Exploring WorldCat.org – An Interview with Sunny Jane Morton

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Family Tree Magazine Podcast

Episode: Exploring WorldCat.org – An Interview with Sunny Jane Morton
Host: Lisa Louise Cooke
Guest: Sunny Jane Morton (Family Tree Magazine Contributing Editor)
Date: February 15, 2025

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Overview

In this episode, Lisa Louise Cooke interviews Sunny Jane Morton about the power and utility of WorldCat.org for genealogy research. They discuss how WorldCat—one of the world’s largest library catalogs—can help researchers discover a variety of books, articles, and resources crucial for family historians, often for free and sometimes closer than expected. The episode is full of practical tips, real-world examples, and encouragement for genealogists to make the most of this underutilized tool.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

What is WorldCat.org? [01:28]

• Definition: WorldCat is a massive, multi-library catalog, aggregating the holdings of thousands of libraries around the world.
  • Over 400 million books, 440 million articles, tens of millions of theses/dissertations, and other materials like maps, musical scores, and sound recordings.
  • Accessible and free for users.
• Quote:

  "WorldCat and this huge multi library catalog where it's basically the world's card catalogs. Remember that old phrase at your fingertips?"
  — Sunny Morton [01:55]

Free Accounts & Additional Features [02:37]

• Creating a free account is optional but unlocks more features (lists, saved searches).
• Everything remains free; the account just gives flexibility.

Finding Materials Near You [03:12]

• Local Results: Enter your location to find the nearest library holding a resource.
• Personal Example: Sunny recalls finding a rare book at a theological seminary just three miles from her house, which she never expected.
  • She contacted the private seminary, who kindly let her use the book.
• Quote:

  "Lisa. There was a theological seminary three miles from my house that listed a copy of this. I'm like, what? What?...I actually showed up. I just...I figured out their hours, and I showed up at their desk."
  — Sunny Morton [03:44]

Integration with FamilySearch [04:59]

• New FamilySearch catalog entries now link directly to WorldCat for broader availability.
  • Ideal when the Family History Library in Salt Lake City doesn't have what you need.
• Quote:

  "So now there is another link that says, look at the WorldCat search results and it will take you right over and dump you right on the landing page for that exact resource in WorldCat."
  — Sunny Morton [05:12]

Limitations and Library Coverage [06:20]

• WorldCat is extensive but not exhaustive—records only what's in its partner libraries.
• Some rare or original materials might not be listed, as WorldCat is primarily a library (not a manuscript) catalog.

Beyond Public Libraries [06:49]

• Includes corporate, institutional, and specialized libraries (like theological seminaries).

Leveraging Librarians for Local Lookups [08:02]

• Even if you can't visit, you can request lookups from genealogy or reference librarians—the hosts highlight how local genealogy staff are often eager to help.
• Quote:

  "That's another thing. Even if you don't need the book physically to come to you, sometimes you just need access to a person who's willing to look it up in their library."
  — Sunny Morton [08:43]

Using WorldCat to Expand Research [10:00]

• Use subject and category assignments in WorldCat to browse related works (as you might browse shelves in a physical library).
• Sunny demonstrates how exploring subject tags led her to even more resources for her obituaries lecture.
• Quote:

  "I scrolled down in that entry...there's a whole subject list...I clicked on that 19th century link, and it brought me to all kinds of additional topic or additional resources on that same topic."
  — Sunny Morton [10:37]

Creating & Sharing Research Lists [11:31]

• Users with accounts can create and organize lists for subjects or family names.
• Public lists let you see what others researching similar topics have gathered—Lisa shares her experience following another user's Burkett family history list.
• Quote:

  "Most people interested in that one obscure book might be somebody I'd be interested to see if they're looking at other things...you can in a way follow it almost like on social media."
  — Lisa Louise Cooke [12:45]

Searching by Topic, Not Just Titles [13:38]

• The search bar is robust; you don't need exact titles—search by broad terms, subjects, or authors.
• Sunny's example: Searching for “cloistered poor Clare's” yielded detailed local histories.

Regular Use & Genealogy Best Practice [14:18]

• WorldCat’s collection is always growing. Bookmarking WorldCat and making it a daily habit is recommended.
• Quote:

  "I think I probably use it every research day of my life."
  — Sunny Morton [14:34]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Joy of Discovery:
  "A few minutes at WorldCat could save you so much time, so much headache."
  — Lisa Louise Cooke [04:39]

• On the Collaborative Spirit:
  "In the spirit of collaboration, we can also decide whether we want to make our lists public or private, and maybe help somebody else, too."
  — Lisa Louise Cooke [13:19]

• On Making Use of Librarians:
  "Because they're going to have a person there who wants to answer your question."
  — Sunny Morton [09:20]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:28 – What is WorldCat?
• 03:12 – Example: Finding Local Resources via WorldCat
• 04:59 – Integration with FamilySearch’s Catalog
• 06:20 – Coverage Limitations
• 08:02 – Using Librarians for Local Lookups
• 10:00 – Browsing (Subject/Category Search) and Expanding Research
• 11:31 – Creating and Following Research Lists
• 13:38 – Searching by Broad Topics
• 14:18 – The Importance of Frequent Use

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Wrap-Up & Further Resources

Sunny Morton briefly discusses her ongoing research into US denominational records and Catholic archives, highlighting the generosity and value of religious order archives. She invites listeners to connect with her via Facebook or her website (sunnymorton.com). The episode concludes with Lisa Louise Cooke urging listeners to bookmark WorldCat and integrate it into their regular genealogy workflow.

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Recommendation:
If you’re a genealogist or family historian, WorldCat.org is an indispensable, free resource for finding and leveraging materials from libraries worldwide. Whether you’re searching for a rare book, exploring related resources, or collaborating with fellow researchers, WorldCat should be at the top of your research toolkit.

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Transcript

[Sunny Morton]

Foreign.

[Lisa Louise Cooke]

Tree magazine's best websites Podcast. This is the podcast devoted to finding the best websites to help you with your genealogy research. I'm Lisa Louise Cook.

Wouldn't it be nice if you could search libraries across the country on one website? Well, you can. It's worldcat.org they do just that. And that makes it one of the best websites for genius genealogy. Being a bit of a bibliognost herself, I've invited Family Tree magazine contributing editor Sunny Morton to the podcast to share her thoughts on what makes WorldCat a best website. Hi, Sunny.

[Sunny Morton]

Hi, Lisa. Where do I even start? You're exactly right. I am a book lover. You've known that for years about me. So I'm definitely a person who would love to talk about WorldCat. Like it's this amazing resource that, um, I think too many of us aren't really fully utilizing to its full potential.

[Lisa Louise Cooke]

I fully agree with that. And, and of course WorldCat really isn't targeting genealogists as their primary audience, but that doesn't mean it's not a terrific tool because it meets the needs that we have in our daily research. So maybe start us off at the 30,000 foot level of what is WorldCat.org?

[Sunny Morton]

So WorldCat.org is the place you go when you're trying to find a book or any other kind of resource and you're not sure where you would find a copy. So it's a multi library catalog. So what they've done is bring in the holdings of thousands of libraries. So they catalog over 400 million books, 440 million articles at last count. Millions, tens of millions of theses and dissertations, which we both know are sometimes that perfect little gem to answer that, that little esoteric question we have about our family history. And then maps, musical scores, sound recordings, audio recordings of all kinds, which I know that you're really passionate about. You can look for holdings of those things across thousands of different libraries and even access the content. And it's free, Lisa. We love free. I guess I should have led with that. This is a free resource. So WorldCat and this huge multi library catalog where it's basically the world's card catalogs. Remember that old phrase at your fingertips?

[Lisa Louise Cooke]

Yes, exactly. And when people get there, they'll see, yes, you can create an account and you can, you know, have your own little place, but that just opens up some more features. It's not that you have to pay for anything, it's just it gives you more flexibility. Let's approach it as a researcher and you were talking about being able to find materials if you're looking for something. We don't want to have to do a huge interlibrary loan when maybe it's just down the street. Do you have an example of when you're looking for something, how to find the materials quickly, easily, and close to you?

[Sunny Morton]

Yeah, absolutely. That's one of my favorite things about WorldCat is the find it close to you. And I do have an example that comes to mind. A few years ago, I was doing research for my book on US Church records, and I came across a bibliographic reference to something that sounded really good. But I'm like, oh, nobody's gonna have this, right? And if they do, it's probably in some library in Rome or at Harvard or something like that. So I went to WorldCat and I typed in the title. And once you find an entry, which I did, immediately I opened it. I scrolled down to the. Where you can look for it at a library near you. Because you can just put in, like I put in my city where I am, so it knows where I am. And then I said, you know, look, sort this the holdings by the library nearest me. Lisa. There was a theological seminary three miles from my house that listed a copy of this. I'm like, what? What? I've. Okay, I've driven past that place and I've wondered about it, but I had no idea they had a library. And so I. I actually showed up. I just. I figured out their hours, and I showed up at their desk. It's a private library for a private seminary. But they were kind enough to listen to my requests and let me go down and pull that book off the shelf and sit there and read it. So really, when you talk about a library near you. Yeah. That's the kind of result that you might come across.

[Lisa Louise Cooke]

Yeah, just those. A few minutes at WorldCat could save you so much time, so much headache. And I love how it gives you that list. You'll say, well, this one's 2 miles, this one's 10 miles, this one's 3,000 miles. But at least, you know, so it's really about doing your homework before you go on site, Right?

[Sunny Morton]

Yeah, it really is. And it's, you know, if you're a genealogist, but you haven't worked a whole lot with WorldCat on its own. But maybe it rings a bell. It's probably because you've gone to look up something in the FamilySearch catalog, and there is now a setting in every FamilySearch catalog entry that says, okay, these are the holdings at the family history library in Salt Lake City, or here's a link to look at it digitally. But now there is another link that says, look at the WorldCat search results and it will take you right over and dump you right on the landing page for that exact resource in WorldCat. So that if you can't get to the family history library or if they just don't have copies there, you can go right to this. Find one at a library near me so you can look for the nearest facility that's got one for you from FamilySearch. So that's fun, too.

[Lisa Louise Cooke]

Yes. And FamilySearch is really endorsing that. You know, don't just stop here. Spread out if we don't have what you need. And I know that partnership came together many years ago. It's great to see WorldCat partnering with so many libraries. They don't have every single one, though. Right. So even then, if we don't find something at WorldCat, it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It just means. Within their network of partner libraries.

[Sunny Morton]

That's correct. So it's. They'll. They'll look around and kind of dig through their catalog. But most of the time, I have had good luck finding things that I'm looking for, unless it's a rare original. But that would get to more the. Like a manuscript catalog. And this is specifically. While they do have some manuscript items, this is really a library catalog. So these are things that there should be more than one copy of someplace. These are materials that were meant to be. They were. They were published or produced in a way that were meant to have multiple copies.

[Lisa Louise Cooke]

Yes. And not just the. The public library down the street, but I think they have corporate libraries and they have libraries like FamilySearch, so.

[Sunny Morton]

Well, and then that library, like the Theological seminary, like us, who knew?

[Lisa Louise Cooke]

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[Sunny Morton]

Okay, I've got another example that comes to mind. Okay. This one was actually just three weeks ago or so. So I was looking for. I'd come across this reference for an index to obituaries published in a Methodist newspaper in the 1800s. And I'm like, okay, this was a 1988 index. Good luck finding this one. Right? So I knew I wasn't going to necessarily find that really easily around me. My library system had a copy, but it was, you know, in a reference area that wasn' like a local history section where I could just call somebody. So I'm like, I wasn't really confident. So I went to WorldCat and I looked it up, and I saw that one of the nearest ones available to me was at a genealogy section, the local genealogy and local history section of a public library system. I'm like, lookups. So I reached out to the library system and said, hey, I understand you have a copy of this book. Could you do some lookups for me? And I had answers within a couple of days. So that's another thing. Even if you don't need the book physically to come to you, sometimes you just need access to a person who's willing to look it up in their library. So watching your search results for reference departments for local history and genealogy libraries, any of those libraries that kind of ring a bell, and you're like, oh, oh, oh, that's one of them. That's a. That's a genealogy library. Because they're going to have a person there who wants to answer your question.

[Lisa Louise Cooke]

Yes, that's a terrific idea. And you kind of touched on there that you can do interlibrary loan as well through the system. So so many helps that you can tap into in one location. I'm thinking about when you find something terrific that really meets your needs in WorldCat. That doesn't mean it's the only thing that might be out there. How do you use WorldCat to just be able to take that and expand on it?

[Sunny Morton]

All right, that's a great question. And it speaks to, you know, anybody who loves libraries knows that when you go and you find something on the shelf, physically, it's going to be cataloged with other books that might be interesting to you. And so when you pull out the book, pull that book off the shelf, you're looking what's to the left of it, what's to the right of it. Will it also be interesting to me? Is it by the same author? Is it on the same topic? Right. Well, you know, we're not in a physical environment where we can do that. But one of the things that WorldCat has is a subject or a category assignment that goes with each of its holdings. So, for example, a few weeks ago, I was looking up some things to help me finalize some last touches on a RootsTech lecture I'm giving on obituaries here in a few weeks. And I was like, I wanted to read a good history of newspapers. Somebody recommended one. I looked it up in WorldCat, and I'm like, okay, that's great, but what else? And so I scrolled down in that entry. You can. There's a Show more section, and I opened the show more section, scroll down, and there's a whole subject list of different. So I found American newspapers history 19th century, American newspapers history 20th century. And I was like, oh, this is perfect. And so I clicked on that 19th century link, and it brought me to all kinds of additional topic or additional resources on that same topic. So you're right, Lisa. If you're looking for other things in the same topic or category or even by the same author, WorldCat is a really great place to go.

[Lisa Louise Cooke]

Yes. And that reminds me of a way in which I love using WorldCat. I mentioned at the top of the episode that you can sign up and get a free account. So that's great. And once you do, you can start creating lists so as you're doing your research, you can track what you're searching for, some of the books that you're finding, get those collected in different subject matters.

And.

And then it dawned on me one day. Oh, other people are doing this, too. And WorldCat allows you to take advantage of that. Right. You can look and see what somebody else researching the same topic is putting in their list.

[Sunny Morton]

That is so neat. I haven't used that aspect of it myself, but I'm so not surprised that you have as the person who knows how to use all technologies for family history uses. Like, that's a. That's. Now I'm going to have to spend the rest of my morning. So much like I didn't need something else to do. So that's. That's a. You're right. That's a great use of your personal. The account that you can have on WorldCat.

[Lisa Louise Cooke]

Well, and in. In the situation that I was working in, I was working on my Burkett family, and there was a specific book. It was a compiled family history And I would say, you know, most people interested in that one obscure book might be somebody I'd be interested to see if they're looking at other things that I sure enough, they were researching many of the same surnames and locations. So if they make their list public, then you can in a way follow it almost like on social media. So you follow their list. So not only did I get to see and start checking out some of the other items they had found that I had not, but in the future, as they added items to their list, I would be able to also take advantage of that as well. And then as you know, that in the spirit of collaboration, we can also decide whether we want to make our lists public or private and maybe help somebody else, too. Any other features out there that you really feel like genealogists need to have their eyes [e-mail] well, I think that.

[Sunny Morton]

Just being aware that it's a resource so that it comes to you top of mind and well, I wish I could find something that did this. And you know, that search bar is not just for exact titles. So there's a I researching right now a Catholic religious community near me and I just entered cloistered poor Claire's and brought up within the first couple of search responses, I have a history of this specific little tiny religious community here in Cleveland, Ohio, where I live. So you can also use it to search for stuff that you don't know exists yet.

[Lisa Louise Cooke]

Yeah, and that's. That's the key, isn't it? And there are new materials coming online every day, just like there are items that are linking on the Internet. So we just want to keep abreast of it. So I agree with you. I think this is one of those websites you just bookmark it to your browser bar, right?

[Sunny Morton]

Yes, absolutely. I think I probably use it every research day of my life.

[Lisa Louise Cooke]

I bet. Well, again, we've been talking about WorldCat.org and as Sunny mentioned, you know, they are linked up with FamilySearch. So when you're searching there, you are really searching some of the top genealogy libraries as well as all the other ones that are out there. And there's just a lot of wonderful resources and they are all free. Sunny, tell everybody listening what you've been up to and how they can stay in touch with you.

[Sunny Morton]

Well, as you know, Lisa, I've been doing a lot of research the last several years on looking at US denominational records, so religious records in the United States for the purposes of genealogy. And the past year or so, I've done a deep dive into the archives of Catholic, what they call women religious. So nuns and sisters. And their archives are phenomenal. So I've been working, I've been traveling to a lot of different religious orders, mother houses, meeting with their archivists, looking at their collections. They've been so generous with me, speaking with their archivists and writing a guide to these. So that's what I've that's the rabbit hole I've been down lately, Lisa. So thanks for asking about it. And you can find me if you're interested in that topic or any other. You can find me on Facebook or you can find [e-mail] wonderful.

[Lisa Louise Cooke]

Well, it's always good to find you here at the podcast. I hope you'll come back again soon.

[Sunny Morton]

I will.

[Lisa Louise Cooke]

Thanks so much for joining me for the Family Tree Magazine Best Websites podcast. You can find a link over to this month's best [e-mail] podcast also, while you're at the website, I would encourage you to sign up for our free email newsletter. It's the perfect way to stay in touch with everything we've got going on at Family Tree Magazine, including our other podcast, the Family Tree Magazine Podcast. I'm Lisa Louise Cook, and you can find me at my website, genealogygems.com where you'll find links to my Genealogy Gems podcast and our YouTube channel. Until next time, have fun climbing your family tree.

[Sunny Morton]

Sam.