OCLC EMEA Regional Council
A message from Anja Smit
Welcome to the Website of the EMEA Regional Council!
OCLC is a global not for profit cooperative for libraries, archives and museums. Members own the cooperative, which is reflected by the governance structure. Global Council comprises Member Delegates elected by the Regional Councils. Regional Councils are assemblies of OCLC members in their respective regions.Global Council serves as a key strategic discussion forum and the major communication link between member libraries and the Strategic Leadership Team and Board of Trustees of OCLC.
The EMEA Region (Europe, Middle East and Africa) elects 10 delegates to Global Council. These delegates also form the Executive Committee of EMEARC. The diversity with the EMEA region is significant: the way libraries, archives and museums are organized within the 60 countries of the region, can be very different.
Understanding this diversity is key to identify priorities of the EMEA Members with regard to OCLC’s services and development of the cooperative. This calls for a well developed network and excellent communication among the Membership. This third year of our plan ‘Membership Matters’ is therefore again devoted to further development of our community. ‘Building a Strong Community’ is the focus this year, also to ensure continuity of a strong representation of the EMEA region in Global Council.
Please find more information on these pages on the EMEA Regional Council. Find out who the current members of the Executive Committee are, and how to contact your delegates. Please feel free to contact us on regional issues or matters concerning the global cooperative!
—Anja Smit, Chair, EMEA Regional Council
The Europe, Middle East and Africa Regional Council (EMEARC) is open to all OCLC Customers, Members, Partners and Distributors located in the geography. OCLC Members play a special role within EMEARC in that they are eligible to vote in elections for the EMEARC Committees and for Delegates to represent the region at Global Council.
There are two standing committees within EMEARC: the Executive Committee and the Nominating Committee.
The Executive Committee plans at least one face-to-face meeting of EMEARC annually. This meeting is held in a different country each year. The OCLC CEO and President and Members of the OCLC Strategic Leadership Team, EMEA Board of Directors and OCLC Trustees attend EMEARC meetings. EMEARC meetings are designed to provide a forum to discuss issues that are important within the region and themes that are on the agenda of Global Council. Above all EMEARC is a two way vehicle to provide advice to OCLC on its strategic direction; input to service developments and for sharing information on collaborative initiatives, best practice and the latest OCLC research and developments.
Individuals from OCLC customers in the region who are interested in serving on EMEARC committees or standing as a Delegate to Global Council are invited to send an Expression of Interest to Janet Lees, Community Liaison, OCLC EMEA.