News briefs

Last October, 18 representatives from 15 libraries in China visited OCLC Canada's Library Technical Services (LTS) in Winnipeg, Manitoba, as well as several OCLC member institutions throughout British Columbia. The visit was part of a cultural exchange, which continues this month, as OCLC Asia Pacific leadership from the cooperative's headquarters and Beijing office, including Vice President, Andrew Wang, and Executive Director, Shu-En Tsai, visit several member libraries in China, the Philippines and Taiwan. This exchange is designed to build relationships between OCLC and its members in these regions.

During their visit last fall, member library representatives had the opportunity to tour Vancouver Public Library, University of British Columbia and University of Manitoba Libraries. Also as part of their visit, the Chinese delegates experienced a day in the life of catalogers at OCLC's LTS facilities, who perform custom cataloging services in multiple languages on behalf of members in Canada and around the world. OCLC staff also provided in-depth demonstrations highlighting the key benefits and top techniques to produce quality records using OCLC's Connexion and WorldCat services.

After visiting Canada, the group went to Chicago, where they visited OCLC member institutions including the University of Chicago and Chicago Public Library. The final destination of the group was OCLC headquarters in Dublin, Ohio. In addition to touring the OCLC campus, the group participated in a seminar on OCLC Global Resource Sharing, and visited Westerville Public Library and The Ohio State University's Thompson Library and Book Depository.

Representatives from the following institutions participated in this exchange visit:

• Administration Center, China Academic Library Info System
• Beijing Normal University Library
• China University of Geosciences Library, Wuhan
• Dongguan Library
• East China Normal University Library
• Jilin University Library
• Library of Ocean University of China
• The Library of Wuhan University of Technology
• Northeastern University Library
• OCLC Beijing Representative Office
• Peking University Library
• Shaanxi Library
• Shanghai Library
• Xi'an Jiaotong University Library
• Zhejiang Library

In March 2011, OCLC staff members are visiting several member libraries in China, the Philippines and Taiwan. As part of this trip, OCLC leadership from both the Beijing Representative Office and the cooperative's headquarters in Ohio have presented two seminars in China to member library staff to discuss opportunities for further collaboration among member libraries throughout Asia and the OCLC cooperative. The first of these took place on March 7 at Southwest Jiaotong University and the second on March 9 at Chongqing University.

Front (from left to right):
Shao Wenhui (Senior Librarian, Jilin University Library), Li Xin (Duputy Director, East China Normal University Library), Xie Hong (Director of Acquisitions & Cataloguing Department, Shaanxi Library), Han Xin (Duputy Director,China University of Geosciences Library), Zhang Chunhong (Director of a Department, Peking University Library), Fu Xianhua (Duputy Director, Wuhan University of Technology Library), Huang Yanyun (Deputy Director, Beijing Normal University Library), Huang Yiwen (Deputy Director of Acquisitions & Cataloguing Department, Shanghai Library)

Back (from left to right):
Zhan Lihua (a Director of a department, Hang Zhou Library), Zhang Xiya (Duputy Director, Xi'an JiaoTong University Library), Zeng Lijun (senior librarian, CALIS), Liu Ru (Director of Acquisitions & Cataloguing Department, Hang Zhou Library), Gao Wenbo (Director of Retrieval and Reference Department, Northeastern University Library), Huang Feiyan (Assistant to the Chief Representative, OCLC Beijing Representative Office), Daniel Boivin (Executive Director, OCLC Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean), Helen McCutcheon (Manager, OCLC Library Technical Services), Lois DeGurse (OCLC Library Technical Services Production Manager), John, Zhao Zhi (Assistant to the Chief Representative, OCLC Beijing Representative Office), Yang Lei (Assistant to the Director of Acquisitions & Cataloguing Department, Dongguan Library), Liu Songbai (Director of Beijing Normal University Library), Wei Hsijiang (Director of Ocean University of China Library)

The application deadline for the 2012 Jay Jordan IFLA/OCLC Early Career Development Fellowship Program is Friday, February 18, 2011.

This program, jointly sponsored by the American Theological Library Association, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and OCLC, provides early career development and continuing education for six library and information science professionals from countries with developing economies.

In the report, Jay Jordan, OCLC President and Chief Executive Officer, wrote that fiscal 2010 was a momentous year.

Members of the OCLC cooperative adopted a new policy for use of WorldCat records and completed the transition to a new, global governance structure. Participation in OCLC services continued at strong levels. The WorldCat database grew at an extraordinary rate. At the same time, the cooperative launched new services that strengthen libraries and help reduce their costs.

Fifteen libraries and consortia are featured in the report, which is being mailed to OCLC member libraries and partners in December.