Union Catalogue
A union catalogue is a combined catalogue that brings together the holdings of multiple libraries in one place. Classic examples include WorldCat, SABINET’s SACat, and various national or regional catalogues. Its primary purpose is to show which library owns which items, particularly to support interlibrary loans.
Discovery Service
A discovery service (e.g. WorldCat Discovery, EBSCO Discovery Service, Primo, Summon) provides a single, Google-like search interface that brings together:
- Catalogue records
- Databases
- E-journals
- The institutional repository
- Other digital resources
The Library uses OCLC WorldCat as its catalogue and WorldCat Discovery as its discovery service. You can use WorldCat Discovery to search for books, journal articles, journals, and a wide range of other resources. It also provides access to the full text of items the Library subscribes to. You can search only within the Library’s collection or broaden your search to include national and international material.
In addition to search functions, WorldCat Discovery also allows you to:
- Request Document Delivery
- Submit Interlibrary Loan requests
- Place holds
- Access your patron record to renew items, save searches, and create lists
