 OCLC
publishes Environmental Scan
by Brad Gauder
As part of its strategic planning endeavors, OCLC recently completed publication
of The 2003 OCLC Environmental Scan: Pattern Recognition, a 150-page
report to the worldwide OCLC membership. This report, also available on the
OCLC Web site in an online format, looks at significant issues and trends that
affect OCLC, libraries and other information repositories now and in the future.
According to Cathy De Rosa, OCLC Vice President of Corporate Marketing and
Customer Services, the scan is a natural outcome of OCLC’s role as library
advocate. “Librarians should look to OCLC not only as a source of solutions
for their day-to-day operations but also as a resource for information about
navigating continually changing landscapes. The scan is one way we can engage
them in dialogue and together chart a course for the years ahead,” she
says.
Work on the scan began in the summer of 2003. Much of the information reported
in the scan reflects input gathered from interviews with more than 100 persons,
including librarians, information industry leaders and OCLC-affiliated partners,
and focus groups with high school students, teachers and senior citizens. The
scan also includes research findings from some 250 articles and other publications.
 The
scan surveys the library and information landscape from several perspectives
or “landscapes,” including social, economic, technology and research
& learning. Data from 29 countries, representing all regions of the world
and a broad range of economies, provides helpful perspective on the relative
status of libraries in varying locations around the world.
A variety of profiles, charts and tabular data further illustrates the findings
across the various landscapes. The profiles include a “Generation X”
librarian and a “Gamer,”plus a look at the growth of libraries in
new residential developments in Guangzhou, China. The scan provides charts and
other guides that help readers separate “the hype from the hope” as
they read about emerging technologies.
 The scan isn’t intended to be a sole source of answers for circumstances
affecting the library and information world. Instead, it’s meant to engage
library and information professionals in dialogue to purposefully consider how
libraries and other information repositories can respond to the various trends
discussed in the scan. Readers are encouraged to share comments and recommendations
with OCLC in response to the scan.
Feedback
from those who have read the scan has been very affirming, according to Ms.
De Rosa. “We had some wonderful opportunities at the ALA Midwinter Meeting
and the PLA conference to share an overview of our findings with librarians
and now we’re hearing from some of them how much they appreciate the publication
of the scan as a much-needed discussion starter.”
In addition to being available online,
the scan is also available in print and may be ordered from the same Web page
for a charge of $15 per copy, to cover shipping and production expenses.
Countries included in the Environmental Scan
A worldwide lens was used to construct this scan. Detailed education, library
and technology spend data was collected for a subset of countries. This subset
was constructed based on data available and geographic representation. The sample
size chosen represents approximately 60 percent of the world's population and
85 percent of the world's gross domestic product. The following countries comprise
the sample: |
| Austalia | India | South Africa |
| Brazil | Italy | South Korea |
| Canada | Japan | Spain |
| Chile | Malyasia | Sri Lanka |
| China | Mexico | Trinidad & Tobago |
| Columbia | Netherlands | Uganda |
| Croatia | Norway | United Arab Emirates |
| France | Saudi Arabia | United Kingdom |
| Germany | Singapore | United States |
| Hungary | Slovenia | |
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