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Global Council Area of Focus

Meeting global challenges with collaborative leadership

Each year, OCLC Global Council selects an area of focus to help concentrate efforts around a challenge facing libraries around the world. This important work spans not only geographic regions, but all types of libraries, and provides opportunities for professionals at all levels of their career to participate by adding their voice and ideas to the conversation.

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2022 Area of Focus: Libraries and Open Ecosystems

Libraries play an important role in their community ecosystem by providing crucial resources and services. As patron needs grow and change, libraries adapt to meet those needs. While much of this work happens at a local level, when libraries work together we can achieve global impact.

Through this year’s focus on “Libraries and Open Ecosystems,” OCLC Global Council, together with OCLC Research, will explore the broader impact of the library in its local ecosystem, in other words, the library’s symbiotic relationship with the social, educational, informational, and environmental infrastructure of the community where it is located.

Through a four-part webinar series, Global Council and OCLC Research will partner to bring together thought leaders from around the world to explore how libraries can and do contribute to open ecosystems. Bringing impactful change to the communities we serve.

Join the conversation in our webinar series

Join library leaders from across the globe as they discuss the many ways libraries serve their communities through open ecosystems.

On-demand webinars

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Jul 15

15 July 2022

Creating a New Model Library

This session will focus on changes made both before and during the pandemic that influenced leaders’ visions for their libraries during the next five years, including library participation in open ecosystems.

  • Time: 01:00 – 02:00 Eastern Standard Time, Australia [UTC +10]

This event has passed. View the archive.

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Apr 13

13 April 2022

Libraries and Open Ecosystems: Metadata challenges and opportunities in the open ecosystem

Join Kathryn Stine, OCLC Research Library Partnership, and library leaders from OCLC’s Global Council as they discuss the next generation of metadata, including contributing environmental factors, and the findings of the Reimagine Descriptive Workflows project.

  • Time: 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM Eastern Daylight Time, North America [UTC -4]

This event has passed. View the archive.

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Feb 28

28 February 2022

Libraries and Open Ecosystems: Creating a New Model Library

Join Brittany Brannon, Research Support Specialist, Library Trends and User Research, and library leaders from OCLC’s Global Council for a discussion on emerging library models.

  • Time: 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM Eastern Standard Time, North America [UTC -5]

This event has passed. View the archive.

Explore past Areas of Focus

Global Council together with OCLC Research, work together to develop original research on various topics, producing ongoing resources and presentations that lead to real outcomes for the library community.

2021 Sustainable Development Goals

Libraries can bring unique strengths and collective muscle to global sustainability challenges. To inspire more conversations, expanded engagement, and action that leads to impact, OCLC’s Global Council has set its FY21 area of focus on sustainability.

View the research

On-demand webinars

2020 Discovery and Fulfillment

Learn about discovery and fulfillment efforts in libraries around the world from this global library survey. What are the biggest challenges and opportunities for libraries worldwide and what do respondents believe is the next big thing? See how libraries around the world share similar challenges and where they differ.

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2019 Open Access, Open Content

Learn more about open access and open content activities in libraries around the world. This report covers findings from a global library survey of 511 respondents from 69 countries and offers new perspectives on open content activities within the library community as it uncovers and highlights the maturity and versatility of these activities.

View report

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Sign up to receive emails about OCLC’s Transformative Leaders webinar series. Webinars cover topics of interest to current and future library leaders.

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Illustration: Transformative Leaders webinar series