 Copac was funded byJisc, to deliver a service to the UK community on the basis of an agreement withResearch Libraries UK (RLUK) | |
Type of site | Union catalogue Bibliographic database |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Owner | |
| URL | copac.jisc.ac.uk (defunct) |
| Current status | Superseded byLibrary Hub Discover |
Copac (originally anacronym of Consortium of Online Public Access Catalogues) was aunion catalogue which provided free access to the merged online catalogues of many majorresearch libraries and specialist libraries in the United Kingdom and Ireland, plus theBritish Library, theNational Library of Scotland and theNational Library of Wales.[1] It had over 40 million records[2] from around 90 libraries as of 2019,[3] representing a wide range of materials across all subject areas. Copac was freely available to all,[2] and was widely used, with users mainly coming fromHigher Education institutions in the United Kingdom, but also worldwide.[4] Copac was valued by users as a research tool.[4]
Copac was searchable through with aweb browser orZ39.50 client. It was also accessible throughOpenURL andSearch/Retrieve via URL (SRU) interfaces.[5] These interfaces could be used to provide links to items on Copac from external sites, such as those used on theInstitute of Historical Research website.[6]
Copac was aJisc service provided for the UK community on the basis of an agreement withResearch Libraries UK (RLUK).[7] The service used records supplied by RLUK members, as well as an increasing range of specialist libraries with collections of national research interest. A full list of contributors is available[8] including theNational Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, theRoyal Botanic Gardens, Kew, theMiddle Temple library andInstitution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) Library.[2][9]
In July 2019, Jisc replaced COPAC withLibrary Hub Discover.[3][10][11]