Our cooperative, our future
Collaboration and sharing are core to our community. OCLC members and staff come together to share knowledge in as many ways as possible because we know that, collectively, we can have a greater impact. As a cooperative, we help library users across our communities achieve breakthroughs by fueling research, improving learning and driving innovation.
In FY16, our global membership grew by 52 libraries to 16,964. We expanded into seven new countries—Kenya, Lesotho, Nicaragua, Palestine, Sri Lanka, Tunisia and Vietnam—bringing our global community to 122 countries. Our membership is diverse as well, ranging from rural school and public libraries to the largest government and research libraries.
We found new ways to work together, collaborate and grow, both as individuals and institutions. We came together to elect new representatives to Global Council and our board. We met at member forums and community meetings to discuss challenges, share best practices and improve our services. We celebrated the 45th anniversary of WorldCat and the 500th library to choose WorldShare Management Services. At Regional Council meetings, we explored industry-wide topics and heard from thought leaders from around the globe. We launched a new blog, published important new research and printed the last catalog card. We shared stories of breakthroughs that demonstrate the power of library cooperation. It was a great year.
A year in pictures
OCLC members elected 23 delegates to Global Council, including 13 first-time delegates.
Global Council elected Madeleine Lefebvre (Chief Librarian, Ryerson University, Canada) and Jacques Malschaert (Managing Director of Bibliotheekservice Fryslân, the Netherlands) to the OCLC Board of Trustees.
Ginny Steel (University Librarian, UCLA, USA) was elected as Global Council Vice President/President-Elect.
New records added to WorldCat by OCLC members in FY16.
280 people from 22 countries explored “The Power of Worldwide Cooperation” at the Asia Pacific Regional Council meeting in Melbourne, Australia, 3–4 December 2015.
On 1 October 2015, the final catalog card was printed at OCLC's Dublin headquarters, marking the end of an era for the service.
300 people from 32 countries met in Madrid, Spain, for the EMEA Regional Council meeting, 1–2 March 2016.
Librarians from across Europe, the Middle East and Africa discussed OCLC services and research during 12 EMEA membership events.
1,442 librarians attended 25 Member Forums held across North America.
Global Council members gathered to discuss challenges, trends and solutions.
WorldCat records enriched by members in FY16.
WorldShare Management Services user groups held meetings in Australia, the UK and the US to share learnings and best practices.
Members took selfies at the EMEA Regional Council in Madrid.
More than 2,250 librarians attended OCLC-hosted programs during American Library Association conferences.
OCLC members toured four local libraries at the Asia Pacific Regional Council meeting in Australia.
Copy cataloging with WorldCat saved OCLC libraries a significant amount of time in FY16.
7,398 unique users from 2,791 unique institutions shared 5,200 forum posts and replies and made 360 enhancement requests on the online Community Center last year.
The Americas Regional Council held meetings at three Member Forums in FY16.
The OCLC Board of Trustees met five times in FY16.
At EMEA customer days in Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, more than 800 librarians met to discuss OCLC research, services and community activities.
250 librarians from the OCLC Research Library Partnership met in Chicago and Melbourne.
June Abbas, Nancy Bolt, Robert Newlen, Tina Baich, Giao Luong Baker and Paige Andrew (not present) won OCLC-sponsored awards for innovation and professional excellence.
More than 200 librarians attended an OCLC event at the Public Library Association Conference.
Eight new libraries joined the OCLC Research Libraries Partnership last year.
Global Council delegates met to represent member libraries from across the globe.
263 members attended the OCLC Dutch Contact Day 15 October 2015.
The 2016 IFLA/OCLC Fellows were Željko Dimitrijević, Serbia; Shaharima Parvin, Bangladesh; Penninah Musangi, Kenya; Rhea Jade Nabusan, Philippines; and Idowu Adegbilero-Iwari, Nigeria.
OCLC staff provided training and demonstrations at national, regional and local events.
The cooperative's new blog, OCLC Next, debuted 8 February 2016.
At the EMEA Regional Council Meeting in Madrid, Spain, members explored the “Selfie Generation.”
The Asia Pacific Regional Council represents 1,716 unique institution members from countries in Asia and Australia.