New Worldcat interface and Zotero connector/translator

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  • Hello, help please importing my zotero list to a new WorldCat account. I get a "OCLC number column header is either missing or invalid" message. Thanks
  • @sjohnston75 -- Zotero doesn't have a feature to import into Worldcat, so this happens on their end. In what format are you trying to import? Where is that documented?
  • I have the opposit problem. I used to export references from Worldcat to Zotero. But it seems that there are no export option in Worldcat anymore. I can choose a reference style (APA 7th) and copy this to the computer, but is there any easy way to add this to Zotero?
  • edited January 24, 2023
    @Grode: You use the Zotero Connector's Save to Zotero button, as on any other supported site.

    The only catch is that currently it looks like you might have to reload the catalog entry after clicking through it from search results before clicking the save button, or else the save just hangs. We'll see what we can do about that. (With the redesign they added some annoying bot protections to the site that make it very hard for Zotero to save data, and we've already updated our WorldCat translator numerous since then to try to improve things.)

    They've said that they're going to be restoring export options, but that's not something you should ever use to get data into Zotero unless you're saving a large number of items and would hit site access limits.
  • Aha, thanks. It works if I open the reference window followed by clicking the save to Zotero.
  • No, opening the reference window doesn't do anything. As I say, if it's not working, you can just reload the page (Ctrl/Cmd-R, or click the reload button in your browser) and save again. But testing again now, it's working fine for me without reloading the page.
  • I also regret that change on the worldcat.org site, I used it frequently.

    I temporarily abandoned worldcat.org, and I first search the ISBN with https://isbnsearch.org/, then paste the code in Zotero. In worldcat I found several entries for a book, with very heterogenous and inconsistent metadata imported in Zotero, and finding first the ISBN, when available, provided better results. For older books, I manually enter and edit the metadata.
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