OCLC Global Council

More than 30 years of success

Global Council evolved from Members Council in July 2009. Members Council, and its predecessor, Users Council, represented the interests of libraries for 31 years. Since then, its recommendations have directly shaped specific and encompassing OCLC policies and services, from operational details (such as pricing strategies and contribution requirements) to service enhancement issues (including policy on content-enriched monograph and serials table of contents records).

The voice of OCLC member libraries

There are 48 Member Delegates on Global Council who are elected by the Regional Councils and represent OCLC member libraries in their respective areas around the world. Because each Delegate is a potential member of the OCLC Board of Trustees, Global Council assures that the voice of member libraries can be heard at the highest levels of OCLC and throughout the library community and global cultural community.

How Global Council works

Global Council meets in person at least once each year in an Annual Global Council Meeting and may hold other meetings in person or electronically. Global Council exercises its responsibilities in four ways:

Electing six members to the OCLC Board of Trustees
Ratifying amendments to the OCLC Code of Regulations and Articles of Incorporation
Discussing interests of mutual concern and making recommendations to OCLC management and members of the OCLC Board of Trustees.
Ensuring regular and open communication between the Membership and OCLC

How Member Delegates are chosen

Global Council Member Delegates are elected for three-year terms by the members of their respective Regional Councils. Member Delegates come from many types and sizes of institution and bring different perspectives to the Global Council.

Each Regional Council provides a minimum of four Member Delegates to the Global Council. The remaining Delegates from each Regional Council are allocated via revenue measurements as well as the region's proportional contribution to the WorldCat bibliographic database and number of OCLC-member institutions. Member Delegates report back to OCLC members through Regional Council meetings and other state, regional and national associations.

If you are interested in representing your region on OCLC Global Council, please contact your Regional Council Chair.

Mission statement and goals

The Global Council mission statement and goals provides additional insight into the valuable service that Member Delegates perform for libraries through their Global Council participation.

Contacting delegates

A continuously updated directory provides brief information about current Global Council Member Delegates. Member Delegates welcome your input, so take advantage of this forum and contact them as needed.

OCLC Global Council resources

OCLC Global Council Handbook

OCLC Global Council Leadership Interest Form

OCLC Global Council Bylaws

OCLC Members Council archival meeting materials

Action Plan for EMEA Regional Council 2010-2013

Annual plans and themes

Policy on Guests at Global Council Meetings

OCLC News

OCLC Global Council Communications Task Force Charge and Membership

OCLC Global Council Cost Sharing Models Task Force Charge and Roster

Final Report and Recommendations: Task Force on Cost Sharing and Pricing Strategy