-member-shared-print-holdings-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-metadata-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-entities-data.en.html
- aid: worldcat:worldcat-retrieve-entity-api
  name: WorldCat Retrieve entity API
  description: The Retrieve entity API from WorldCat — 1 operation(s) for retrieve entity.
  humanURL: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  baseURL: https://id.oclc.org/worldcat
  tags:
  - Retrieve entity
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/worldcat-retrieve-entity-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-metadata-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-entities-data.en.html
- aid: worldcat:worldcat-search-bibliographic-resources-api
  name: WorldCat Search Bibliographic Resources API
  description: The Search Bibliographic Resources API from WorldCat — 4 operation(s) for search bibliographic resources.
  humanURL: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  baseURL: https://metadata.api.oclc.org
  tags:
  - Search Bibliographic Resources
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/worldcat-search-bibliographic-resources-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-metadata-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-entities-data.en.html
- aid: worldcat:worldcat-search-local-holdings-resources-api
  name: WorldCat Search Local Holdings Resources API
  description: The Search Local Holdings Resources API from WorldCat — 4 operation(s) for search local holdings resources.
  humanURL: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  baseURL: https://metadata.api.oclc.org
  tags:
  - Search Local Holdings Resources
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/worldcat-search-local-holdings-resources-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-metadata-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-entities-data.en.html
- aid: worldcat:worldcat-search-member-general-holdings-api
  name: WorldCat Search Member General Holdings API
  description: The Search Member General Holdings API from WorldCat — 2 operation(s) for search member general holdings.
  humanURL: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  baseURL: https://metadata.api.oclc.org
  tags:
  - Search Member General Holdings
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/worldcat-search-member-general-holdings-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-metadata-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-entities-data.en.html
- aid: worldcat:worldcat-search-member-shared-print-holdings-api
  name: WorldCat Search Member Shared Print Holdings API
  description: The Search Member Shared Print Holdings API from WorldCat — 1 operation(s) for search member shared print holdings.
  humanURL: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  baseURL: https://metadata.api.oclc.org
  tags:
  - Search Member Shared Print Holdings
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/worldcat-search-member-shared-print-holdings-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-search-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-metadata-api.en.html
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis/worldcat-entities-data.en.html
common:
- type: CapabilityMap
  url: capabilities/worldcat-capability-edges.yml
  name: WorldCat Business Capability Map
- type: AgenticAccess
  url: agentic-access/worldcat-agentic-access.yml
- type: DomainSecurity
  url: security/worldcat-domain-security.yml
- type: Authentication
  url: authentication/worldcat-authentication.yml
- type: OAuthScopes
  url: scopes/worldcat-scopes.yml
- type: Website
  url: https://www.worldcat.org/
- type: Documentation
  url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/api/oclc-apis.en.html
- type: GitHubOrg
  url: https://github.com/OCLC-Developer-Network
- type: LinkedIn
  url: https://www.linkedin.com/company/oclc
- type: Blog
  url: https://www.oclc.org/developer/news.en.html
- type: Pricing
  url: https://www.oclc.org/en/membership/fees.html
- type: StatusPage
  url: https://oclc.service-now.com/status
- type: X
  url: https://x.com/oclcdevnetwork
- type: Plans
  url: plans/worldcat-plans-pricing.yml
- type: RateLimits
  url: rate-limits/worldcat-rate-limits.yml
- type: FinOps
  url: finops/worldcat-finops.yml
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com

WorldCat API — frequently asked questions

Does WorldCat have an API?

Yes. APIs.io lists 20 APIs from WorldCat, including WorldCat Knowledge Base API, WorldCat Bibliographic Resources API and WorldCat Local Bib Resources API, and 17 more.

Is there an OpenAPI specification for the WorldCat API?

Yes. APIs.io indexes 19 OpenAPI specifications for WorldCat, each linked for download from this page.

How do I authenticate with the WorldCat API?

WorldCat documents its authentication (apiKey/oauth2 · 2 schemes). The details are profiled on APIs.io as Worldcat Authentication.

How much does the WorldCat API cost?

APIs.io lists 4 pricing plans for WorldCat, with each plan's price, limits and inclusions under Pricing on this page.

Is the WorldCat API ready for AI agents?

WorldCat has a Kin Score of 33.2 out of 100 (thin) and an Agent Readiness score of 34.6 (agent-ready), scored by API Evangelist on 2026-11-06.

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