Editing Copac

{{short description|Online catalogue for books}}
{{Infobox website
| name             = Consortium of Online Public Access Catalogues (COPAC)
| logo             = [[File:Jisc_logo.png]]
| logo_caption     = Copac was funded by [[Jisc]], to deliver a service to the UK community on the basis of an agreement with [[Research Libraries UK]] (RLUK)
| url              = {{website defunct|1=copac.jisc.ac.uk}}
| commercial       =
| type             = [[Union catalogue]]<br />[[Bibliographic database]]
| language         = English
| owner            = {{ubl|[[Jisc]]|[[Research Libraries UK]]}}
| launch_date      = <!--{{ ??? }}-->
| current_status   = Superseded by [[Library Hub Discover]]
}}
'''Copac''' (originally an [[acronym]] of Consortium of Online Public Access Catalogues) was a [[union catalogue]] which provided free access to the merged online catalogues of many major [[research library|research libraries]] and specialist libraries in the United Kingdom and Ireland, plus the [[British Library]], the [[National Library of Scotland]] and the [[National Library of Wales]].<ref name="new">{{cite journal |url=http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/8/copac/ |title=COPAC: The New Nationally Accessible Union Catalogue |last=Cousins |first=Shirley |journal=Ariadne |year=1997 |issue=8 |access-date=January 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505105555/http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/8/copac/ |archive-date=May 5, 2021}}</ref> It had over 40 million records<ref name="copac_about"/> from around 90 libraries as of 2019,<ref name="discover" /> representing a wide range of materials across all subject areas. Copac was freely available to all,<ref name="copac_about">{{cite web|url=http://copac.ac.uk/about|title=About Copac|first=Copac service|last=(Jisc)|website=copac.ac.uk}}</ref> and was widely used, with users mainly coming from [[Higher Education]] institutions in the United Kingdom, but also worldwide.<ref name="copac_survey">{{cite web|url=http://blog.copac.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2015/02/Copac-User-Survey-November-2014.pdf|author=Anon|year=2014|title=Copac User Survey|website=blog.copac.ac.uk}}</ref> Copac was valued by users as a research tool.<ref name="copac_survey"/>

Copac was searchable through with a [[web browser]] or [[Z39.50]] client. It was also accessible through [[OpenURL]] and [[Search/Retrieve via URL]] (SRU) interfaces.<ref name=eves>{{cite web|url=http://copac.ac.uk/developers|title=Copac for Developers|first=Copac service|last=(Jisc)|website=copac.ac.uk|access-date=2015-02-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150608060533/http://copac.ac.uk/developers/|archive-date=2015-06-08|url-status=dead}}</ref> These interfaces could be used to provide links to items on Copac from external sites, such as those used on the [[Institute of Historical Research]] website.<ref name=isbneg>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.ac.uk/history-online/book/isbn/0195131010|title=Saints in Exile – History On-line|website=www.history.ac.uk|access-date=2015-12-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327084229/http://www.history.ac.uk/history-online/book/isbn/0195131010|archive-date=2018-03-27|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Copac was a [[Jisc]] service provided for the UK community on the basis of an agreement with [[Research Libraries UK]] (RLUK).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://copac.ac.uk|title=Copac National, Academic and Specialist Library Catalogue|first=Copac service|last=(Jisc)|website=copac.ac.uk}}</ref> 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<ref name="copac_libraries">{{cite web|url=http://copac.ac.uk/about/libraries|title=Libraries on Copac|first=Copac service|last=(Jisc)|website=copac.ac.uk}}</ref> including the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty]], the [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]], the [[Middle Temple]] library and [[Institution of Mechanical Engineers]] (IMechE) Library.<ref name=copac_about/><ref name="CousinsMassam2016">{{cite journal|last1=Cousins|first1=Shirley|last2=Massam|first2=Diana|title=Copac developments and the Copac Collection Management service|journal=Interlending & Document Supply|volume=44|issue=1|year=2016|pages=17–19|issn=0264-1615|doi=10.1108/ILDS-11-2015-0036}}</ref>

In July 2019, Jisc replaced COPAC with [[Library Hub Discover]].<ref name="discover">{{cite web |url=https://aberdeenunilib.com/2019/07/29/use-jisc-library-hub-discover-to-search-all-uk-university-and-national-libraries-at-once/ |title=Use Jisc Library Hub Discover to search all UK University and National Libraries at once |date=July 28, 2019 |website=University of Aberdeen |access-date=January 21, 2023 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202033749/https://aberdeenunilib.com/2019/07/29/use-jisc-library-hub-discover-to-search-all-uk-university-and-national-libraries-at-once/ |archive-date=December 2, 2020}}</ref><ref name="JLHD">{{cite web |title=Jisc Library Hub Discover |url=https://discover.libraryhub.jisc.ac.uk/ |website=discover.libraryhub.jisc.ac.uk |access-date=31 July 2019}}</ref><ref name="goodbye">{{cite web |url=https://libraryservices.jiscinvolve.org/wp/2019/06/sunset/ |title=Nearly time to say...'"goodbye Copac and SUNCAT!" |last=Grindley |first=Neil |date=June 16, 2019 |website=Jisc Library services |access-date=January 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207093405/https://libraryservices.jiscinvolve.org/wp/2019/06/sunset/ |archive-date=December 7, 2021}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[OPAC]]
* [[SUNCAT]]
* [[Talis Group]]

==References==
{{reflist|35em}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Academic libraries in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Bibliographic databases and indexes]]
[[Category:Databases in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Higher education in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Jisc]]
[[Category:Library cataloging and classification]]
[[Category:Online databases]]