The z39.50 protocol is used to access libraries and bibliographic information providers around the world. Lists of public z39.50 servers are available from indexdata.dk, among others. Tellico comes with several preset configurations for major libraries, or you can specify the connection information manually.

Tellico is able to read data in the MODS, USMARC/MARC21, or UNIMARC format, using the yaz library. In addition, there is limited support for the GRS-1 format.

To use one of the preset libraries, check the box and then select the library. The other configuration entries will be disabled. If you need to set the information manually, uncheck the preset box.

The default port for z39.50 access is 210, but some servers may use a different one. Tellico assumes the server uses the MARC-8 character encoding, unless configured otherwise. If an incorrect character encoding is used, an error message may appear on the program output, or possibly no entries are retrieved.

Some servers require a username and password for access. Tellico can use and save that password, but be aware that is written to the Tellico configuration file in plain text and is not secure. For most public servers, the username and password fields may be left empty.

SRU stands for Search/Retrieve via URL and is a standard search protocol for Internet searches. Some libraries use it for providing access to their data catalogs. Among them, the US Library of Congress is probably the best known.

Entrez is the integrated, text-based search and retrieval system used at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). The most well-known Entrez database is PubMed, the database for life science articles from many biological journals. At the moment, the only Entrez database supported by Tellico is PubMed.

arXiv.org, Bibsonomy, and CrossRef are online databases for academic articles and bibliographic information. For access to the CrossRef source, you must request an account and add your account information to the data source configuration.

ISBNdb.com is an online book database, from libraries around the world.

OpenLibrary.org is an online book database that aims to have one page for every book.

OPDS catalogs provide a means for searching (and distributing) digital books. Tellico can use many OPDS catalogs as a data source, such as Project Gutenberg. Enter the link to the catalog and verify the access and format to confirm Tellico can read the link.

Bedetheque is a French comic book database, managed by BDGest.

Comic Vine is billed as the largest comic book wiki in the universe.

The Internet Movie Database provides information about movies and videos. When a search is conducted for a Person, if more than one possible result is returned, a dialog box is opened to allow you to select the correct person. The configuration options include selecting which IMDb nationality to use and whether images are fetched or not. Since IMDb can return a large number of cast members, you can limit that to a certain number.

TheMovieDB.org is a free and open online movie database. Registration for a free account is required.

The Open Movie Database (OMDBAPI.com) is a free web service to obtain movie information.

FilmAffinity is an independent film site.

Discogs.com is a user-built music database containing information on artists, labels, and their recordings. Registration for a free account is required.

MusicBrainz.org is a community music metadatabase that attempts to create a comprehensive music information site.

GiantBomb.com is a large community-driven video game database. Registration for a free account is required.

TheGamesDB.net is an open, online database for video game fans.

MobyGames.com is self-described as the oldest, largest and most accurate video game database.

IGDB.com calls itself a gaming website for everyone that loves game.

VideoGameGeek is an online video gaming resource and community.

BoardGameGeek is an online board gaming resource and community.

Colnect is an online community for collectibles providing personal collection management. Tellico can search Colnect for coin and stamp information, as well as comic books, sports card, and video games.

Numista is a world coin catalog which grows thanks to member contributions, offering online collection management, tools to easily exchange with other collectors, and a forum.

Using the Amazon Web Services, Tellico can search any of 14 different international sites operated by Amazon.com for information: United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, France, Canada, China, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Australia, India, Mexico, and Turkey.

Configuring each Amazon.com source involves three settings: the server location, image size, and associate's ID. Some information from Amazon.com may include an image, such as a book or video cover. That image may be downloaded in three different sizes, depending on the item. The associate's ID must be used to access the Amazon.com Web Services, and is included in the links back to the item, as dictated by the license agreement for the use of the Amazon.com Web Services.

Access to the Amazon Product Advertising API may have restrictions related to sales referrals or advertising. Refer to the Amazon documentation for further information when signing up for API access.

As an easier way for Tellico to integrate with third-party plugins, external scripts or applications may be used as an interface for searching other information sources. Tellico will execute a command, and pass the search terms as command-line options.

Some scripts are distributed with Tellico itself. Python is required to search Dark Horse Comics, a comic book publisher, for example.

The collection type returned by the script must be set, along with the data format. Not only can Tellico import data from scripts that use the default Tellico XML format, but it can also import other formats as well, such as bibtex.

The full path to the application should be entered in the source options. Check the boxes next to the search keys supported by the application, and enter the required command line options in the edit box. The search value will be inserted where %1 appears.

For updating entries already in the collection, the final check box and edit box are used to determine the command-line options. The entry fields used to find an update must be entered, in the same format as used for derived value fields.