HathiTrust distributes information about records in the repository. We do not currently distribute full MARC records for a variety of reasons. Records gathered centrally for the purpose of archive management may not be as current as the records from the contributing institutions; moreover, changes made to these records may be inconsistent with practices at the contributing institutions. We will continue to explore approaches to efficient and reliable metadata distribution, and will work with our partners and OCLC to find the most effective method.
Currently, metadata identifying the contents of HathiTrust repository are available for download as tab-delimited files. These files include a small number of bibliographic elements to aid an institution in making decisions as to records they want to retrieve. That is, the metadata made available here are a tool that can be used to help obtain records and add links to existing records in local systems. Full documentation on these metadata is available under HathiTrust Metadata.
Using the metadata described above, an institution may acquire records through one of the following methods:
- The OCLC identifier can be used to retrieve records either via Connexion or from the OCLC z39.50 server using USE attribute 12.
- The source institution's record number can be used in obtaining records directly from that institution. Contact the source institution directly for further information about access to their data.
- Use the University of Michigan record identifier to retrieve records via z39.50, hostname z3950.lib.umich.edu, port 210, USE attribute 12.
- Use the University of Michigan record identifier (or any of a variety of other identifiers) to retrieve records via the University of Michigan MIRLYN API.
Two additional services that aid in getting records or record-related information into a catalog are currently available.
- HathiTrust provides an API much like the Google API that allows an institution to pass an identifier to the API and return information about an item's availability, its URL, and access privileges (e.g., that the item is in the public domain).
- The University of Michigan provides an OAI feed of MARC21 and unqualified Dublin Core records for public domain materials in HathiTrust repository (see http://www.lib.umich.edu/mdp/info/OAI.html for more information about Open Archives Initiative at the University of Michigan).
- These records can be harvested through the following URLs:
- http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/o/oai/oai?verb=ListRecords&metadataPrefix=marc21&set=hathitrust
- http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/o/oai/oai?verb=ListRecords&metadataPrefix=oai_dc&set=hathitrust
In place of "set=hathitrust" at the end of the URLs above, use "set=hathitrust:pdus" to access public domain materials in the United States and "set=hathitrust:pd" to access materials whose status outside of the United States is unknown.
Participating institutions in HathiTrust are also working with OCLC to develop a process to add records to OCLC's WorldCat. As this effort progresses, WorldCat should link to more HathiTrust content over time.
