 |
 |
|
To the membership
In 2000, we shared with you our three-year strategic plan to extend the OCLC cooperative and transform WorldCat into a globally networked information resource through new services and a new technological platform. Three years later, I am pleased to report significant progress. Your OCLC cooperative has introduced new services and initiatives that hold the promise of substantially improving the way libraries provide information to people. In the past three years, we have developed and are now operating these new services: • digital collection and preservation services, including a digital archive • a 24x7 virtual, cooperative reference service (QuestionPoint) • an integrated metadata/cataloging system (OCLC Connexion) • a public access computing portal for public libraries (WebJunction). We are also well along in the transformation of WorldCat into a globally networked resource of text, graphics, sound and motion. In fiscal 2003, we loaded 52 million bibliographic records into our new Oracle 9i technological platform and Unicode-compliant database system. The new system will support not only the MARC format, but also Dublin Core and the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records model. We also implemented links between WorldCat and the OCLC PICA GGC Catalogue in The Netherlands, thereby connecting two knowledge hubs on different continents. This new link complements the link between the PiCarta database, tailored for European libraries, and WorldCat that was implemented in 2001. A signal achievement was implementation of a new tool that: 1) links WorldCat to photos, graphics and other objects in digitized special collections of libraries and other cultural heritage institutions; and 2) automatically harvests metadata from the collections, converts it to the MARC format, and loads it into WorldCat. The tool is CONTENTdm, a software package that enables libraries to manage and provide access to their digitized collections. More than 100 institutions are now using this software to manage more than a million digital objects in their collections. The Open WorldCat pilotAnother objective in our strategy is to make library collections and quality services more visible and accessible on the Internet—weaving libraries into the Web. In October 2003, we started the largest, and potentially one of the most significant, test programs in the history of the cooperative—the Open WorldCat pilot. In partnership with the Google search service, which provides Web sites and portals with access to billions of Web pages, we are making a subset of two million abbreviated records from WorldCat available on Google, with links to the Web-based catalogs and sites of 12,000 academic, public and school libraries participating in OCLC. With the Open WorldCat pilot, an information seeker who starts a search using Google could end up finding the items needed in a nearby library. The Open WorldCat pilot exemplifies the collective institutional energy that the OCLC cooperative can bring to bear when it sets out to explore ways to improve access to quality information. We launched the pilot after extensive consultation with leaders in the library and information community. We will be listening closely to libraries and their users during the test and will refine the service based on their feedback. In June 2004, we will decide whether to proceed with implementation of an ongoing service. In short, this is an experiment whose results will affect the future of library service. MembershipDuring the year, 476 new governing members, 470 new members and 1,910 new participants joined the cooperative and began using one or more OCLC services. Total membership in the cooperative at year’s end was 45,402 libraries in 84 countries. These institutions used OCLC services to:
FinancesFiscal 2003 revenues from use of OCLC services were $191.8 million, up from $178.2 million the previous year. While OCLC achieved a modest result of $3 million, it incurred a realized loss of $4 million from investment portfolio transactions, thereby resulting in a net loss of $1 million for fiscal 2003. OCLC provided libraries with $11.2 million in credits, primarily for cataloging and resource sharing, to encourage the growth and quality of WorldCat. In fiscal 2003, we continued to invest in the future through major capital expenditures, which totaled $28.2 million. Major projects included the WorldCat technological platform; new user support systems; and replacement of current computer infrastructure to support existing library services. Fiscal 2003 was a difficult time for much of the world’s economy in general, and for libraries in particular. Mindful of our chartered objective of reducing the rate rise of library costs, we at OCLC have worked very hard to control costs and to hold the line on prices. The OCLC Board of Trustees accepted management’s recommendation to hold the line on U.S. prices for OCLC services in fiscal 2004, excluding pass-through prices set by third parties. While modest price increases will have to occur in fiscal 2005, we will continue to work hard to control our costs. In fiscal 2003, we froze salaries of upper management, reduced merit increases for other staff, and reduced the size of our workforce by about 5 percent to bring expenses in line with revenues. These actions were painful but necessary, and we took them in common with many of the institutions that we serve. Fortunately, as our audited financial statements demonstrate, OCLC has the financial strength to keep moving forward during this difficult economic period. Equally important, the OCLC cooperative can offer practical solutions that can help libraries increase their productivity and do more with less. International activityThe OCLC cooperative now extends to more than 9,000 libraries outside the U.S. in 83 countries. Approximately 850 libraries participate in OCLC Canada, which now has offices in Chambly, Quebec; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Ottawa, Ontario; and Calgary, Alberta. In June, OCLC participated in the joint conference of the American Library Association and the Canadian Library Association in Toronto, where our programs were well-attended and our presence, in the midst of the SARS crisis, was very much appreciated. In fiscal 2003, we have been busy in Latin America and the Caribbean, where 700 libraries now participate. In Chile, 368 public libraries under the Directorate of Libraries, Archives and Museums became OCLC members. At this writing, we had just loaded the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico’s CLASE and PERIÓDICA databases on the OCLC FirstSearch service. In Asia Pacific, about 3,300 libraries participate in OCLC. This year, over 490 libraries started participating in OCLC. The University of Hong Kong batchloaded its entire collection into WorldCat, which included nearly 75,000 original cataloging records. OCLC PICAOCLC PICA, which serves 4,300 institutions in Europe and Africa, continued to integrate operations in its offices in Leiden, The Netherlands; Birmingham, England; and Paris, France. Highlights of OCLC PICA’s activities in fiscal 2003 include:
CAPCONOn June 17, 2003, the membership of CAPCON approved an agreement that enabled this nonprofit OCLC regional service provider to become the OCLC CAPCON Service Center, which will continue to offer critical services to more than 300 libraries in the Washington, D.C. area. This new relationship will also allow OCLC to learn more about the special library communities and develop services to meet their needs as well as the needs of similar institutions worldwide. Research2003 marks the 25th anniversary of OCLC Research, which was established in 1978 by OCLC’s founder and first president, Frederick G. Kilgour. This annual report looks at the past, present and future of this important resource for member libraries and the wider information community. WebJunctionIn May, we launched WebJunction, a public access computing portal for some 12,000 public libraries that OCLC built with grant funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The site provides online tutorials, training modules, webcasting, message boards and other tools to help libraries enhance public access computing services to users. We designed WebJunction to comply with standards that will facilitate the extension of this shared knowledge community to other parts of the world, albeit in different languages and formats. Dewey Decimal ClassificationWe published the 22nd edition of the Dewey Decimal Classification on the Web, and at year’s end, were preparing to release the print version. First published in 1876, the DDC is now used by more than 200,000 libraries in 135 countries. E-learningOCLC formed the Task Force on E-learning to develop strategies that will enhance the ability of libraries to serve the academic community in the e-learning environment. The task force was composed of 13 librarians, administrators, faculty and instructional technologists who assessed the current state of e-learning on college campuses. They issued a white paper on e-learning strategies for libraries based on the survey and the discussions in October. This document will help frame discussions as to what roles libraries and the OCLC cooperative might play in e-learning, a concept that today includes not only distance learning, but also more traditional courses that have incorporated electronic elements into the traditional teaching and learning process. netLibrarynetLibrary continued to make progress since its acquisition by OCLC in January 2002. At this writing, its collection of eBooks contained more than 60,000 titles, representing copyrighted titles from 385 publishers, with 64 percent of the titles published in the last three years. About 8,670 libraries are using netLibrary eBook content and tools, including 320 institutions in 33 countries outside the U.S. QuestionPointIn June 2002, we launched QuestionPoint, a virtual reference desk collaborative service developed with the Library of Congress and 260 pilot-test libraries. About 1,000 libraries in 19 countries are using the service. The service has logged more than 94,000 interactions between reference librarians and patrons, including some 25,000 chat sessions. The Global Knowledge Base now contains over 3,600 question-and-answer records. Virtual International Authorities FileOn August 6, 2003, Die Deutsche Bibliothek (DDB), the Library of Congress (LC) and OCLC signed a memorandum of understanding that will lead to the development of a Virtual International Authorities File (VIAF). OCLC will use its matching algorithm software to process bibliographic and personal name authority records from the retrospective files of LC and DDB to generate the initial authorities file. The VIAF will be updated regularly with metadata harvested automatically from the participating national authority files using OAI protocols. This is a landmark in international library cooperation. Digital Collection and Preservation ServicesIn the recent past, OCLC has invested about $10 million to launch new digital collection and preservation services, and we continue to make progress in this area. In its first year of operation, the OCLC Digital Archive received some 3,000 objects for long-term access and preservation. Current Digital Archive participants include the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), and the State Libraries of Ohio, Michigan, Connecticut, New Mexico and Arkansas. The Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution Libraries, Columbia University and the University of Chicago are now participating in trial-use of the Archive. We continue to provide consulting and education services to help libraries plan, fund and implement their digitization and preservation projects and programs. Clearly, with new advances such as the previously noted WorldCat link to CONTENTdm, momentum is building in this critical area of the digital library. WorkplaceWe continued to invest in training and education to improve our workforce performance. I am pleased to report that the OCLC Center for Leadership Development, which operates in partnership with the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University, has received an award of excellence from the American Society for Training and Development for “exemplary practices in workplace learning and performance.” The President’s Inclusion Council, which was formed last year to advise the president on inclusion issues, extended its program to develop breadth and balance in our workforce in order to become a more effective organization. On March 18, OCLC hosted the 2003 Ohio Dinners for Spectrum as part of the American Library Association’s Spectrum Initiative, which provides scholarships to library and information science schools for African American, Latino/Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islanders and Native American/Alaskan Native students. Emma Bradford Perry, OCLC Members Council delegate and Dean of Libraries, Southern University, was the keynote speaker at this event. The staffs of OCLC and our regional service providers worked very hard to control costs and improve services for the OCLC community. I would like to thank them for staying the course during a particularly demanding year. GovernanceThe OCLC Members Council, under the leadership of its 2002/2003 president, Kristin Senecal, Assistant Director, Technical Services, Dickinson College, continued to provide valued advice and counsel to OCLC. This past year, the Council urged OCLC to work more closely with UNESCO and IFLA on international library programs, including extension of WebJunction and the IFLA/OCLC Institute Fellows Program. The Council also worked with the Board of Trustees and OCLC staff to develop Five-Year Information Format Trends, which was shared with the membership for strategic planning purposes. Board Chair William J. Crowe, Spencer Librarian, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas, continued to provide insightful leadership. He and fellow Board members provide a disciplined approach to building the long-term future of the organization. The Board worked closely with Members Council on a Joint Committee on Membership, which is exploring ways to recognize changing forms of contribution to the cooperative and their potential effects on how delegate representation is allocated on the Council. At this writing, the Board had just held its annual planning retreat with OCLC senior management. Since we have accomplished many of the goals set forth in the 2000 plan, we are now looking ahead and revising our strategy and tactics for the next three years. We will be sharing that strategy with you in the year ahead. As we pursue new goals, however, our vision remains the same—to be the leading worldwide library cooperative, helping libraries serve people by providing economical access to knowledge through innovation and collaboration.
November 15, 2003 |
