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Mission and Goals

Mission Statement

The OCLC Members Council supports the OCLC Mission by serving as a key link between member libraries and OCLC management, facilitating communication and responding to expressed concerns from Members Council members, general members, and others to help shape future directions of the organization.

Goals and Subgoals

Goal I. Participate in the governance of OCLC

 

Subgoal A. Elect to the OCLC Board of Trustees six (6) trustees who exhibit knowledge of and concern for OCLC and for the development of libraries and librarianship.

Objective 1. Hold board elections every two years or as needed.

Objective 2. Encourage communication to promote continued election of highly qualified Members Council delegates.

 

Subgoal B. Approve or reject, without modification, amendments to the Articles of Incorporation and the Code of Regulations as presented by the Board of Trustees.

Objective 1. Discuss and vote as needed on amendments received from the Board of Trustees.

 

Goal II. Ensure effective communication among Members Council delegates, OCLC, networks, and general members

 

Subgoal A. Initiate and maintain effective means of communication among delegates, networks, and general members.

Objective 1. Report on Members Council activities orally at network meetings and publish reports in appropriate library publications.

Objective 2. Identify issues of strategic importance to OCLC and disseminate information about them to delegates, OCLC staff, and others.

 

Subgoal B. Communicate with the OCLC Board.

Objective 1. Provide the board with written summary reports of significant Members Council activities.

Objective 2. Provide opportunities for Members Council to maintain open dialogue with the board in order to discuss matters of strategic importance.

 

Subgoal C. Communicate with OCLC senior management.

Objective 1. Provide OCLC senior management with written summary reports of significant Members Council activities.

Objective 2. Promote attendance of OCLC senior staff at Members Council meetings.

Objective 3. Provide opportunities for OCLC senior staff to maintain an open dialogue with Members Council.

Objective 4. Inform OCLC senior staff of issues of concern to Members Council delegates and the organizations they represent.

 

Subgoal D. Conduct an annual orientation for new delegates to help familiarize them with Members Council activities and OCLC.

Objective 1. Assign mentors from the current roster of Membsers Council delegates to each new Members Council delegate.

Objective 2. Provide mentors with guidelines and material that will assist them in their orientation activities with new delegates.

Objective 3. Schedule a specific time for orientation and mentoring activities during the fall meeting of Members Council.

 

Goal III. Participate in the OCLC Planning Process

 

Subgoal A. Identify issues of importance to OCLC and its member institutions and plan programs that clarify these issues for Members Council delegates.

Objective 1. Develop Members Council programs that address future needs of librarians, libraries, and their patrons, and structure such programs so that Members Council can formulate recommendations to OCLC.

Objective 2. Forward recommendations that emerge from Members Council discussions to OCLC management.

Objective 3. Seek reports from OCLC management on results of Members Council recommendations.

 

Subgoal B. Identify needs and requirements of libraries and their patrons that could result in a product or service offered by OCLC; for example, provide input to OCLC to help create product and service work flow scenarios.

Objective 1. React to product and service ideas that OCLC management is considering. Such reactions should focus on implications of such products and services for member libraries, the likelihood of adoption, and barriers to such adoption.

Objective 2. Recommendations on products and services to OCLC management should provide a statement of implications of such products and services for member libraries, the likelihood of adoption, and barriersto such adoption.

 

Subgoal C. Cooperate with OCLC staff in monitoring the technological, political, economic, regulatory, and other environmental factors that must be considered for planning.

Objective 1. Individual Members Council delegates report developments inthe information and library environments to OCLC.

Objective 2. The Members Council Executive Committee should, jointly with OCLC management, review reports of recent developments in the information and library environments and provide OCLC management with feedback on the implications of such developments.

Objective 3. The Members Council Executive Committee should assign special interest groups specific charges to review recent developments in areas that are germane to their content area.

 

Subgoal D. Develop focus areas of strategic concern and assign delegates to examine the areas in detail on an ad hoc basis.

Objective 1. The Members Council Executive Committee should annually identify areas of strategic concern and recommend possible areas of study.

Objective 2. The Members Council Executive Committee should regularly review the scope of coverage of the interest groups and assign new responsibilities to them as developments warrant.

Objective 3. The Members Council Executive Committee should regularly review strategic concerns and, when they cannot reasonably be assigned to a special interest group, appoint an ad hoc group to study an issue and prepare a report for Members Council.

Originally Adopted by Members Council, February 1990