The commitment to work together follows an announcement earlier today that OCLC will transition out of the role of hosting and reselling commercially published content. OCLC will increase focus on partnering with publishers and other database providers to increase access to library-licensed content via WorldCat.org and WorldCat Local.

OCLC will continue to offer renewals and new subscriptions to Wilson databases on FirstSearch through July 31, 2010, and will ensure access to these databases through the library's current subscription period. Wilson will provide libraries that subscribe to its databases on FirstSearch with parallel subscriptions on WilsonWeb at no additional charge to give FirstSearch libraries time to easily migrate to the WilsonWeb platform.

Including Wilson databases in WorldCat Local means that libraries that subscribe to Wilson databases and use WorldCat Local will continue to be able make these databases searchable as part of their WorldCat Local service.

"Wilson databases have been part of FirstSearch since it was introduced in 1991," said Jay Jordan, OCLC President and CEO. "We appreciate our long partnership with Wilson and look forward to continuing this partnership by making Wilson databases searchable through WorldCat Local."

"Wilson is pleased to be able to offer WilsonWeb service to OCLC's FirstSearch Wilson database users during this transition period and beyond," said Harold Regan, President and CEO, H.W. Wilson. "We will work with libraries to ensure a smooth transition to WilsonWeb and address each library's individual setup and orientation requirements. Wilson has developed a robust WilsonWeb service, specifically tailored to the Wilson databases offering the most effective ways to search and deliver Wilson data. WilsonWeb provides full text translations, text to speech feature, a host of customizable interface options, daily data updates, and other benefits. Wilson looks forward to continuing our long-standing relationship with OCLC through our participation in WorldCat."

An OCLC FAQ about FirstSearch databases is available at FirstSearch frequently asked questions. OCLC and H.W. Wilson have plans in place to ensure continuity of service and support. An FAQ concerning Wilson databases for customer support, billing, content, and platform transition is available at www.hwwilson.com/oclc.

About H.W. Wilson
Since 1898, independent publisher H.W. Wilson has provided researchers with references produced with unmatched editorial integrity. More than 60 H.W. Wilson databases—indexes, abstracts, full text resources, plus the unique Index Retrospective Collection—meet the research needs around the globe. From the acclaimed Wilson OmniFile Full Text databases to Wilson’s Art Full Text, Education Full Text, and other resources H.W. Wilson products are created for librarians, by librarians. Wilson’s trained subject specialists build the Wilson references each day. For more information, visit www.hwwilson.com

About OCLC
Founded in 1967, OCLC is a nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the world’s information and reducing library costs. More than 72,000 libraries in 112 countries have used OCLC services to locate, acquire, catalog, lend, preserve and manage library materials. Researchers, students, faculty, scholars, professional librarians and other information seekers use OCLC services to obtain bibliographic, abstract and full-text information when and where they need it. OCLC and its member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat, the world’s largest online database for discovery of library resources. Search WorldCat.org on the Web. For more information, visit the OCLC Web site. 

NetLibrary eBook content and eAudiobook subscriptions will continue to be available on the NetLibrary platform. EBSCO plans to provide access to the NetLibrary eBook content on the EBSCOhost® platform, one of the most used eContent platforms, creating a comprehensive integrated eBook and database service. NetLibrary eBooks will also continue to be discoverable through WorldCat.org.

"As eBooks become a mainstream part of libraries' electronic collections, the time is right to provide new opportunities for libraries to integrate the acquisition and delivery of their eBooks, databases and eJournals," said Jay Jordan, OCLC President and CEO. "This agreement with EBSCO will provide eBook users worldwide with increased avenues to discover their library's growing eBook collection."

"Our customers have been encouraging us to enter the eBook business as their users want to search eBooks on the same platform they are using to search leading full-text databases such as Academic Search™ and Business Source®," said Tim Collins, president of EBSCO Publishing, the producers of EBSCOhost. "While we will begin work immediately to integrate NetLibrary eBooks into the EBSCOhost platform, we will also continue to maintain and enhance the NetLibrary platform to ensure a quality user experience while EBSCOhost functionality is being expanded."

Mr. Collins continued, "We are also pleased to work with OCLC to transition a portion of their FirstSearch business to EBSCOhost. Given our history and experience providing access to leading secondary databases on EBSCOhost, we are well-positioned to provide FirstSearch subscribers a smooth transition to EBSCOhost."

OCLC purchased the assets of NetLibrary in 2002 from bankruptcy in order to protect libraries’ investments in eBook content purchases, and to explore the potential of eBooks for libraries during the early days of eContent and the Web. OCLC members and publisher partners pioneered new eBook platforms, new purchase and licensing models and built a global shared eBook service for tens of thousands of libraries worldwide. OCLC has partnered with EBSCO to ensure even greater access to the important eBook resources of libraries.

OCLC's commitment to protecting libraries' investment in NetLibrary eBooks continues. All NetLibrary eBooks purchased by libraries will be placed in a dark archive—the OCLC eBook Archive—at least through March 2013. Just as OCLC protected member libraries' investments with the acquisition of NetLibrary in 2002, the agreement with EBSCO ensures that all NetLibrary eBooks purchased by libraries continue to be secure.

EBSCO will provide OCLC MARC records for applicable eBooks to libraries free of charge and will ensure continued visibility of these important collections in WorldCat.org. EBSCO plans to maintain the popular eBook content purchase model and will explore eBook subscription options.  Thousands of libraries also subscribe to Recorded Books eAudiobooks on the NetLibrary platform. This service will continue as EBSCO and Recorded Books will partner to provide access and new eAudiobook content on the NetLibrary platform.

EBSCO has also purchased the rights to license certain vendor-owned databases that are currently available via FirstSearch. Existing FirstSearch subscribers will continue to receive access to these databases on the FirstSearch service through the end of their current subscriptions. In order that customers experience an ideal transition to EBSCOhost following the current subscription period, pending approval of database owners, EBSCOhost access to these databases will be activated to run in parallel with FirstSearch access for the remainder of the current subscription.

OCLC will continue to deliver important library content via the FirstSearch platform. The WorldCat database, the WorldCat base package of databases and databases of primarily library owned content will continue to be offered through both FirstSearch and WorldCat.org. In 2008, OCLC expanded the visibility of FirstSearch databases by providing coverage of all FirstSearch content on both the FirstSearch platform and WorldCat.org.

OCLC and EBSCO have put in place processes to ensure continuity of service and support.  FAQs for customer and member support, ordering, billing and service transition is available at FirstSearch frequently asked questions and http://support.epnet.com/knowledge_base/detail.php?id=4789.

"Proceeds from the sale of the NetLibrary Division will be re-invested in the cooperative, both in financing current operations to keep our shared costs down for members and in resourcing important new product development," said Mr. Jordan. "I am pleased to say that OCLC will therefore be able to hold service prices flat on all OCLC services in the United States for a second consecutive year, through June 30, 2011."

Moving forward, OCLC will concentrate new development resources on enhancing and expanding WorldCat services and developing new services to streamline and lower costs of library management workflows. OCLC will continue to increase investment levels in support of valued library cataloging and resource sharing services. OCLC will also continue to build partnerships with publishers, library content developers and other content aggregators to provide maximum discoverability of a library’s complete collection through WorldCat.org and WorldCat Local. 

“We are focusing our resources and investments on WorldCat services and on building a range of new Web-scale services for libraries,” said Mr. Jordan.  “We are transitioning out of the role as reseller of vendor content.  We will leverage cloud computing technologies to build cooperative services with our members and partners.”

"OCLC members have a strong track record of investing in research and development which yields new methods and new technologies for the broad library community," Mr. Jordan said. "This began with the creation of WorldCat nearly 40 years ago and continued with pioneering work on eBooks in this past decade. There are many exciting new opportunities ahead. We see significant value in the new capabilities made possible by the combination of the shared resource that is WorldCat, cloud computing and cooperation.  We will focus the cooperative’s energy and strategies on continuing our mission to increase access to the world’s information through cooperation and innovation.”

About EBSCO Publishing
EBSCO Publishing is the world’s premier database aggregator, offering a suite of nearly 300 full-text and secondary research databases. Through a library of tens of thousands of full-text journals, magazines, books, monographs, reports and various other publication types from renowned publishers, EBSCO serves the content needs of all researchers (Academic, Medical, K-12, Public Library, Corporate, Government, etc.). The company’s product lines include proprietary databases such as Academic Search™, Business Source®, CINAHL®, DynaMed™, Literary Reference Center™, MasterFILE™, NoveList®, SocINDEX™ and SPORTDiscus™ as well as dozens of leading licensed databases such as ATLA Religion Database™, EconLit, INSPEC®, MEDLINE®, MLA International Bibliography, The Philosopher’s Index™, PsycARTICLES® and PsycINFO®. Databases are powered by EBSCOhost®, the most-used for-fee electronic resource in libraries around the world. For more information, visit the EBSCO Publishing Web site at: www.ebscohost.com, or contact: information@ebscohost.com. EBSCO Publishing is a division of EBSCO Industries Inc., one of the largest privately held companies in the United States.

About OCLC
Founded in 1967, OCLC is a nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the world’s information and reducing library costs. More than 72,000 libraries in 112 countries have used OCLC services to locate, acquire, catalog, lend, preserve and manage library materials. Researchers, students, faculty, scholars, professional librarians and other information seekers use OCLC services to obtain bibliographic, abstract and full-text information when and where they need it. OCLC and its member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat, the world’s largest online database for discovery of library resources.  Search WorldCat.org on the Web. For more information, visit the OCLC Web site. 

Montana libraries, museums, archives and cultural institutions add materials to this collection. Many of these items are digitized copies of historic material, some items are contemporary. All serve as a resource for education, business, pleasure and lifelong learning. Over time, contents may include digital newspapers, maps, copies of photographs, rare books, historic documents, diaries, oral histories, audio and video clips, paintings, illustrations and art. Access is free and open through the Internet at: http://mtmemory.org/.

The Montana Memory Project is a statewide digitization project using OCLC's CONTENTdm Digital Collection Management Software. CONTENTdm helps libraries, archives and other cultural heritage organizations to make their digital collections available on the Web, quickly and easily. No matter the format—newspapers, books, maps or audio/video—CONTENTdm can handle the storage, management and delivery of digitized collections to users across the Web.

Currently, 16 institutions across Montana—including the state library, public libraries, academic libraries and historical societies—participate in the Montana Memory Project. There is no cost to any institution wishing to participate in the Montana Memory Project. Montana institutions wishing to join the project can learn more about how to get started by visiting the Project Page

This format option for library holdings data is helpful for developers who want to supply a list of nearby WorldCat libraries that hold the materials in question.

The JSON holdings format provides some very brief bibliographic information along with structured data describing holding libraries, including the familiar values from the current XML response. Find more information on the JSON holdings format in the documentation at http://worldcat.org/devnet/wiki/SearchAPIDetails#JSON_Format_for_Holding.

Additional recent enhancements to the WorldCat Search API include the addition of South African postal codes and fixes for the following entities:

• OCLC symbols that include “@” in the symbol name
• the “any” relation operator
• SRU errors with quotation marks

Developers everywhere are encouraged to exercise their creativity to create new mash-ups that make use of WorldCat data through the WorldCat Search API, WorldCat Basic API, building WorldCat.org links and other WorldCat widgets.

OCLC Web Services continue to offer ways to connect people with knowledge through libraries, and for libraries to reap the benefits of library cooperation. To join the OCLC Developer Network conversation, join the WC-DEVNET-L listserv, read the OCLC Developer Network blog and follow @oclcldevnet.

Now in its second year with more than 117,267 searches sent from the UK, US, Canada, France, Germany and the Netherlands, the WorldCat Mobile pilot continues to provide library results for 1.4 billion items to mobile and smart phone users at no cost.

Cover art is now displayed on an item’s detailed record when artwork is available, and a link to the selected library’s catalog is also now enabled. As one of the most-requested features from user feedback, this new functionality means a user can potentially check shelf status, place a hold, or reserve an item through their mobile phone at their local library.

The WorldCat Mobile pilot makes library results available for all Web-enabled mobile phones in either a standalone, downloadable app or a simple Web “lite” browser form. If your phone accepts apps, it will prompt you for download or you may find the WorldCat app in the representative app stores. Otherwise, the browser version will display when you type www.worldcat.org/m from your mobile phone.

All libraries—regardless of OCLC membership status—are represented in the WorldCat Mobile pilot, as long as they maintain a library profile in the WorldCat Registry. The WorldCat Registry profile is a free service made available to help raise the visibility of all libraries on behalf of the OCLC cooperative and the library community as a whole.

The WorldCat Mobile pilot is powered by the WorldCat Search API and created and maintained by Boopsie, a leader in mobile search technology.

OCLC will continue to support Athens authentication for the existing NetLibrary and FirstSearch platforms. Future forward OCLC platforms such as WorldCat.org will be Shibboleth compliant, though not Athens compliant.

However, OCLC member and participating libraries using the Eduserv OpenAthens framework will benefit from the gateway functionality that can pass authentication from Athens to Shibboleth. In this way, institutions that subscribe to OpenAthens will also be able to access future OCLC services, because the OpenAthens gateway will translate from Athens on the library side to Shibboleth on the OCLC side.

The EZproxy service from OCLC is also available as an alternative authentication option that is used by thousands of libraries worldwide. A hosted version of EZproxy is currently in pilot mode.

“OCLC continues to explore, develop and support new identification and authentication options to make things as easy as possible for libraries and their users to gain access to appropriate content. That said, we remain committed to maintain current infrastructure such as Athens for the good of the membership and the whole cooperative,” explains Don Hamparian, OCLC’s global portfolio manager for identity management services.

If any Athens library has additional questions about their authentication options with OCLC services, please contact us.

OCLC will serve on the board of the OIX and will support the organization's initiative to develop an Open Trust Framework Model. Trust frameworks enable a site to trust the identity, security, and privacy assurances from an identity provider acting on behalf of the party revealing information. The OIX will ensure that identity providers meet the requirements of a framework and comply with all of the privacy, security, and reliability policies. 
 
"We opted to participate in OIX to make sure the identity management needs of libraries would also be met with the development of the Open Trust Framework Model," said Mike Teets, OCLC Vice President, Innovation and OCLC representative on the OIX Board. "A trust framework that includes libraries could broaden citizens’ awareness of online access to library materials, and make it easier for libraries to connect those citizens to the knowledge they seek in any format, be it purchased, licensed or created. In essence, OIX will put a key piece of the infrastructure puzzle in place to help libraries further reduce barriers of access to content, which is what OCLC is all about."

The US Government Information and Credential Access Management Committee, GSA ICAM, has approved the application of the Open Identity Exchange (OIX) as a Trust Framework Provider. This permits the OIX to issue certifications to Identity Providers who choose assessors and certification models including the audited self-certification model championed by the OpenID Foundation.  The lead government agency, the National Institute of Health (NIH) is ready to move into production status with OpenID credentials at LOA 1 for existing, pilot-status and future apps using NIH Login (now known as iTrust/NIH).
 
About the Open Identity Exchange
 
The Open Identity Exchange (OIX) is a neutral, non-profit, multi-channel provider of certification trust frameworks for open identity technologies. OIX was founded by grants from the OpenID and Information Card Foundations and support from companies including Google, PayPal, VeriSign and Equifax. For more information about OIX, please contact Liz O’Donnell at 617-365-7172.

This month, four collections from the CONTENTdm Collection of Collections are featured on the OCLC Web site. The featured collections for March are Bethine Church Collection, John Muir Correspondence, Charlotte Harbor Area Historical Society and Ulysses Samuel (U.S.) Cleveland Collection and the Edward J. McCauley Photographs.

Bethine Church Collection Boise State University The Bethine Church Digital Collection provides access to photographs of Bethine Church, wife of the late U.S. Senator Frank Church. The collection includes photographs of Bethine's extraordinary life as a wife, mother, as the 'third senator' from Idaho due to her active participation in public life during her husband's tenure in the Senate, as well as her recent accomplishments in the Idaho Democratic Party, Sawtooth Mountain Recreation Area and Sawtooth Society.

John Muir Correspondence University of the Pacific This collection consists of the correspondence of pioneering environmentalist John Muir from 1856-1914. The vast majority of the letters were sent and received by Muir, although the collection also includes some correspondence of selected family members and colleagues. Muir's correspondence offers a unique first-hand perspective on his thoughts and experiences, as well as those of his correspondents, which include many notable figures in scientific, literary and political circles of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Charlotte Harbor Area Historical Society and Ulysses Samuel (U.S.) Cleveland Collection Charlotte County Florida Government U.S. Cleveland was a celebrated Florida author and historian. In 2004, Mr. Cleveland's home was destroyed by Hurricane Charley. Afterwards, he donated the remains of his vast collection of photographs and historical artifacts to the Charlotte County Historical Center for preservation and display.

Edward J. McCauley Photographs University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Edward Johnson McCauley (1926-2003) was a photojournalist and life-long resident of Burlington, North Carolina. He spent more than twenty years on the staff of the Burlington Daily Times-News, covering a wide variety of events in Burlington, across Alamance County, and in other parts of North Carolina. This digital collection contains a selection of images from the Edward J. McCauley Photographic Materials taken between the years 1952 and 1972, mostly for the Burlington Daily Times-News. A majority of the images in this digital collection center around political campaigns and elections as well as other events in and around Alamance County, North Carolina.

The goal of the project is to share the expertise and technology of Texas A&M University-Commerce to make previously unknown local historical collections available to the public via the Web. The university offers training and workshops to its partners on topics including basic preservation principles, scanning, CONTENTdm software use, oral history interviewing and digital copy photography. In addition, the project’s intern visits each partner library to assess their collections, to distribute preservation advice and materials, and to train individuals on how to use the software to edit and upload their material into the digital library.

CONTENTdm, the main software the HeirLoom Project uses, allows the university and each individual partner to collect, store and share information with each other. More importantly, it gives the university's partner libraries the ability to put their previously unknown and unused collections online for easy access to researchers. This enables collection access to thousands of people by any internet connection without having to physically handle the object and risk damage to the item(s). All local historical collections are digitally housed on the internet in the Texas A&M University-Commerce Libraries Digital Collections library at: http://www.tamu-commerce.edu/library/collections/digital/.

This project is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act. Already in its second year of funding, the project is currently focusing on locating African American history resources, including photographs, documents, and oral histories.

 

The HeirLoom Project partners

The HeirLoom Project partners include: Bonham Public Library, Red River County Public Library, Commerce Public Library, Delta County Public Library, Paris Public Library, Pittsburg-Camp County Public Library, Rains County Public Library, Sulphur Springs Public Library, the W. Walworth Harrison Public Library of Greenville, the A.C. McMillan African American Museum, the Jefferson Carnegie Library and the Riter C. Hulsey Public Library of Terrell.

OCLC is pleased to announce that D.K. Agencies is now an active WorldCat Selection partner!

D.K. Agencies, founded in 1968, are booksellers and subscription agents handling publications originating from India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka and serving university, research and public libraries around the world. They supply books in English, Sanskrit, Tibetan, Hindi and other vernacular languages of India (Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil, Urdu, etc.) through firm orders and blanket orders/approval plans.

Learn more about D.K. Agencies.

See a complete list of current and forthcoming WorldCat Selection partners.

Meet your users through text messaging, Facebook or mobile devices: QuestionPoint provides more channels to meet users where they are, at the point of need.

A complete reference management system, QuestionPoint offers multiple avenues for you to reach users when they need library assistance—including e-mail, chat, and knowledgebases—along with administrative tools for managing the operation. If you are interested in after-hours service, you can be part of 24/7 Reference Cooperative as well, a network of reference librarians that serve users on the Web 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Read about the latest enhancements in an InfoToday.com NewsBreak.

With version 5.3, additional platforms are supported for the CONTENTdm Project Client and CONTENTdm Server.  The Project Client now runs on Microsoft® Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit) and Windows Vista (64-bit), and the Server now runs on Linux (64-bit) and Windows Server 2008 R2. (For a complete list of supported systems, see the CONTENTdm system requirements.)

Additionally, a new import feature enables libraries, museums and other cultural heritage organizations with records already in WorldCat to import metadata and OCLC numbers easily into CONTENTdm. Streamlining the import of metadata and OCLC numbers from WorldCat into CONTENTdm will be particularly useful to users that are managing the mass digitization of items with existing WorldCat records.

This release also includes improved sorting and editing functionality in the Project Client’s project spreadsheet. Users will now have the ability to sort all metadata fields (columns) displayed in the project spreadsheet. And when editing metadata in the project tab, the thumbnail image and checkbox are now frozen in the far left columns, which will help users keep the records in the spreadsheet in context while editing and viewing metadata.
Other enhancements include improvements to Upload Manager error reporting and OCR License resetting. The new release is available to current CONTENTdm licensees at no additional charge.

CONTENTdm is used by institutions worldwide to manage thousands of digital collections. See how some of these institutions are using CONTENTdm ››