A genealogical resource has become bigger.
The Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) announced earlier this week it has contributed 2.4 million records to WorldCat, the world’s most comprehensive global network of data about library collections. The contribution, which includes 800,000 new records, will make the provincial library and archives’ collections more visible and accessible to researchers around the world.
Daniel Boivin, executive director, OCLC Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean, said, “The addition of all BAnQ’s records to WorldCat broadens access to these rich collections beyond borders. … Increasing their visibility and access is consistent with the institution’s mission to share knowledge and preserve the heritage materials of Quebec.”
OCLC is a non-profit global library through which member libraries around the world produce and maintain WorldCat.
WorldCat is a good place to search for family surnames and ancestral towns to find out if anything has been published about them and which libraries hold a copy.
John D. Reid, who wrote yesterday about this story on his blog, Canada’s Anglo-Celtic Connections, noted, “Library and Archives Canada has been in negotiation with OCLC for more than a year for a similar arrangement.”
