[Web4lib] #Ask4stuff via twitter from WorldCat

[Wilfred Drew]

I just wrote the blog post below about OCLC Innovation Lab's new service for using Twitter to search WorldCat.  Enjoy!

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Wilfred (Bill) Drew, M.S., B.S., A.S.
Assistant Professor
Librarian, Systems and Tech Services
Strengths: Ideation, Input, Learner, Command, Analytical
E-mail: dreww at tc3.edu<mailto:dreww at tc3.edu>
Follow the library: http://twitter.com/TC3Library
PPlease consider the environment before printing this e-mail or document.

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Today OCLC Innovation Lab announced a new trial service, #Ask4Stuff<http://community.oclc.org/cooperative/2010/06/sometimes-the-internet-is-just-not-big-enough-for-me.html> . It is a very simple tool for using twitter to find "stuff" within WorldCat. Here are instructions on using provided by OCLC:
#Ask4Stuff is a new, Twitter-based service that returns a WorldCat search when you send a tweet with the tag #Ask4Stuff.  So if you send the following tweet:
#Ask4Stuff lake erie shipwreck
You'll get a tweet back that says something like:
@YOURNAME A few things about lake erie shipwreck in #Ask4Stuff, check out http://is.gd/cY7gi
Where the link then takes you to the WorldCat.org search result for "lake erie shipwreck."
You can even localize the result to a WorldCat Local instance by including the Local library name as another hash tag.

Example:

#Ask4Stuff #OSU lake erie shipwreck

I have been playing with it and find it quite easy to use.  Here are some examples:

I send "#ask4stuff #TC3 au: hemingway, ernest" via Twitter and get the following back:
Ask4Stuff @BillDrew4 A wide and varied collection of au: hemingway, ernest in #Ask4Stuff at #TC3, look here: http://purl.org/wct/418

The result is a list of works by Ernest Hemingway including books and magazine articles in the TC3 version of WorldCat Local.

You can use other search strategies as well. Here is one for a title search of Where the Wild Things Are within TC3 WorldCat Local:
#ask4stuff #TC3 ti:where the wild things are
The resulting reply gives you a rich set of results:
Ask4Stuff @BillDrew4 Not a bad collection of ti:where the wild things are in #Ask4Stuff at #TC3, check out http://is.gd/d27ZW
Phrase searching works quite well, too.  Here is one I did:
#ask4stuff "not just cows"
Here are the results:
Ask4Stuff @BillDrew4 We found something on "not just cows" in #Ask4Stuff, check out http://is.gd/d28vZ
Many may ask,"Why do this?"  This may be useful. it is outside the box. It also give you a way to do quick searches and share the results with others via Twitter.  OCLC Innovation Lab is to be commended for this effort. Innovative and fun to use!!
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OCLC<http://technorati.com/tag/OCLC>, OCLC Innovation Lab<http://technorati.com/tag/OCLC%20Innovation%20Lab>, Twitter<http://technorati.com/tag/Twitter>, Ask4Stuff<http://technorati.com/tag/Ask4Stuff>, Innovation<http://technorati.com/tag/Innovation>, Libraries<http://technorati.com/tag/Libraries>


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Posted By Bill Drew to Baby Boomer Librarian<http://babyboomerlibrarian.blogspot.com/2010/06/ask4stuff-via-twitter-from-worldcat.html> at 6/24/2010 10:01:00 AM