The {{Library link about}} template creates an external link to resources in a library about the topic of an article. More details can be found in the documentation for the related {{Library resources box}} template.

This is a relatively low-level template; most Wikipedia editors will want instead to use one of the higher-level templates listed in the See Also section.

{{Library link about |label= |library= |viaf= |lccn= |lcheading= |wikititle= }}

<!-- all parameters optional -->
  • label= If set, the value is used as the text of the link. Otherwise, generic text, or text based on the title of the page, is used.
  • library= If set, the destination library is specified by the value of this parameter. If it is not set, the user will go to their preferred library (if they have previously registered their preference), or be prompted to choose a library to go to (if they have not, or if their preference cookie has expired). This parameter is usually not used in the Wikipedia context, except with one of two special values:
    • OLBP sends the user to the Online Books Page (though consider using the {{Online books about}} template instead).
    • 0CHOOSE0 prompts the user to choose a destination library, even if they have already registered a preference.
  • The viaf, lccn, lcheading, and wikititle parameters can be used to specify more precisely the topic to query in the destination library. They are used just as they are in the {{Library resources box}} template; see that template's documentation for more details.
{{Library link about}}

The simplest template call generates a link to resources about the current article's topic at the user's preferred library, based on the title of the article.

{{Library link about|label=What your library has on George Washington|viaf=31432428}}

This generates a link to resources at the user's preferred library about the holder of VIAF ID "31432428" (who happens to be George Washington). Using the VIAF ID makes this link less vulnerable to possible future changes in the Wikipedia article title (or in the Library of Congress authorized heading) for George Washington. The text of the link is "What your library has on George Washington".

{{Library link about|library=0CHOOSE0
 |lcheading=United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
 |label=What different libraries have on the American Civil War}}

This generates a link that prompts the user to choose a library to see what resources that have on the American civil war. The lcheading label is set to the Library of Congress authorized heading for that subject. The link text is "What different libraries have on the American Civil War". The 0CHOOSE0 value for the library parameter prevents the user from being taken directly to their preferred library.

  • {{Library resources box}} -- generates a sidebar box of various library links about this topic, using this and other templates.
  • {{Library resources about}} -- generates various library links about this topic as inlined text, using this template.
  • {{Online books about}} -- generates a link to free online books about this topic, with some explanatory context, using this template.