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
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| current_status = Superseded by Library Hub Discover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 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.{{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}} It had over 40 million records from around 90 libraries as of 2019, representing a wide range of materials across all subject areas. Copac was freely available to all,{{cite web|url=http://copac.ac.uk/about|title=About Copac|first=Copac service|last=(Jisc)|website=copac.ac.uk}} and was widely used, with users mainly coming from Higher Education institutions in the United Kingdom, but also worldwide.{{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}} Copac was valued by users as a research tool.

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.{{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}} 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.{{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}}

Copac was a Jisc service provided for the UK community on the basis of an agreement with Research Libraries UK (RLUK).{{cite web|url=http://copac.ac.uk|title=Copac National, Academic and Specialist Library Catalogue|first=Copac service|last=(Jisc)|website=copac.ac.uk}} 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{{cite web|url=http://copac.ac.uk/about/libraries|title=Libraries on Copac|first=Copac service|last=(Jisc)|website=copac.ac.uk}} 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.{{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}}

In July 2019, Jisc replaced COPAC with Library Hub 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}}{{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}}{{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}}