Library Search Engine

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erdnasephile
Posts: 4765
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm

Library Search Engine

Postby erdnasephile » June 22nd, 2017, 8:39 am

Many of us got our start in magic at the public library

This may be old hat to you folks, but when searching the internet for an out of print book recently, I came across this site:

http://www.worldcat.org/

The site allows you to search libraries worldwide for specific books and other media.

I was surprised to find some uncommon magic books in some interesting places--some even close at hand.

Steve Mills
Posts: 374
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: Saint Charles, IL

Re: Library Search Engine

Postby Steve Mills » June 22nd, 2017, 11:35 am

Thanks for that.

Seemingly comprehensive and fast.

jamessmith
Posts: 15
Joined: July 25th, 2014, 7:20 pm
Favorite Magician: Breslaw

Re: Library Search Engine

Postby jamessmith » June 23rd, 2017, 4:15 pm

Worldcat is very useful but is not perfect. Quite often a library is recorded as having a copy of a book when it might, in fact, just be a microfilm or digitalised version. Always check the underlying library's own catalogue to make sure there is a physical book present (usually a call / shelf number will indicate a "real" book).

The English Short Title Catalogue (ESTC) is also very useful for books prior to 1800. In theory, these should also be on Worldcat but the ESTC is sometimes more accurate.

In the UK, COPAC is a very good resource, as it includes libraries that appear neither on Worldcat nor the ESTC.

http://estc.bl.uk
http://copac.jisc.ac.uk/

jamessmith
Posts: 15
Joined: July 25th, 2014, 7:20 pm
Favorite Magician: Breslaw

Re: Library Search Engine

Postby jamessmith » June 23rd, 2017, 5:07 pm

Libraries that are specifically strong in magic include:

The British Library - not only many early imprints but also the Evanion collection - http://explore.bl.uk/
The Library of Congress - Houdini and McManus-Young collections - https://catalog.loc.gov/
Glasgow University - the Ferguson collection - https://eleanor.lib.gla.ac.uk/
Bodleian, Oxford - Jessell collection - http://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/
Senate House Library, University of London - Harry Price collection - http://catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/search~S1/
Brown University - Harold Smith collection - http://library.brown.edu/
Princeton University - Carl Waring Jones collection - https://catalog.princeton.edu/
Huntington Library - a number of very early magic books, including those acquired from the Christie-Miller library in 1925 - http://catalog.huntington.org/
Harvard - the Harvard Theater Collection - http://hollis.harvard.edu/


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