Thanks Karen,

This goes in a bit of a direction from what I'm hoping for and your project does suggest that some matching to build such searches might be possible. 

What I really want is to apply LCSH and related data to the Netflix search process, essentially dropping Netflix holdings into a library catalog interface. I suspect you'd have to build a local cache of the OCLC data for known Netflix items to do so, and maybe a local cache of the Netflix title list. I wonder if either or both of those actions would violate the TOS for the respective services. 

Ken

-----Original Message-----
From: Code for Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Karen Coombs
Sent: Monday, August 19, 2013 11:26 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] netflix search mashups w/ library tools?

Ken,

I did a mashup that took Netflix's top 100 movies and looked to see if a specific library had that item.
http://www.oclc.org/developer/applications/netflix-my-library

You might think about doing the following. Search WorldCat for titles on a particular topic and then check to see if the title is available via Netflix. Netflix API for searching their catalog is pretty limited though so it might not give you what you want. It looks like it only allows you to search their streamable content.

Also I had a lot of trouble with trying to match Netflix titles and library holdings. Because there isn't a good match point. DVDs don't have ISBNs and if you use title you can get into trouble because movies get remade. So title + date seems to work best if you can get the information.

Karen

On Mon, Aug 19, 2013 at 8:54 AM, Ken Irwin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hi folks,
>
> Is anyone out there using library-like tools for searching Netflix? I'm imagining a world in which Netflix data gets mashed up with OCLC data or something like it to populate a more robustly searchable Netflix title list.
>
> Does anything like this exist?
>
> What I really want at the moment is a list of Netflix titles dealing with Islamic topics (Muhammed, the Qu'ran, the history of Islamic civilizations, the Hajj, Ramadan, etc.) for doing beyond-the-library readers' advisory in connection with our ALA/NEH Muslim Journey's Bookshelf. Netflix's own search tool is singularly awful, and I thought that the library world might have an interest in doing better.
>
> Any ideas?
> Thanks
> Ken