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DUBLIN, Ohio, USA, 27 February 2008—OCLC Members Council met February 10–12 in Dublin, Ohio, to explore innovative ideas for new services, opportunities that global members and cultural heritage institutions bring to the collaborative, and discuss new possibilities for governance of the world's largest library cooperative.
Under the leadership of OCLC Members Council President Sandy Yee, Dean of Libraries, Wayne State University (MLC), Council heard from a variety of speakers in plenary sessions offering ideas in library and information science innovation, and met in small groups to discuss ideas and topics of particular interest to delegates.
Library design in the Information Age
Joe Branin, University Librarian, The Ohio State University, opened the General Session with a brief virtual tour of the Ohio State University Main Library, which is in the ninth year of a 10-year, $109 million renovation project. Mr. Branin's presentation was held at the Ohio Historical Society in nearby Columbus.
The original William Oxley Thompson Memorial (Main) Library building, located at the center of the Ohio State campus, was completed in 1913. Several additions were constructed between then and the late 1970s. Following a task force and feasibility study from 1998–2002, design work and construction began on a new main library that is specifically designed to update and restore some of the original architecture, and to accommodate the changing nature of print collection management and the growing importance of "learning space" in libraries.
The renovation project resulted in programmatic reorganizations in the library, which included placing greater emphasis on content management, learning and outreach; consolidation of collections and service points; more collaboration with other libraries; public space that is varied, flexible and information technology-rich; and creating "learning space" that allows for social interaction. "Our real goal is to bring together students, faculty, librarians and library materials," said Mr. Branin.
He noted that a recent study by the Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers reveals that more than half the students surveyed ranked the condition of a university's libraries near the top of their list of reasons for choosing a college.
"I think it's a wise investment—it's a big investment. No matter how the technology changes for the way we gather information, I think people will always want to come together in a beautiful space. I think these great buildings will remain vital forever."
The newly renovated library is scheduled to open in 2009.
Defining a 21st century library for research
Carol Mandel, Dean of Libraries, New York University, discussed findings of a study focused on defining a library research environment in her presentation, "Defining a 21st Century Library for Faculty and Graduate Student Research." The study was conducted with the assistance of Katzenbach Partners, LLC (KPL) in 2006.
Interviews with faculty members and focus groups with graduate students provided the major source of data for the study, and a number of core issues surfaced that scholars face as they engage in their research activities. Interviews determined that there is a great interest in the question of space for research, especially physical space and ways that the library can serve as a dynamic environment that contributes to intellectual and community life.
In the new world of scholarly research, there are many ways to support and enable the diverse work of scholars, according to the KPL report. "At NYU, the changing story of scholarly work can be supported by improving spaces for work; enabling collaboration and connections across disparate disciplines; making the discovery process more powerful; expanding beyond traditional conceptions of the library; and creating more spaces and mechanisms for intellectual creativity and inspiration."
"Of all the findings we made, the one that struck me the most was the issue of stimulation and inspiration," said Ms. Mandel. "So what's our responsibility for providing that kind of environment—both online and physically? It is a responsibility of the research library to be a space for inspiration."
The final report can be found at http://library.nyu.edu/about/KPLReport.pdf.
Redefining the possibilities at a school library
George Bishop, Director, Ovid-Elsie Area Schools Information Center, provided his vision of OCLC global resource sharing from the perspective of a small school library in rural Michigan.
Mr. Bishop described his school located in a rural farm community. It serves 900 students in grades 7–12 and district-wide about 1,900. More cows live on just one farm than live in the two villages served by the school district. Forty percent of students in the district live in poverty, and the school district has a print collection of about 25,000 titles.
In 1991, the school library became part of an LSTA grant that provided Group Access Capability. They started a small retrospective conversion project and OCLC provided access to millions of items through WorldCat. "Suddenly, I had online access to the world," said Mr. Bishop. "My small school library has changed significantly over the last 16 years because of OCLC."
Mr. Bishop encouraged OCLC to bring more libraries like his into the cooperative to achieve the kind of success his library has achieved. "Let us transform more libraries in the same way mine was transformed," he said. "Let us create a bright future for all sizes of libraries by offering and promoting affordable OCLC resource sharing globally. Let us connect all the world's libraries, sustaining OCLC as the world's preeminent library cooperative."
The Members Council Executive Committee allowed time during the meeting for delegates to hear a variety of short presentations promoting innovative ideas, including:
OCLC President's Report
Jay Jordan, OCLC President and CEO, provided an update on OCLC plans and activities. He talked about the continued consolidation among service providers in the library community, noting several high-profile mergers and acquisitions in the past two years.
Mr. Jordan noted some of OCLC's recent mergers and acquisitions. He introduced Chris Zagar, now an OCLC consultant, whose EZproxy software was acquired by OCLC in January. EZproxy software allows libraries to manage access and authentication configurations through a proxy server so that library users do not have to make any configuration changes to their personal Web browsers.
"In pursuing acquisitions, we look for opportunities that are consistent with OCLC's public purposes and that will lead to new or better services, to new markets or to lower costs for member libraries," said Mr. Jordan. "Because of these mergers, we now have eight engineering centers in Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States that will augment our existing strong development capabilities."
Mr. Jordan said the vast majority of OCLC participants are "dot.edus" or "dot.orgs," and OCLC has many responsibilities among them to grapple with challenges of the Web.
"Our goals complement those of libraries and other knowledge institutions—to advance research and education, to organize and preserve knowledge, and pass it on to future generations," said Mr. Jordan. "Consistent with our public purposes, we will also pursue worthwhile projects for the benefit of libraries and their users through OCLC Programs and Research, WebJunction and advocacy."
He said the governance issues that the OCLC Board of Trustees and Members Council are now discussing are important to the long-term viability of OCLC.
Governance discussion
Marshall Keys, former delegate and network director, led Members Council in discussions about governance of the cooperative and conducted an informal poll on various issues related to recommendations of the OCLC Governance Study Committee. The OCLC Board of Trustees will consider that input as they determine whether or not to formulate and present resolutions to Members Council in May to make any changes in the OCLC Code of Regulations.
More information about OCLC governance can be found at http://www.oclc.org/us/en/membership/governance/.
In other matters:
The next OCLC Members Council meeting is May 18–20, 2008, in Dublin, Ohio.
About Members Council
The 66-delegate Members Council supports OCLC’s mission by serving as the key discussion forum and communications link between member libraries, regional networks and other partners, and OCLC management. By providing a channel for recommendations and questions from Members Council delegates, approving changes in the Code of Regulations, and electing six members of the Board of Trustees, Members Council helps shape the future direction of OCLC.
About OCLC
Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, OCLC is a nonprofit library service and research organization that has provided computer-based cataloging, reference, resource sharing, eContent, preservation, library management and Web services to 60,000 libraries in 112 countries and territories. OCLC and its member libraries worldwide have created and maintain WorldCat, the world's richest online resource for finding library materials. For more information, visit www.oclc.org.
OCLC, WebJunction and WorldCat are trademarks/service marks of OCLC, Inc. Third-party product, service and business names are trademarks/service marks of their respective owners.
For more information:
Bob Murphy
murphyb@oclc.org
+1-614-761-5136
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