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Why can't I search by barcode in WorldCat Discovery?

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Symptom
  • Barcode searches by keyword or your Local Holdings records do not return results in WorldCat Discovery
Applies to
  • WorldCat Discovery
Resolution

  • The checkbox in Service Configuration under  WorldCat Discovery and WCL > Local and Enhanced Content > Enable searching of Local Holdings records may be unchecked.
    Check that box and the Local Holdings Records you have loaded will become searchable. Note: This should not be turned on by WMS libraries, or those with Availability in Discovery. See Local and Enhanced Content for more information on this setting.

  • If this option is turned on and your barcode is still unsearchable, open the LHR in Record Manager and click save.
    This will resync the record and make it searchable.
    Refresh your Discovery and attempt the search again.

  • If the barcode contains a space or punctuation, this is not by itself a problem — spaces and punctuation are supported in WMS barcodes. Two things to check: 1.) Confirm the value in field 876 $p of the LHR matches what you are searching, character for character. Barcodes are case-sensitive. 2.) If the barcode contains a space, enclose your search term in quotation marks — bq:"31234 5678" rather than bq:31234 5678. The barcode index is a word index, so an unquoted space separates your search into two terms. 

  • If your barcodes are still unsearchable, contact OCLC Support with a few example barcodes

Additional information

There is more available on indexes available for Local Holdings Records.

Page ID
36492