OCLC Members Council discusses issues facing libraries worldwide

DUBLIN, Ohio, USA, 21 May 2009  – OCLC Members Council met May 17-19 in Dublin, Ohio, USA, to discuss issues facing libraries around the world, pass resolutions to implement the previously approved Global Council and three Regional Councils, and look back on 31 years of accomplishments as Members Council concluded its final meeting.

OCLC has adopted a new governance structure designed to extend participation in the cooperative to an increasing number of libraries and cultural heritage institutions around the world.

On May 20, 2008, Members Council approved changes to the Articles of Incorporation and Code of Regulations that had been recommended by the Board of Trustees. The changes will transform the current Members Council into a Global Council that connects with Regional Councils around the world.

The new Global Council will replace the Members Council, the governing body that has guided the cooperative since June 1978. Jan Ison, Executive Director, Lincoln Trail Libraries System, will serve as Global Council President. Jennifer Younger, Edward H. Arnold Director of Hesburgh Libraries, University of Notre Dame, was elected Vice President/President Elect.

Chairs of the Regional Councils will comprise part of the Executive Committee. Chew Leng Beh, Senior Director of Library and Professional Services and Director of SILAS, National Library Board, Singapore, will chair the Asia Pacific Regional Council; Patrick Wilkinson, Director of the University of Wisconsin—Oshkosh Library, will chair the Americas Regional Council; and Berndt Dugall, Direktor/Librarian at the Universitat Frankfurt, will chair EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) Regional Council. Additional members of the Global Council Executive Committee are:  Anne Prestamo, Associate Dean/Collection & Technology Services, Oklahoma State University, University Libraries (Americas); Vic Elliott, Director, Scholarly Information Services & University Librarian, The Australian National University (Asia Pacific); and Poul Erlandsen, Head, Document Access Services & Collection Management, Danish University of Education, National Library of Education (EMEA).

"Whether we're working as part of Members Council, the Global Council or the Regional Councils, we must continue our intimacy with OCLC products and services on behalf of our libraries and the constituents we serve," said Members Council President Loretta Parham, Library Director and CEO, Robert W. Woodruff Library at the Atlanta University Center.

During the May meeting, Members Council considered a new definition of OCLC membership: "Any library or other memory institution that embraces the OCLC values of collaboration and sharing is welcome. Institutions worldwide become members of OCLC by contractually agreeing to contribute intellectual content or share resources. Our cooperative is strengthened by our membership's diversity, such as geographical, institutional type, or size." This definition will be considered by the OCLC Board of Trustees at its meeting in June; if they approve, the new definition will be added to the Membership and Contributions Protocols that take effect July 1, 2009.

Members Council approved frameworks for each of three Regional Councils:  Americas Regional Council, EMEA Regional Council, and Asia Pacific Regional Council. Through participation in the Regional Councils, members can bring resolutions to the table for direct consideration by OCLC management. While the Global Council will retain the authority to vote on Board of Trustees appointments and changes to OCLC Foundation Documents, OCLC will be provided advice and direction from all OCLC members through the Regional Councils.

"This change will enable more organizations all over the globe to provide feedback directly to OCLC," said George Needham, Vice President, OCLC Member Services. "We’re looking to member libraries, museums and archives to help us discover, develop and roll out the ideas that will drive the future of information services."

Each Regional Council have selected a chairperson and administrative officers who, in cooperation with OCLC, will plan at least one live Regional Council meeting annually, and may schedule additional virtual meetings as needed. OCLC will support these meetings where all members in the Region will be able to participate in discussions, advance ideas, and vote on resolutions related to the cooperative.

Reports and Presentations

"I attended my first meeting of the then Users Council in May 1998.  The theme of that meeting was 'Internationalize: The Value of OCLC Membership in a Global Library Community,'" said Jay Jordan, OCLC President and CEO. "That is a theme that runs throughout OCLC's history, from the Ohio pioneers to the nationwide network of 1978 to the international OCLC of today. The more libraries and cultural heritage institutions in the OCLC network, the better."

Mr. Jordan discussed some of the services Members Council has helped OCLC to develop over the years, such as the WorldCat Local service. OCLC recently announced plans to create Web-scale, cooperative library management services and provided an opportunity for member libraries to take the first step to realizing this cooperative service model with a new, “quick start” version of WorldCat Local.

"Our strategy for Web-scale builds on OCLC's 40-year history of innovation and cooperation," said Mr. Jordan. "In 1967, OCLC Founder Fred Kilgour revealed a strategy to create an online union catalog through shared cataloging in order to reduce individual transaction costs for libraries. The result has been WorldCat, which has saved libraries millions of dollars in cataloging and interlibrary loan costs. Today, we are extending that strategy of cooperation to reduce the costs of library management functions such as circulation and acquisitions."

Jennifer Younger, Edward H. Arnold Director of Hesburgh Libraries, University of Notre Dame, and chair of the Review Board on the Principles of Shared Data Creation and Stewardship, presented a report to Council on the Review Board's progress. The Review Board has discussed and gathered information about the proposed Policy for Use and Transfer of WorldCat Records, which has been delayed after questions and concerns were raised about the policy.

The Review Board recommended in its report to Council that the proposed policy be formally withdrawn, and a new policy should be drafted. "We affirm that a policy is needed, but not this policy," said Ms. Younger. Until a new policy is in place, the Review Board suggested that OCLC reaffirm the existence and applicability of the Nov. 16, 1987 "Guidelines for the Use and Transfer of OCLC-Derived Records."

The new policy should be based on clearly articulated principles, impart confidence to members and partners building strategies predicated on WorldCat, and support innovation, according to the Review Board report.

The Review Board is accepting feedback on its report http://community.oclc.org/reviewboard. The Review Board will submit a draft report for the June meeting of the OCLC Board of Trustees, and plans to finalize its report by the end of June. Video of Ms. Younger's report can be viewed at http://vidego.multicastmedia.com/player.php?p=v07n97t9.

Anne Beaubien, Director, Cooperative Access Services, University of Michigan Library, and Chair, Rethinking Resource Sharing Steering Committee, an ad hoc group that advocates for a complete rethinking of the way libraries conduct resource sharing, presented a report from "Resource Sharing, Looking to the Future," a forum held at OCLC earlier in May.

Ms. Beaubien suggested that it is time to rethink approaches to resource sharing for a variety of reasons: the Internet has changed user expectations; more people work outside the library context; everyone manages information differently; increased use of mobile devices; and the publishing world is changing.  If libraries are to improve resource sharing, they must focus more on user needs, eliminate jargon, offer services outside the library, look for useful models outside the library, measure user satisfaction and remain vendor neutral. Libraries must be inspired to meet user expectations through innovative resource sharing service, said Ms. Beaubien.

Delegates participated in a Global Issues Panel Discussion with Graham Jefcoate, Directeur Universiteitsbiblioteek, Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen, serving as Chair, and panelists Vic Elliott, Director, Scholarly Information Services & University Librarian, The Australian National University; Beth Barlow, Chief Librarian, Surrey Public Library; and Robin Murray, Vice President, OCLC Global Product Management. Much of the discussion centered on current economic conditions, their effect on libraries and library services, and how OCLC can help libraries through innovative services and cooperation.

Council heard OCLC staff reports on:

• Social Networking and WorldCat.  Jasmine de Gaia, OCLC Global Product Manager, WorldCat Consumer Discovery, demonstrated some of the new social networking features now available on WorldCat.org (www.worldcat.org).
• Moving the Global Council to the WebJunction Private Web site.  Chrystie Hill, Director, WebJunction Community Services, provided a brief demonstration of how the Global Council can stay up to date, communicate and work together on the new WebJunction (www.webjunction.org) community site.

Delegates also took time in a panel discussion to reflect on 31 years of Members Council accomplishments, and look forward to the future with a new, global governance structure in place.

About Members Council
The 71-delegate Members Council supports OCLC’s mission by serving as the key discussion forum and communications link between member libraries, regional networks and other partners, and OCLC management. By providing a channel for recommendations and questions from Members Council delegates, approving changes in the Code of Regulations and electing six members of the Board of Trustees, Members Council helps shape the future direction of OCLC.

About OCLC
Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, OCLC is a nonprofit library service and research organization that has provided computer-based cataloging, reference, resource sharing, eContent, preservation, library management and Web services to 71,000 libraries in 112 countries and territories.  OCLC and its member libraries worldwide have created and maintain WorldCat, the world’s richest online resource for finding library materials.  For more information, visit www.oclc.org.

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