# WorldCat

**Canonical:** https://apis.io/providers/worldcat/  
**Website:** https://www.worldcat.org/  
**APIs profiled:** 20

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.

## Kin Score — 44.6 / 100 (developing)

Scored 2026-08-20 under rubric 0.12.0. Trend: flat (+0.0 from 44.6).

| Facet | Score |
|---|---|
| Discoverability | 74.1 |
| Contract Quality | 65.9 |
| Governance | 9.8 |
| Contract Governance | 9.8 |
| Operational Transparency | 52.6 |
| Developer Ergonomics | 23.8 |
| Commercial Clarity | 39.5 |
| Access Clarity | 39.5 |

## Agent readiness — 41.9 (agent-ready)

| Dimension | Value |
|---|---|
| Spec Presence | yes |
| Agentic Access | derived |
| Reversibility Documented | no |
| MCP Server | no |
| Auth Clarity | yes |
| Idempotency | no |
| Error Semantics | verified |
| OpenAPI Examples | verified |
| Rate Limit Signal | documented |
| Event Surface Described | no |
| Agent Skills | no |
| Well Known Catalog | no |
| Consent Identity | no |
| Agent Card | no |
| Dry Run Mode | no |

## Access

Paid · Self-serve signup — onboarding: self-serve, pricing: paid, trial: no (confidence: high).

## APIs (20)

- **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.

## Agentic access (1)

- **Worldcat Agentic Access** — 58 operations · 15 acting · 4 human-in-the-loop

## Security (2)

- **Worldcat Authentication** — apiKey/oauth2 · 2 schemes
- **Worldcat Domain Security** — TLSv1.3 · HSTS · DNSSEC · DMARC

## Plans (1)

- **Worldcat Plans Pricing**

## Tags

Libraries, Bibliographic Records, WorldCat, OCLC, Cataloging, Metadata, Discovery, Books, Media, Linked Data

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Profiled by [API Evangelist](https://apievangelist.com) and published on [APIs.io](https://apis.io/providers/worldcat/). Scores are computed from the provider's own public artifacts under a published rubric.