Find Library Listings from WorldCat through RedLaser iPhone app

A popular app for iPhone users, RedLaser now includes library listings when a user scans a book barcode with their iPhone. The app uses the WorldCat Search API and WorldCat Registry APIs to deliver results for libraries nearby who hold the item in WorldCat, the world’s largest library catalog. Location and mapping information is also available.

RedLaser, developed by Occipital, of Boulder, Colorado, is a barcode scanning application for the iPhone, available through the Apple iTunes App Store. The app puts information from thousands of libraries at a user’s fingertips.

The RedLaser iPhone app, currently available in the U.S. for books only, is one of several mobile applications designed for users to access library information from WorldCat. The WorldCat Mobile pilot app is available for download on all Web-enabled phones in the UK, U.S., Netherlands, Germany, France and Canada at www.worldcat.org/mobile.

WorldCat-related APIs are available to anyone interested in creating noncommercial mash-ups or mobile apps that include library data. Commercial apps like RedLaser use the WorldCat Search API through partnership agreements.

iPhone users can download the RedLaser app for US$ 1.99 through Apple’s iTunes app store.