A project of OCLC Research, the WorldCat Identities Network is described as:
The WorldCat Identity Network uses the WorldCat Identities Web Service and the WorldCat Search API to create an interactive Related Identity Network Map for each Identity in the WorldCat Identities database. The Identity Maps can be used to explore the interconnectivity between WorldCat Identities.
A WorldCat Identity can be a person, a thing (e.g., the Titanic), a fictitious character (e.g., Harry Potter), or a corporation (e.g., IBM).
I can’t claim to be a fan of jumpy network node displays but that isn’t a criticism, more a matter of personal taste. Some people find that sort of display quite useful.
The information conveyed, leaving display to one side, is quite interesting. It has just enough fuzziness (to me at any rate) to approach the experience of serendipitous discovery using more traditional library tools. I suspect that will vary from topic to topic but that was my experience with briefly using the interface.
Despite my misgivings about the interface, I will be returning to explore this service fairly often.
BTW, the service is obviously mis-named. What is being delivered is what we used to call “see also” or related references, thus: WorldCat “See Also” Network would be a more accurate title.
For class:
- Spend at least an hour or more with the service and write a 2 page summary of what you liked/disliked about it. (no citations)
- What subject/relationship did you choose to follow? Discover anything you did not expect? 1 page (no citations)