When To Use BLC WorldCat vs. the Classic Catalog

You can search holdings of the Tufts Libraries Collection using either the BLC WorldCat or the Tufts Library catalog:

BLC WorldCat enables you to search on most of the holdings in the Tufts Libraries Collection as well as those of the other Boston Library Consortium (BLC) members and of over 72,000 libraries worldwide which participate in the OCLC network of libraries. You can screen your searches and search results for Tufts, BLC, and worldwide collections and you can easily order items in other collections through interlibrary loan (ILLIAD). In addition, you can search not only for journal titles but for specific journal articles from many of the articles databases to which Tufts subscribes
BLC WorldCat is a publicly-accessible variant on FirstSearch WorldCat, a subscription database available through Tufts. The FirstSearch version offers a different interface as well as additional information about catalog holdings and search options.
The Tufts Catalog includes all the Tufts holdings you would see in BLC WorldCat as well as items which are not tracked by OCLC, including special collections, theses and dissertations, rare books, and certain electronic books. In addition, it provides additional services such as the ability to manage your Tufts library account, place a hold on an item which has been checked out, view course reserves, and perform “serendipitous browsing” of call numbers.

What’s inside? Resources you can find in BLC WorldCat and the Tufts Library Catalog…

Features	BLC WorldCat	Tufts Library Catalog	Details
Articles from journals, magazines, newspapers, and more	Yes	No	Discover articles from a wide range of sources in BLC WorldCat. Click on the Find it @ Tufts button to see if Tufts provides fulltext access. If not, place an ILLIAD request and the article usually arrives within one week.

Features	BLC WorldCat	Tufts Library Catalog	Details
…at Tufts	Yes	Yes	The Tufts Library Catalog contains additional titles, such as certain eBooks, and provides more details on a book’s status. Also provides links to Google Books and the Internet Archive, where available.
…at BLC Libraries	Yes	No	Use BLC WorldCat to find and request books from BLC libraries or get a BLC borrowing card to view/borrow the books at the other libraries.
…at Libraries Worldwide	Yes	No	Use ILLIAD to request any items you’d like to use from libraries other than Tufts or the BLC.

Features	BLC WorldCat	Tufts Library Catalog	Details
… at Tufts	Yes	Yes
… at BLC Libraries	Yes	No	Use BLC WorldCat to find and request items from BLC libraries or get a BLC borrowing card to view/borrow the items at the other libraries.
…at Libraries Worldwide	Yes	No	Use ILLIAD to request any items you’d like to use from libraries other than Tufts.

Features	BLC WorldCat	Tufts Library Catalog	Details
Government Documents	Partial	Partial	The Tufts Catalog features government documents in the Tisch Reference and Stack collections as well as links to key eSources but not in the Tufts print Government Documents collection.
Tufts Theses & Dissertations	Partial	Partial	The Tufts Catalog lists graduate dissertations; undergraduate theses are listed in the Tufts Digital Collections and Archives (DCA). BLC WorldCat includes some Tufts dissertations as well as those awarded by other institutions; the latter may be ordered by ILLIAD if the author permits.
Tufts Archival Materials	Partial	Partial	Many Tufts Archival collections are listed in the Catalog; the DCA website provides more details. BLC WorldCat includes Tufts archival materials as well as those from other institutions. Archival materials usually can’t be ordered by ILLIAD although a growing number of collections are available online.

Features	BLC WorldCat	Tufts Library Catalog	Details
Advanced search with multiple search boxes	Yes	Yes	Both catalogs provide multiple search fields for complex searches.
AND/OR functionality in advanced search	Yes	Yes	BLC WorldCat defaults to OR unless you type AND; Tufts Catalog defaults to AND.
Facets and finding aids	Yes	No	BLC WorldCat provides facets/finding aids that hightlight specific kinds of resources within your search results. Use the language, topic, year, or author facets to “drill” into theresults.
Search option for limiting by format/material type, such as audio, video, map, government document, etc.	Yes	Yes	Both catalogs offer options to limit searches by format/material type, but BLC WorldCat offers more options than the Tufts Library Catalog does.

Call Us	Reference Desk: 617-627-3460 Find Your Librarian
Email Us	Email a Question Find Your Librarian
More ways to contact us