OCLC Control Number

ID ocn

DatatypeNot PIIidentifier

OCLC assigns a unique control number (referred to as an "OCN" for "OCLC Control Number") to each new bibliographic record in the WorldCat. Numbers are assigned serially, and as of mid-2013 over a billion OCNs had been created. In September 2013, the OCLC declared these numbers to be in the public domain, removing a perceived barrier to widespread use of OCNs outside OCLC itself.[42] The control numbers link WorldCat's records to local library system records by providing a common reference key for a record across libraries

Categories: Objects identifiers
Countries: Global (not tied to a country)
Languages: Common to most languages
Bioregistry: oclc
Wikidata: P243
Quality: 70/100 · missing: anchored regexp, negative example, translation, detector coverage
Metacrafter rules: no detection rule yet
Supported by tools: no tool record lists this type yet

Regular expression

\d{1,14}

Python re syntax. Not anchored: it can match inside longer text.

Examples

Value	Description
787911721	Directory of Open Access Books
57722711	Iso suomen kielioppi

Sources

wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OCLC
wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Property:P243

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Page URL: http://registry.apicrafter.io/datatype/ocn
JSON: API v1 · legacy shape (used by metacrafter) · Markdown (for LLMs)
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