WorldCat Lookup From Amazon
Greasemonkey is an extension for Firefox that allows users (i.e., you and me) to run javascript programs of our choice, called user scripts, to change the look or behavior of web pages.
WorldCat is a service that lets you search the catalogs of libraries both nearby and around the world.
Amazon is, well, Amazon.
Atalib is a Greasemonkey script that runs on Amazon pages. It performs a search on WorldCat, and displays the result on the Amazon page, so you can see if the item is available from a library, near or far. WorldCat helpfully orders its results by distance, so you can easily determine whether the item you're interested in is available within biking distance, or if you will need to charter a jet.
To use Atalib:
-
Get Firefox if you're not using it already.
-
Install Greasemonkey. You'll have to restart Firefox after installing it.
-
Look for one of these two ways of installing the script.
Whichever you see, click the
Install
button to install Atalib. - Rock the Library, 2.0-style.
It was fun to find out that a manual of Japanese etiquette is available through the Library of Congress, and that the library of the Nelson-Atkins Museum owns a copy of Introduction to the X Window System.