Minutes of the May 19-21, 2002
Members Council meeting
June 26, 2002
OCLC Members Council Memorandum
TO:
CC:
FROM:
SUBJECT: |
OCLC Members Council Delegates and Alternates
Network Directors, OCLC Board, Staff, and Guests
Richard Van Orden, Program Director, Members Council
Minutes of the May 19-21, 2002 Members Council Meeting |
Conducted by President Jerry Stephens (SOLINET), the OCLC Members Council
convened at 5:30 PM, U.S. Eastern Time, on 19 May 2002 at the Marriott
Northwest Hotel in Dublin, Ohio. Early-arriving delegates participated
in a tour of the Columbus Metropolitan Library and the James Thurber House
on 18 May. Meetings of the Executive, Finance, and Nominating committees
were held the afternoon of Sunday, 19 May. The Monday meetings were held
at the Conference Center on the OCLC campus in Dublin while Tuesday segments
re-convened at the Marriott Northwest. The Task Force on OCLC's Role in
Library Staff Development met Tuesday morning at the hotel.
Approximately one hundred fifty individuals, including delegates, alternates,
board members, OCLC staff, network and service center directors, and guests
participated in this meeting. In addition, individuals at more than 200
locations registered and participated remotely via web broadcast in two
hours of the Monday morning session. (The meeting agenda, slides of presentations,
and minutes when available are posted on the OCLC Members Council Web
site http://www.oclc.org/uc under "Meetings.")
This is the third and last meeting of this Members Council year since
the expansion of the role of Council in advising the board and management
on OCLC's strategic directions and the future library and information
environment. The May meeting focused on "Partnerships in Expanding the
Global Cooperative." The ongoing themes for this Members Council year
are:
OCLC Strategic Plans and Business Directions
Old Friends and New Partners: Building the Worldwide Library Cooperative
Committee Report
Election Certification Committee
Ken Bierman (AMIGOS), chair of the Election Certification Committee, reported
that all network and service center elections were certified by the committee
except INCOLSA. The INCOLSA network is in the process of conducting its
election after which the results will be submitted to committee representatives
for certification.
Nominating Committee
Susan Fifer Canby (CAPCON), Nominating Committee chair, announced the
election by Members Council of delegates Larry Alford and Ian Mowat to
the OCLC Board of Trustees. The new board members will fill the seats
currently held by William Crowe and Christine Deschamps, whose Members
Council-elected, six-year terms will expire in November. To serve with
2002/2003 President Kristin Senecal, Council elected Bob Seal as vice
president/president-elect and Maggie Farrell, Charles Kratz, and Vickey
Johnson as delegates-at-large on the new Executive Committee. The tellers
under the leadership of chair Jessie Arnold (SOLINET) certified the Board
and Executive Committee elections.
Finance Committee
Kristin Senecal (PALINET), Finance Committee chair, informed delegates
that the committee heard from OCLC vice president, Finance Rick Schweiterman
on this year's projected finances and the 2002/2003 budget approved by
the Board of Trustees at its April meeting. The committee approved a proposed
Members Council budget of $318,000 that was unanimously approved by Council
on Monday afternoon.
OCLC President's Report—Jay Jordan
President and Chief Executive Officer
INTRODUCTION
"I want to give you a report on the progress toward implementing our
global strategy. We are moving into one of the most exciting periods in
OCLC's 31-year history. With new membership alternatives, new database
technology and capabilities for WorldCat, and new services in digital
preservation and access, our cooperative is poised to add even more value
for more libraries around the world.
We have an exciting story to tell. That is one of the reasons why we
created a corporate marketing function to build and communicate the OCLC
brand and implement the tools and practices for evaluating and defining
the product and service needs of libraries. Going forward, we must provide
a clear and coherent message. In this environment, the new and expanded
role of Members Council is more critical than ever.
EXTEND THE COOPERATIVE
In January of this year, we merged OCLC Europe, the Middle East and Africa,
whose offices are in Birmingham, England, with Pica, B.V. in Leiden, The
Netherlands, to form OCLC PICA. On April 4, we said farewell to Look Costers,
the managing director of PICA. A number of distinguished speakers gave
lectures in Look's honor. The highlight of the event, though, was a surprise
from Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, who sent notification that he had
been named an officer of Oranje Nassau, which is the family name of the
Dutch Kingdom. The honor is similar to a knighthood.
On April 16, Rein van Charldorp began serving as the new managing director
of OCLC PICA. Rein has lived and worked in Holland, Ireland and the U.S.
He received the Ph.D. in Science from Leiden University, and the MBA from
Nijenrode University in the Netherlands/Wharton School of Business, University
of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining OCLC PICA, he spent 20 years at Reed
Elsevier in science and business publishing. You will hear from Rein tomorrow.
Let me give a brief global round-up.
GLOBAL ROUND-UP
WorldCat is at the core of OCLC services. We are making substantial progress
toward achieving our vision of becoming the leading global library cooperative.
In the past year we have added significant value for libraries by enhancing
FirstSearch at what American Libraries called "a dizzying pace," starting
a major project to move WorldCat to a new platform based on Oracle technology,
launching a new core business in Digital and Preservation Resources and
opening a DPR center in Lacey, Washington, introducing new, Web-based,
streamlined interfaces for cataloging and interlibrary loan, adding new
content forms and links to WorldCat, acquiring the assets of netLibrary,
a leader in e-Books, and MetaText, a leader in e-Textbooks, enhancing
OCLC's internal infrastructure and office systems to make it easier for
libraries to do business with OCLC, creating OCLC PICA to serve libraries
in Europe more effectively, and creating a corporate marketing function
to build and communicate the OCLC brand and execute global marketing strategies
and programs. We have accomplished much and are poised to add even more
value. I'll start with Cataloging and Metadata Services.
CATALOGING AND METADATA SERVICES
As part of our strategy to weave libraries into the web, the new, web-based
cataloging interface combines the best features of existing cataloging
services. It will be phased in over several years, eventually replacing
all OCLC cataloging interfaces. Librarians in all types and sizes of libraries
will use the new interface to perform original cataloging of all formats,
including electronic resources. The new interface will offer access to
WorldCat, linked authority control, automated classification, and the
ability to build subject guides or pathfinders. We are also developing
a web-based collection assessment service that will provide libraries
with accreditation information.
The 22nd edition of the DDC will be coming out in 2003. And, we are exploring
implementation of additional metadata standards. In the coming year, we
will introduce:
- phase 1 of the metadata desktop
- metadata linking/registration service
- metadata capture capability (loads Web metadata automatically into
a local library system)
DIGITAL AND PRESERVATION RESOURCES
We are launching three new services in Digital and Preservation Resources.
First, in response to requests from the library community, we are establishing
a digital co-op as a resource for libraries and institutions seeking to
digitize, preserve and publish electronic collections. About 75 representatives
of some 62 Charter Participants in the Co-op were here at OCLC last week
for a 3-day meeting. They all expressed great excitement over the activities
proposed by the Cooperative for preserving and sharing their collections.
Many of you know Liz Bishoff. She sent a note to Meg Bellinger after the
meeting, stating that she impressed with our approach, which combined
OCLC's historic strengths in cataloging and standards and library cooperation
with partnering with organizations to bring new services. She said, quote,
"It's the most innovative set of services since FirstSearch." Unquote.
Clearly, the Digital Co-op represents an exciting new chapter in cooperative
collection development and is creating a lot of buzz in the library community.
Our second new service is Digital Archiving. The Digital Archiving Service
builds on work done in the Web Document Digital Archive Pilot, which began
in September last year included the U.S. Government Printing Office, Connecticut
State Library, Arizona State Library & Archives, Library of Michigan,
State Library of Ohio, Ohio Historical Society, Ohio Supercomputer Center
and the University of Edinburgh (Scotland). The goals were: to build a
general-purpose archive, based on the OAIS reference model. When the first
implementation is installed this month, the completed service will facilitate
capture of Web documents, creation of preservation metadata for digital
objects, ingest of objects into the archive, and the long-term retention
of these digital information assets.
OCLC is also offering two new software solutions to help libraries preserve
and provide access to valuable resources. The first is called CONTENTdm.
It is a new tool for mounting digital content on the web. Libraries will
be able to create bibliographic and preservation metadata, store digital
objects, and manage the collections online. The digital archive can be
hosted at OCLC or on a library's local system. This new tool is available
without charge to participants in the OCLC Digital Co-op and available
to other libraries through a licensing arrangement.
The second tool is Olive Software. The OCLC Digital and Preservation
Resources center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is using Olive Software to
help libraries provide full online searchable access to their historic
newspapers over the web. Through a unique process that builds an index
of every article, photograph and page, newspapers in print or on microfilm
can be quickly and easily converted to digital format and delivered back
to the library to make accessible via its own web site. Libraries can
contract with OCLC to digitize microfilm or saved newspaper editions.
Once the collection is digitized, a library can mount it on its own server
or host it on an OCLC server.
The OCLC Digital and Preservation Resources center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
is using Olive Software to help libraries provide full online searchable
access to their historic newspapers over the web. Through a unique process
that builds an index of every article, photograph and page, newspapers
in print or on microfilm can be quickly and easily converted to digital
format and delivered back to the library to make accessible via its own
web site. Libraries can contract with OCLC to digitize microfilm or saved
newspaper editions. Once the collection is digitized, a library can mount
it on its own server or host it on an OCLC server. Collections digitized
using Olive Software are fully searchable down to the article level.
OCLC is also establishing Digital and Preservation Resource Centers.
We are building on the extensive experience of Preservation Resources,
an OCLC division based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, that provides digital
scanning services and high-quality preservation microfilming. This month,
OCLC will open the OCLC Western Digital & Preservation Resources Center
in Lacey, Washington, that will offer similar services. And, we are planning
on opening a DPR center in Europe in the coming year.
COOPERATIVE DISCOVERY SERVICES
Next month, with the Library of Congress, OCLC will launch QuestionPoint,
a virtual reference desk collaborative service. This new global cooperative
network of reference librarians will interact with library patrons and
share questions and answers. Through this service they will build a shared
knowledge base of completed questions. QuestionPoint is a hosted service
at OCLC, requiring only a Web browser for the patron and librarian. It
offers libraries and library groups a powerful, easy-to-use resource to
provide and manage their virtual reference services. Consistent with the
public purposes of LC and OCLC, QuestionPoint will be offered at a very
low cost to libraries.
In Cooperative Discovery services, we will: 1) Continue to enhance the
functionality of the FirstSearch service; and 2) Expand the open access
linking program to more third parties. Let's look at some recent enhancements
to FirstSearch. In the March/April 2002 issues of IEEE Internet Computing
(pp. 46-55), the lead article is by OCLC staff member Gary Perlman. In
"Achieving Universal Usability by Designing for Change," Gary discusses
how OCLC FirstSearch developers have successfully incorporated a methodology
that recognizes that "it was more important to be able to change than
'to get things right'. Usability testing, user feedback, new browser releases,
new features, and new application layering would continually require change."
The approach described by Gary is clearly adding value for OCLC libraries,
as noted by David Dorman in the March 2002 issue (page 75) of American
Libraries: "During the past year, OCLC has added major functionality to
its FirstSearch service at a dizzying pace, and intends, I am told, no
near-term slowdown. Judging by the current pace of development, it won't
be long before Steve Coffman's idea of 'Building Earth's Largest Library'
will move from the idea stage to a work-in progress."
As illustrated on the screen, you see here a user searching WorldCat
on FirstSearch, which is interacting with a specified local library catalog.
The punch line on these enhancements is that for the very first time,
OCLC is now presenting on FirstSearch local data such as circulation status
and local call numbers. At long last, we are realizing Fred Kilgour's
oft-stated dream of providing information to people when and where they
need it, in a form they want.
NETLIBRARY
As you know, last month, Rich Rosy was named OCLC corporate vice president,
netLibrary Division. He succeeded Rob Kaufman, who left to pursue other
interests. Rich has worked hard to strengthen netLibrary's relationships
with libraries, publishers, OCLC-affiliated regional networks and other
distributors. He is well suited to lead netLibrary as it enters an important
new stage of its development. In the new organizational structure, Herb
Hilderley, Senior Vice President, MetaText Division, will report to me.
MetaText, as you know, creates, hosts and manages web-based digital textbooks
for publishers.
We are re-launching eBooks and extending their availability to more libraries.
About 6,600 libraries presently use netLibrary eBook content and tools.
Fourteen of our 16 U.S. Regional Network affiliates have arrangements
for libraries in their regions to purchase netLibrary resources. There
are 40,000 titles in the netLibrary collection. These digital resources
complement the 3,700 e-journals from 62 publishers in OCLC FirstSearch
Electronic Collections Online.
WORLDCAT TODAY
At the heart of our strategy to extend the OCLC cooperative to the global
library community is WorldCat. This database needs no introduction. Now
in its 31st year of operation, it continues to be the most consulted database
in higher education. It contains more than 49 million records and over
842 million location listings. We are projecting that the 50 millionth
bib record will be entered by mid-June of this year. As of today, we are
less than 200,000 records away. WorldCat is integral to each of OCLC's
core service areas. It is also a vital part of library operations at many
points in the flow of information from publisher to library to end-user.
WorldCat today is a bibliographic database. Let's take a look at the WorldCat
of tomorrow.
WORLDCAT TOMORROW
The WorldCat of tomorrow is on the horizon. In the coming year, we will
implement the first phase of Oracle database technology for WorldCat.
This technology will enable WorldCat to move beyond bibliography and its
current text limitations to include graphics, sound and motion. It will
be come an even more valuable resource, not only for the professional
librarian, but for the library patron as well WorldCat will support not
only MARC, but also DublinCore and IFLA
The WorldCat of tomorrow is on the horizon. In the coming year, we will
implement the first phase of Oracle database technology for WorldCat.
This technology will enable WorldCat to move beyond bibliography and its
current text limitations to include graphics, sound and motion. It will
be come an even more valuable resource, not only for the professional
librarian, but for the library patron as well. WorldCat will support not
only MARC, but also Dublin Core and IFLA's Functional Requirements for
Bibliographic Records. WorldCat will also support Unicode. A
GLOBAL NETWORK
The new WorldCat will include new forms of information and contributors.
It will contain not only descriptions of library holdings, but links to
digital objects in other knowledge repositories, such as museums, archives,
private collections, and historical and professional societies. This new
resource will interweave the World Wide Web with the physical and electronic
media of the world. The new WorldCat will include new forms of information
and contributors. It will contain not only descriptions of library holdings,
but links to digital objects in other knowledge repositories, such as
museums, archives, private collections, and historical and professional
societies. This new resource will interweave the World Wide Web with the
physical and electronic media of the world's libraries. Our technological
platform will rely on open systems architectures and adhere to technical
standards that promote the cost-effective, worldwide sharing of information
across platforms, scripts, languages and cultural materials.
As you have seen, we are making progress. This is an ambitious agenda,
a risky agenda, and ultimately, an achievable agenda. We must succeed
in all of these initiatives to continue to add value for our member libraries.
I have great confidence in our global team's ability to accomplish these
tasks.
Tomorrow, the Members Council will be asked to ratify changes to OCLC's
articles of incorporation and code of regulations based on resolutions
unanimously passed by the Board of Trustees in April. Tonight, I would
like to thank this Members Council for its hard work on behalf of OCLC
and its participating libraries. There will be a formal ceremony Tuesday,
but tonight, I wanted to extend my personal thanks to each of you for
a very successful year. Each year the work with Members Council gets better,
and this year has been the best yet. The governance study not only found
the Members Council and the rest of OCLC's governance structure fit for
purpose, but also recommended an expanded role for the Council. Indeed,
Members Council is assuming a more proactive role in advising OCLC, which
I know is welcomed by my management team and the Board as well as me.
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS FELLOWS
Please join me in welcoming the second class of OCLC/IFLA Fellows, who
are spending four weeks in the U.S. through May 24. The program supports
library and information science professionals who are in the early stages
of their career development and are from countries with developing economies.
This year's fellows are:
Dayang Zarina Abang Ismail from Malaysia
Ferry Irawan, from Indonesia
Sibongile Madolo from South Africa
Purity Mwagha from Kenya
J. K. Vijayakumar from India
OCLC INSTITUTE
In March, April and May, the OCLC Institute held three successful satellite
videoconferences on standards. The distinguished speakers on these programs
included Herbert Van de Sompel of the British Library, Donald Sawyer of
NASA, and Barbara Tillet of the Library of Congress. This November, The
Institute and Syracuse University are co-sponsoring the 2002 Virtual Reference
Desk (VRD) Conference in Chicago.
Erik Jul, the Institute's Executive Director, is also serving on the
Members Council Task Force on OCLC's Role in Library Staff Development.
Its purpose is to assess the future environment for library staff development
and to make recommendations on what OCLC's role should be. Charlene Hurt
of SOLINET is chairing that group, which includes international representation.
GATES FOUNDATION GRANT TO OCLC FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY PORTAL
On May 2, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded OCLC a 3-year,
$9 million grant to build a web-based, public access computing portal
for public libraries and other organizations that provide open access
to information. The portal will host a range of services, including online
tutorials, training modules, web casting, message boards and other tools
that help libraries enhance service to their users.
Many OCLC staff played key roles in helping OCLC land the Gates Foundation
grant, including: Frank Hermes, Lorcan Dempsey and George Needham. Another
key person was OCLC consultant and former OCLC board member, Marilyn Mason.
OCLC will partner with four other organizations to design and implement
the portal. They are: The Colorado State Library, The Benton Foundation,
Isoph, and TechSoup.
OCLC recently received national recognition in Computer World's "Best
Places to Work in IT" survey. We ranked #36 in a distinguished list of
100 employers nationwide. OCLC's IT team was compared to other organizations'
teams on several criteria, including diversity, career development, benefits
and retention incentives that IT employees find most compelling. OCLC
joins two other central Ohio organizations on the 2002 list: American
Electric Power and Nationwide Mutual Insurance.
OFFICE OF RESEARCH
It's been almost a year since I announced Lorcan Dempsey's appointment
as Vice President, Office of Research. Since then, Lorcan has hit the
ground running. Under his leadership, the Office of Research has reviewed
and realigned priorities and made significant progress on a variety of
fronts. In March, the Research Advisory Committee held its first meeting
of the year at OCLC in Dublin. Members of RAC are Neil McLean of Macquarie
University in Australia, Bruce Morton of Montana State University, Barbara
Tillet of the Library of Congress, and Pat Pitkin of Rochester Institute
of Technology, who represented the Members Council Research Interest Group.
OCLC research scientists briefed the committee on research projects under
way, including work on a
EXTEND THE COOPERATIVE
In April I met with the Director of Libraries at the National University
of Mexico, which is now an OCLC member. I also visited the National Library
of Mexico. In the photo is Rosa Maria Fernandez, the Director of the National
Library. Nicholas Cop and José Antonio Yañez are working with the National
Library to reach agreement to load the Library's valuable collection in
to WorldCat.
In Asia Pacific, the Singapore National Union Catalog of nearly 2 million
records will be loaded into WorldCat by the end of June. In addition,
100 Singapore libraries are now cataloging members of OCLC. In Taiwan,
the TEBNET eBook Consortium of 21 institutions of higher education has
purchased 7,128 netLibrary eBook titles. In Australia, Kinetica, the national
library information network operated by the National Library of Australia,
is now providing on a 12-month trial a gateway to WorldCat for cataloging
by about 1,000 small libraries in Australia. In Japan, starting in July,
the national library network of Japan will begin using the OCLC Interlibrary
Loan service to share resources with U.S. research libraries through an
ISO ILL system link. "
Members Council President's Report—Jerry Stephens (SOLINET)
Librarian and Director, University of Alabama at Birmingham Library
"It has been a real privilege to be the President of Members Council
this year, the first year of a new era. A newness that will not wear off
quickly. I also feel a great pride as I report to you today in this our
last meeting of the 2001/02 Members Council. This has been an historic
year for Members Council. We have done more than CHANGE our name. We have
made a difference. As the delegates in the inaugural year of Members Council,
you have embraced change. You have accepted the challenge presented by
the last OCLC Users Council and you have made extraordinary progress,
progress measured by actions:
Seated six transitional delegates to bring international representation
to 10 or about 15% of the total—More importantly, you have listened
with open minds to the voices of these delegates and others on ways to
improve our cooperative, you have made our reactions less US centric and
more global.
You have worked hard by adjusting your schedules and your commitments
to our extended programming. Yes, much more than a change in format, this
is a change in what we do, a change in substance.
You have dealt with important issues.
a) The Statement of Principles of Membership an affirmation of the
values shared by the members of the OCLC cooperative and reaffirming
our commitment to the OCLC WorldCat Principles of Cooperation that form
the basis of our collaborative activities. These two documents are important
as technology allows a variety of ways for the data we all share to
be exploited. You have recognized the importance of intellectual contribution
to and use of the cooperative's major asset, WorldCat. You have agreed
that we owe it to each other to participate in these activities and
to the protection of WorldCat and our collective databases from misuse
or from non-reimbursed use.
b) The analysis of functional services and products, tools used by
colleagues every day.
c) The analysis of Business Plans
d) The potential of expanding the membership:
By contributing to the discussions of the Ad Hoc Committee on Membership,
you have helped strengthen the collaborative. You have helped set the
stage by which OCLC can be more nimble and respond more quickly to changes
in the environment in which we work. You have contributed to the institutional
memory and future of OCLC for libraries worldwide.
You have fulfilled an important part of your responsibility in the governance
of OCLC - You have nominated and elected two delegates for six-year terms
to the OCLC Board of Trustees. Later in this meeting you will fulfill
another important responsibility in the governance of OCLC. You will have
an opportunity to consider and vote on resolutions from the Board of Trustees
amending the Articles of Incorporation and the Code of Regulations, documents
which establish the policies and procedures by which the cooperative exists.
You have demonstrated your support for OCLC Staff by attending the Staff
Appreciation Day in October and by participating in a two-hour web cast
of our February meeting. It is very clear that you recognize the important
role you play in the success of OCLC. governance, products, services,
ideas, and reality checks are all important and you have accepted the
challenge placed before you this year in each of these areas. My congratulations
to you for your interest, your commitment and your endurance. All of you
contributed to success, a success that will be the basis for the future
of OCLC. Thank you for your hard work!
I have tried to minimize my role as a talking head during our meetings
this year. We have changed the rhythm of the meetings. You may not have
noticed but we have changed the rhythm of almost everyone that has participated
in our program this year. Yes, I even broke my own rhythm. We have shortened
presentations and we have lengthened discussion periods. We have moved
from stuffy dinners to exciting periods of food and fellowship. Sunday
night is filled with the buzz of discussion and interchange among colleagues
and not the clanging of dishes by waiters. Instead of hurrying back to
down an Alka-Seltzer and check emails, people have remained in conversation
long after the service staff have cleared the room.
Why have we been able to do this? I offer my humble opinion based on
the lexicon of the English language, a language that is no longer the
singular language of our meetings. I want to discuss two small words with
you. They are "may" and "can." From my earliest remembrances the use of
these two words has been a controversy between my fellow classmates and
our English teachers - May is to ask permission. Can is to show ability.
May I help you? Not can I help you. Obviously, may (asking permission
to assist) is based on our perception that we have the ability to assist,
to provide help. The key is our willingness to help, demonstrated not
only by our ability but recognizing the importance and respect for the
other person. We ask permission. I view the change from Users Council
in May of 2001 to today as the difference between may and can. Prior to
this year we (Members Council) have asked the question politely. May we
help?
Often, we have been content to come to the meetings as casual participants.
This year you have changed the importance of these two small words - and
you have also changed the interrogative to the declarative. This is a
subtle change in the structure of a sentence, yet a change which has had
tremendous impact on Members Council and OCLC. This change could not have
happened without the enthusiastic support of OCLC management and of the
Board of Trustees. To Bill and Jay and all our colleagues from the Board
and OCLC, thanks for your support!
To you, my fellow delegates, this year you have said in a very positive
way, "We Can make a difference! Ask us and we will help." In fact, in
many cases you have not waited to be asked, you have answered the unasked
question. What a legacy for future Members Councils. You leave a legacy
of change, of openness, of consensus building through healthy disagreement,
of respect for one another and of accomplishment. And how? Because we
replaced in our minds and in the culture of OCLC - the word May, a question,
sometimes a timid request for permission to participate with the word
Can, an enabler, a declaration, a proactive willingness to contribute,
based on our inherent knowledge that the whole is greater and stronger
than the sum of the parts.
I want to leave you with a quote from noted anthropologist Margaret Meade,
who said: " Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens
can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that has." You have
changed Members Council by your presence here and by your respect for
each other. Libraries and their users worldwide are indebted to you for
your work and your service. Congratulations and thanks to each of you.
It has been a great year!"
Members Council Webcast
For the first time, a two-hour portion of the Members Council meeting
was streamed over the web to staff at libraries, networks, and OCLC service
centers in more than 200 locations around the world. Rich Rosy, OCLC vice
president, netLibrary discussed future plans of the recently-purchased
eBook service for libraries headquartered in Boulder, Colorado. Jerry
Stephens, Director, Stern Library, University of Alabama at Birmingham
gave the Members Council President's Report quoted in total earlier. This
session included a summary of the OCLC PICA business plan by Rein van
Charldorp, Managing Director, and Janet Lees, Director, OCLC PICA. These
segments concluded with about half of the time devoted to questions and
discussion from the delegates. Finally, OCLC President Jay Jordan presented
a gift of appreciation to each of the twenty delegates whose term on Council
is completed.
OCLC Membership and Contribution to the Cooperative
At this meeting, Members Council unanimously ratified the amendments
to the OCLC Articles of Incorporation and Code of Regulations proposed
by the Board of Trustees. On 20 May Council also approved the following
resolution proposed by the Members Council Executive Committee. This resolution
ratified the Membership and Contributions Protocols attached below that
was prepared by the Ad Hoc Committee on Membership.
Resolution of the Members Council Executive Committee
19 May 2002
Whereas OCLC Members Council and the Board of Trustees appointed the
Ad Hoc Committee on Membership to consider new definitions for OCLC membership
and contribution, and
Whereas the committee had open dialogue with the stakeholders in the
OCLC cooperative including the Board, Members Council, the networks and
service centers, member libraries, and the OCLC staff, and
Whereas the committee has submitted a final report to the Board and to
Members Council for action, and
Whereas the report recommends specific changes to the governance structure
of OCLC which must be considered by the Board, and
Whereas the Ad Hoc Committee sat as the first Joint Standing Committee
on Membership to prepare the first iteration of the Membership and Protocols
document, and
Whereas the committee report and the membership and protocols document
has been discussed at length with MC, and
Whereas it is the responsibility of Members Council to review the recommendations
for revision of the Membership and Contribution Protocols as submitted
by the Joint Standing Committee and upon acceptance by 2/3 vote of Members
Council to forward these to the Board for action,
Therefore be it resolved that the Executive Committee of Members Council
moves the acceptance of the Membership and Contribution Protocols as proposed
by the Ad Hoc Committee by the delegates assembled and voting at the May
2002 meeting of Members Council and instructs the President of Members
Council to transmit the Membership and Contribution Protocol document
to the Board of Trustees for their further consideration with the recommendations
that it be adopted.
MEMBERSHIP AND CONTRIBUTIONS PROTOCOLS
15 April 2002
MEMBERSHIP
An institution may become a member of OCLC in one of two ways:
These membership levels refer to libraries, museums, archives, historical
societies, professional associations, and other groups that contribute
to or use the intellectual resources of the cooperative. "Members Council
Members" are the networks, service centers, or other entities that contract
with OCLC for OCLC services. Members that are not otherwise represented
by a Members Council Member and that do not contract with the Corporation
through a given single service center of the Corporation, or its equivalent,
are not eligible for Members Council representation unless they meet the
minimum activity level specified in "Delegate Allocation," below.
Members Council delegates may come from Governing Member or Member institutions,
but only Governing Member institutions may vote in elections to Members
Council. All elected delegates would be full voting members of the Members
Council itself. The Members Council may elect any of its delegates to
the Board of Trustees.
Voting rights for Governing Members and Members are as set forth in the
OCLC Code of Regulations from time to time.
PARTICIPANTS
Participants are those institutions that choose to use OCLC products
and services without any responsibility to return any intellectual contribution
to the cooperative. While the financial contribution made by these institutions
is important to OCLC, financial contribution alone does not qualify one
for membership or for voting rights.
CONTRIBUTION
For purposes of this document, "contribution" is as defined from time
to time by the Standing Joint Committee on Membership. Initially, "contribution"
shall be defined as intellectual resources provided and shared by libraries
and other institutions through the products and services of OCLC and its
affiliates for the benefit of the members of the cooperative. The activities
listed below are currently included in this definition:
1.) Adding records, content, and holdings, regardless of format or platform
of entry
- Original cataloging
- Adding local holdings information
- Union listing
- Materials submitted for archiving and made available to all members
and participants of the cooperative through Digital and Preservation
Resources
2.) Maintaining records and holdings regardless of platform of entry
- Enhance
- Database enrichment
- Minimal level upgrades
- Deletion of holdings information
3.) Resource sharing (interlibrary loans provided)
4.) Contribution of authority files or thesauri
WEIGHTING OF INTELLECTUAL CONTENT
In recognition of the importance of keeping WorldCat a relevant, current
tool for the benefit of the members of the cooperative, contribution of
intellectual content, initially including cataloging and lending activities,
will be weighted in a 2-to-1 ratio to other types of activity. The Standing
Joint Committee will review whether other forms of intellectual contribution
qualify for the higher weighting, as these services are made available
by OCLC.
DELEGATE ALLOCATION
Delegates shall be allocated to and shall be elected by the Members Council
Members on the basis of a count of all transactions by Governing Members
and Members represented by each Member Council Member over the past three
years. Members Council Member delegate allocations shall be determined
each January on an annual basis for the following year of the Members
Council.
The minimum activity for a Members Council Member to qualify for a delegate
is 0.25% (one quarter of one percent) of the total weighted activity of
the cooperative.
DELEGATE ALLOCATION FORMULA
There shall be sixty-six (66) total votes (and delegates) in the Members
Council. The number of votes (and delegates) to which each Members Council
Member shall be entitled, from time to time, shall be determined by means
of the following formula.
Where "V" represents the number of votes to which a Members Council Member
will be entitled; and
Where "T" represents the number of transactions, weighted according
to the standards established in the most recently approved statement of
Membership and Contribution Protocols by all Governing Members and Members
over the most recently completed three (3) fiscal years of the Corporation;
and
Where "t" represents the subset of "T" that is accounted for by the Governing
Members and Members represented by each Members Council Member during
that same three year period; and
Where "N" represents the total number of elected delegates on Members
Council.
At the adoption of this document, N equals 60. The remaining six (6)
votes (and delegates) will represent the six (6) nations or regions, other
than the United States of America, allocated according to the method adopted
by Members Council and the Board of Trustees in May 2001. The Standing
Joint Committee on Membership will recommend by January 2004 how these
six delegates will be allocated to the various countries and regions outside
the US participating in OCLC for a second transition period, September
2004 to May 2007. This will allow for the full implementation of OCLC's
global strategies and plans. Such recommendations will require action
by the Board of Trustees and the Members Council, as outlined in the OCLC
Code of Regulations. In the event that an area already represented by
a transitional delegate earns one or more regular delegates through increased
contribution and activity during the second transition period, one or
more transitional delegates from the area will be designated as an allocated
delegate of the service center for the remainder of his/her/their three-year
term. In this case, the allocation of regular delegates would be recalculated
based on the current number of regular delegates, with the total number
of both transitional and regular delegates to equal 66.
OCLC will begin counting transactions under these new rules at the beginning
of FY 2002-2003. The results of these transactions will be reported to
the networks and service centers in December 2003 to manage their elections
in the winter or spring of 2004. The first Members Council to be seated
under the new rules will take office in the fall, 2004.
PROCEDURES FOR CHANGING THIS DOCUMENT
- The Standing Joint Committee on Membership must approve any recommendations
by a simple majority vote with a quorum of at least four members present
and voting. If changes are approved, the recommendations are submitted
to Members Council for consideration. (If changes to the OCLC Code of
Regulations are recommended, they must be submitted to the Board of
Trustees for initial consideration and follow the amendment process
provided in the Code of Regulations.)
- Members Council may consider recommendations of the Standing Joint
Committee on Membership through its normal procedures. However, if any
action includes a change to the "Membership and Contribution Protocols,"
such action must be approved by a 2/3 majority of Council delegates
present and voting. If such approval is forthcoming, the changes are
recommended to the Board of Trustees.
- The Board of Trustees shall consider such resolutions from the Members
Council. The Board may approve a resolution by a 2/3 vote, or it may
reject the resolution. If the Board approves the resolution, it takes
effect as specified in the resolution. The Board may also amend the
resolution by a 2/3 vote and send the amended resolution back to the
Members Council for reconsideration.
- If the Board sends the resolution back to Members Council, the Council
may accept the amendment(s) by a 2/3 vote, or it may reject the amendment(s).
If it accepts the amendment(s), the resolution takes effect as specified.
If it rejects the amendment(s), the resolution is no longer available
for further revision. However, nothing in this procedure shall prevent
a new resolution addressing such issues from being introduced by the
Standing Joint Committee on Membership.
Discussion on Future Pricing Principles—Phyllis Spies
Vice President, Worldwide Library Services
A discussion led by Phyllis Spies, vice president, Worldwide Library
Service, focused on principles of pricing of importance to members of
the OCLC cooperative. Four principles on which pricing is based include:
1. Maintain financial viability
2. Provide contribution incentives
3. More participation in the cooperative results in more incentives
for the contributor
4. Attract new members
Delegate comments included:
- Principle #2 of providing contribution incentives can be too limiting.
- Value focused pricing for the lifetime of the service is needed more
than cost-based pricing
- Different pricing for different markets should be considered.
- Any of the principles taken too far can disenfranchise some segment
of the membership.
- Shirley Leung (OCLC Asia Pacific) stated that it was a myth that US
members of OCLC subsidize international members. Phyllis confirmed this
statement and said that pricing is set to re-coup the cost of doing
business in the global marketplace.
Suggestions for other pricing principles included:
- Keep pricing as simple as possible.
- Avoid disincentives. Searching charges sometimes influence libraries
to do inefficient searching.
- Add more value to the cooperative.
- Look at ways to market outside the United States that may mean different
levels of pricing for services
- Continue working towards a pricing structure that rewards effective
use of the OCLC system
- Facilitate ways for libraries to help one another even more
Perceptions on "Partnerships in Expanding the Global Cooperative"—Jan
Hendrick (Hennie) Viljoen
Transitional Delegate from South Africa
Introduction
Introduction "After attending three Members' Council meetings, I would
like to share the following with you:
It is a wonderful learning experience to meet so many knowledgeable colleagues,
to discuss issues and to socialize with them.
The Members' Council is an expensive operation
- It takes time to prepare, to travel and to have meetings.
- In terms of the costs of air tickets, accommodation, etc., of delegates,
it is a rewarding experience because of the well-organized way in which
everything is done:
—Documentation
—Transport—Meetings, schedules, etc.
—Social activities (thank you to George, Rich, Bunny and Larry)
Question: What is the purpose of bringing in the transitional
delegates as members of the Members Council?
Transitional Delegates
According to the documentation the role of the delegates is to assist
OCLC to become an effective player in the global environment.
To fulfill my role in this regard (as well as in the broader global picture),
I have tried to:
- bring the non-US perspective into discussions
- participate in plenary and group discussions
- communicate with the 70 South African members on a regular basis and
obtain their input on OCLC issues (for the past three meetings I have
had only two or three responses from South African members on OCLC issues:
Is this acceptable? Should I do more?)
The question that comes to mind now is:
Do I (we) make a difference in getting OCLC into the global environment?
OCLC with its vision and mission statements and its stated objectives
is the largest business concern which offers an abundance of services
to library and information services worldwide.
The question at this stage of the planning process is: Will the policy
of globalization succeed?
In answering this, let me immediately say that I understand OCLC's important
role in our core business as information service providers and its powerful
strategy as presented on its web pages. However, the theme is "Partnerships
in Expanding the Global Cooperative" and the question, which may not be
popularly relevant to OCLC as a business concern, is the degree to which
the north-south gap, i.e. the developed/developing countries issue, and
with it of course the degree to which we are able to keep playing alongside
the developed countries, can be addressed. A global cooperative must mean
that all partners, not just those that are at the upper end financially,
contribute and share, not necessarily on an equal footing as regards contributions.
The issues of technology transfer, (affordable) access to knowledge, etc.
come to mind when I think of the future of South African libraries, but
my worry is that the rules of the game are exclusively defined in First
World terms, without any practical expression of the underlying theme
of the partnership idea, viz. the provision of assistance to others. And
the First World is so large in terms of volume of business that the Developing
World and its inability to play along as if it were a large US system
becomes a vanishing small factor in their services and plans. This is
a problem for me.
Yet there is a glimmer of hope when one sees OCLC's intention of becoming
more "global", i.e. providing for the participation of the institutions/countries
that are still excluded.
But I don't want to create the impression of being without a sense for
the realities of international collaboration as a business. I know that
while there is no freebie in this kind of business, it is nevertheless
in the interest of OCLC and similar large-scale service organizations
to do their share of bridging the divide, of making an investment in developmental
efforts that will increase the entire world's access to information. And
the way to do this is to get a focused program going, of one kind or another.
At this point that I am still uncertain about a number of things:
- OCLC's package of services: How applicable are they to the global
environment?
- Access to these services and their affordability:
- Also in the sense of the information technology implications
- Quality of access via Internet
- Pricing policy: Can First World pricing be applied to the Third World,
or countries in transition? Should the Standard and Poor rating of countries
not be taken into account in setting prices for the global environment?
Will this have an impact on the sustainability of the globalization
policy?
- How will OCLC deal with the unevenness of the playing field?
Some Suggestions/Proposals
The policy of globalization represents a shift away from the manner in
which OCLC operated and interacted with its customers until now. It is
a fact that the best organization in the world will be ineffective if
the focus on the customer is lost. With this new thinking within OCLC,
it is necessary to keep in mind that the market where some of the customers
come from is vastly different from the US market. For that reason this
might be an appropriate time to invest some time in researching aspects
such as:
- Customer-centered resources
- Customer relationship management (CRM)
- Seeking partners that have a large investment in countries in transition
OCLC is probably unequalled in the way in which it is placed to leverage
major global initiatives and to support them. Given its massive membership,
can this influence not be combined with UNESCO or some other agency to
get some solutions worked out to address the disadvantages with which
we are increasingly being confronted with in South Africa and elsewhere
in the Developing World?
I am not quite sure precisely in which direction the solutions lie,
but I feel that something can be done. And it probably has to do both
with creating open doors for those that are still excluded, and to make
it easier for them to keep playing along both financially and otherwise.
Even if direct financial relief or assistance cannot be given, OCLC still
has such a massive wealth of technological know-how that can be transferred
to our benefit that that could be an interesting way to make a difference
and to develop and open the market to OCLC's products in the excluded
areas.
Can we continue this discussion at the October 2002 meeting and involve
all transitional delegates? (Lastly I would like to acknowledge some input
that I have received from one of my South Africa colleagues in this regard.)
In Conclusion
The OCLC Cooperative is based on
- people
- information
- technology
The challenge is to take all three into a successful global market."
Interest Group and Library Group Discussions
Interest groups held separate discussions on Monday and Tuesday mornings.
The library groups met on Tuesday afternoon. Minutes from these various
groups below also are posted when available on the Members Council Web
site.
Collections and Technical Services - Edward Weissman, Leader; Glenn Patton,
OCLC Liaison Cooperative Reference - Lynne King, Leader; Tam Dalrymple,
OCLC Liaison
Member Services & Global Librarianship - William Sannwald, Ldr; George
Needham, Liaison Preservation/Electronic Collections - Richard Doyle,
Leader; Meg Bellinger; OCLC Liaison Research - Pat Pitkin, Leader; Lorcan
Dempsey, OCLC Liaison
Resource Sharing - Charles Kratz, Leader; Tony Melvyn, OCLC Liaison
Community College and State Academic Libraries - Marie Zimmerman, Leader;
Cathy De Rosa,
OCLC Liaison
Consortia - Jan Ison, Leader; Don Muccino, OCLC Liaison
Federal, State, and Special Libraries - Robert Ellett, Leader; Phil Schieber,
OCLC Liaison Large Research Libraries - Jennifer Cargill, Leader; Phyllis
Spies, OCLC Liaison
Private Academic Libraries - Jim Simonis, Leader; Gary Houk, OCLC Liaison
Public Libraries - Vickey Johnson, Leader; George Needham, OCLC Liaison
State Academic Libraries - Cliff Glaviano, Leader; Frank Hermes, OCLC
Liaison
Next Meeting
The next meeting of the OCLC Members Council is October 20-22, 2002
in Dublin, Ohio.
June 2002 Members
Council Meeting: Agenda | Powerpoint
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