OCLC Research Library Partnership Tiers and Dues

Annual partnership dues, which are based on the size of your organization, support the collaborative work of the OCLC Research Library Partnership.  The program year begins on 1 July and concludes on 30 June; dues for institutions newly joining at any point in the year will be pro-rated.

Dues are calculated on the basis of an institution’s operating budget.  We understand that "Operating budget" can be a slippery concept. The unit of measure used to determine operating budget tiers for OCLC Research Library Partnership dues uses is the library (or library system) in a college, university, historical society, or museum. For national and state libraries and archives, the whole institution is the focus.

All Association of Research Libraries (ARL), Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) and Society of College, National, and University Libraries (SCONUL) members currently report their library operating budget data to those organizations, deriving it from standard definitions.  OCLC Research will use the latest submitted figure to determine the correct OCLC Research Library Partnership dues band and annual dues rate for its partners that belong or are qualified to belong to ARL, CAUL, or SCONUL. For all other partners, the relevant figure will be determined by applying the ARL operating expense definition to data in your most recent published financial statement. The ARL definition of operating expenses includes:

  • expenditures for materials
  • expenditures for binding
  • salaries and wages
  • other operating expenditures (example, automation)

—but not facilities, facility maintenance, and fringe benefits.

Because OCLC recognizes the valuable contribution that research libraries play in the cooperative, it has increased its investment in the Partnership, which has enabled a significant reduction in the annual Partnership dues. Affiliation has never been more strategically necessary nor so demonstrably affordable.

FY24 Dues Schedule

Dues for the 2023-24 fiscal year (1 July 2023–30 June 2024).

Operating Expense
per annum (p.a.)
National & University Libraries Inside North America, ARL or ARL-Qualified National & University Libraries Outside North America, SCONUL- and CAUL-Qualified All Others
Up to $35M p.a. $7,249 p.a. $4,833 p.a. $4,833 p.a.
Above $35M p.a. $10,716 p.a. $8,300 p.a. $4,833 p.a.