Have you ever heard of WorldCat? The word stands for “World Catalogue,” a web site that offers a truly great service to bibliophiles. If you go to this site and type in the title of a book you are seeking, WorldCat will tell you which libraries possess the book in their catalogue, in geographical order from the library nearest to you to the one that is farthest away. It’s a great way to cut down on the time you spend looking up the book in each individual library through their internet catalogues, or even from having to drive around town from library to library. Once you have determined where the title can be found, you can click on a link to that library to discover how you can check it out. I have even found some things I’ve been looking for available in ebook versions available to the public. Those I simply opened up and read right there online. If no library close to you owns the book, WorldCat will tell you where the volume can be purchased and the price you can expect to pay.

Through WorldCat, I discovered something that gave me a personal thrill. My book, Chalkboard Champions, has been added to the library catalogues of four prestigious colleges. They are: The University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA; the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi; Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey; and Salem State College Library in Salem, Massachusetts.