Western Illinois University Libraries -- News - WestCat

Libraries

WIU Libraries is pleased to announce that WestCat is the new name of its catalog.

Why the Name Change?: When CARLI (our statewide consortium of 65 academic and research libraries) recently re-named "ILLINET Online" (IO) as "I-Share", it created new guidelines on the use of this title. Specifically, "I-Share" is intended to reference the statewide "Universal Catalog" which indexes the holdings of all 65 institutions. Individual member institutions have been encouraged by CARLI to develop unique names for their local online catalogs. Since the advent of I-Share, the name of WIU's local catalog has been: "Western Illinois University Library Catalog" (a real mouthful!).
How Was It Chosen?: Student workers, staff and faculty of WIU Libraries were invited to nominate potential names for the online catalog. An e-election was later held to determine the winner. WestCat was the overwhelming favorite.
What Does All of This Mean?: Only the name has changed. We now have a convenient way to refer to the official catalog of the WIU Libraries. The catalog's functionality remains exactly the same (CARLI does regularly introduce new features). WestCat users may continue to access the statewide I-Share catalog by selecting the "I-Share Catalog" button.