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Library web visibility

Put your collections where people start their search

Ready to reach more users?

Libraries reach only a small percentage of current and potential users through their own websites and communications. To maximize your library’s exposure and impact, it’s essential to meet today’s users where they usually look for information. OCLC’s web visibility program makes it easier for libraries to connect with information seekers online.

Illustration: WorldCat.org visits

WorldCat.org receives more than 70 million visits per year, and sends more than 10 million users on to library websites.

WorldCat.org extends the reach and influence of your collections

Photo: Woman at home on laptop
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Photo: Senior woman doing online research
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Photo: Woman reading article on laptop

At the center of our web visibility program is WorldCat.org. There’s no other place online that brings people to libraries like WorldCat.org. With more than 70 million visits annually, it connects your library to people who may never otherwise visit in-person or online. And it expands the communities you serve while personalizing and localizing the experience for the people you care about most.

The secret to better visibility online

Your library’s collections can be represented in WorldCat, visible on WorldCat.org, and shared by our visibility partners through a variety of subscription choices. Information about your library’s collections is then actively shared across the web through a wide variety of strategic partnerships with search engines and other popular websites. The presence of library links on websites viewed daily by millions of people increases awareness of and engagement with your library and the global library community.

Diagram: Web visibility explained
Diagram: Web visibility explained

Powerful partners drive traffic to WorldCat.org

Icon: Search engines

Search engines work with us to ingest WorldCat bibliographic records directly, then bring users from their search results to WorldCat.org to connect them to relevant libraries and resources.

Icon: Partner websites

Partner websites such as Google Books, Wikipedia, and Goodreads add “find in a library” links to their pages that bring users to WorldCat.org where they can then click to library websites.

Icon: Organic linking

Organic linking from more than 5,000 sites—including NPR, Oxford Scholarship, and Ravelry—links to materials on WorldCat.org to connect their communities with relevant libraries and resources.

Interested in partnering with us? We want to hear from organizations looking to create value for customers, garner attention for their content, and improve integration with information technology services. Learn more

Get your library discovered today

Our web visibility program helps people find your collections more easily on the web. That means an increase of new users for your materials and programs, more support for your library among key constituents, and improved recognition during online search activities.