OCLC Canada Advisory Council

Minutes — November 29^th 2024

Present

Joseph Hafner - chair, Associate Dean, Collection Services, McGill University
May Chan, Head Metadata Services, University of Toronto
Mélanie Dumas, Directrice de la collection de la Grande Bibliothèque, BAnQ
Caitlin Horrall, Director General, Private Archives and Published Heritage, Library and Archives Canada
Gabrielle Prefontaine, Dean, University Library, University of Winnipeg
Renee Reaume, Director, Metadata Services, University of Calgary
Debbie Schachter, Associate Vice-President, Students & Interim Director, Library Services & Learning Commons Langara College
Renee Venne, Director, ATIP, Library & IM Services, National Research Council Canada

Daniel Boivin, Executive Director, OCLC Canada, Latin America & the Caribbean

Absent

Eric van Lubeek, Chief Revenue Officer and Managing Director, EMEA/APAC, OCLC
Michael Vandenberg, Dean of Libraries, Dalhousie University

Submitted agenda:

1. Opening of the meeting and agenda approval
2. Review the minutes of the Spring 2024 meeting
3. Presentation/Discussion on Global Council changed to Leaders Council
   
4. Some brief news from OCLC (CloudLibrary, WMS, ILL, Linked Data)
   
5. Brainstorming on the Canadian library's landscape:
   • New/revised priorities
   • Budget trends, new/revised initiatives
   • Are new library positions / roles being created
   • Exciting projects underway
6. Other business (dates for Spring 2025 meeting will be defined using Doodle)
7. End of Conference Call

1. Opening of the meeting and agenda approval
   • Mr. Hafner asked if something could be added to the agenda.
   • Ms. Chan asked if a follow-up on the Relais discussion from the last meeting could be provided either at the “Brainstorming on the Canadian landscape” or “Other business” could be provided.
   • It was accepted to do so.

2. Review the minutes of the Spring 2024 Meeting:
   • The minutes were approved.

3. Presentation/Discussion on Global Council changed to Leader's Council
   
   • Since Mr. Hafner was closely involved with the transition, and as the upcoming Vice Chair/Chair-Elect (2025/2026) of Leaders Council, he provided an update on the transition from Global Council to Leaders Council. Here are some of the key details:
   • The new OCLC Leaders Council will be phased in over the next year with a clear purpose: to provide library perspectives that inform OCLC's strategic goals and to elect six trustees to the Board of Trustees.
   • Back in 1978, the first Users Council was created to provide a member governance mechanism to elect trustees to OCLC's Board and to provide direct user feedback on OCLC products and services. Since that time, OCLC and its membership have grown significantly, and the structure of Councils has also evolved. In 2000, Users Council changed to Members Council and it is in 2008 that Members Council became the Global Council (GC) seeing how rapidly the membership had expanded worldwide. Three regional councils were also formed at that time (Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific).
   • One element common to all of these changes is that each was led by an independent study.
   • A significant amount of time had passed since that last change in 2008. So, a closer inquiry into the current state of Councils was much needed.
   • One of the elements that played out in the review of the GC role is the fact that the OCLC engagement landscape has grown significantly over 5 decades. Today, opportunities to engage in discussions (blogs, social networks, etc.), contribute product ideas, and connect with other OCLC members have radically increased from the time when the first OCLC Users Group was formed in 1978.
   • It had become unclear as to what the role and purpose of GC was. The purpose statement recently defined for the Leaders Council clarifies and updates the Council's unique role in OCLC's member engagement landscape and its governance structure. The unique role for this next iteration of Councils is to provide "library perspectives to inform [OCLC's] strategic goals as established by the Board and Executive Management Team."
   • And, from a governance standpoint, the Council, just as it has done throughout all its past iterations, will continue to elect six trustees to the OCLC Board of Trustees.
   • The new Leaders Council will unite the current three, separate Regional Councils into one single council comprised of two delegations – one consisting of members from North, Central, and South America, and one consisting of members from Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific.
   • This structure allows flexibility in its membership to range from no fewer than 20 to no more than 24 library leaders.
   • The members of this new group are called 'councilors' instead of delegates, and these councilors will now be selected (no longer elected -- selection of councilors will be made by the Joint Membership Committee, a Board committee that includes the officers of the Leaders Council) from member libraries in countries around the world.
   • Councilors will continue to serve a 3-year term with the ability to serve two consecutive terms on the Council.
   • Officers for Leaders Council will be elected by the councilors, with the Chair and Vice Chair positions rotating between the two delegations (Americas and EMEA/Asia Pacific) each year.
   • The Leaders Council began its first term on November 1^st, and met virtually for the first time on November 20th.
   • Two members of this Advisory Council, May Chan and Joseph Hafner, are part of the Leaders Council for the 2024-2025 term.
   • The focus for this transitional year will be on building new engagement groups and procedural guidelines for the Leaders Council.
   • Ms. Schachter, a current Board member, in her 3^rd year of a 4-year term, confirmed that the process to elect someone on the Board remains and it is one very important role the Council plays.

4. Some brief news from OCLC (cloudLibrary, WMS, ILL, linked data)
   • The presentation used will be posted on the portal.
   • Regarding the Relais ILL on-going discussion with the current user base and the ILL community across the country, Mr. Boivin indicated that indeed, discussions have continued taking place. Resource Sharing staff at OCLC have been conducting various meetings and visits at key libraries this fall: U of Alberta, UBC, Simon Fraser, the Alberta Public Library, and a few others. Conference calls with the CAUL group and UNB, a current WMS user, are also scheduled. In parallel, the OLS (Ontario Library Services) group has gone live on RS4G to replace VDX on Nov. 12. OCLC is also working closely with BAnQ and Réseau BIBLIO to continue their transition to RS4G. The VDX EOL for these two groups has been extended to at least early 2026 to assure a smooth transition for all the libraries in these groups.
   • Ms. Chan, with this addition to the agenda, wanted to make sure the groups that had reached her and other OCAC delegates regarding the Relais ILL status, were reached and that is the case.
   • Mr. Boivin also added that a new Library Services Consultant for Western Canada had recently been recruited to replace Nigel Long that recently retired from OCLC after 21 years. His name is David Adimora and he is located in BC.
     

5. Brainstorming on the Canadian libraries' landscape
   • Mr. Hafner talked about AI tools being used in cataloguing. Also used to connect to the rules around cataloguing to facilitate the tasks.
   • Ms. Chan pursued the cataloguing topic and gave her perspective.
   • PCC in Canada had 2 meetings in Washington. One on linked data and one for the PCC (Program for Cooperative Cataloguing).
   • Vendors were there, Casilini, Ex-Libris, OCLC, EBSCO. The group raised the idea of urgency to adopt linked data, not just wait to see who will be first to use and implement. Lots of expectations were raised regarding the need to develop training. But, she is herself involved with developing linked data training at U of T.
   • She indicated also that the DCMI (Dublin Core and Metadata Applications) conference was in Toronto and she attended.
   • The "Linked data for production" initiative also happened online. She feels libraries are behind as researchers are putting lots of metadata online.
   • She also feels that Canadian libraries in PCC could be affected by the momentum. At U of T, the timeline to implement BIBFRAME is around April 2026. Need to be at the next level, the practical level, and that still requires work. Commitment is needed, though, from organizations to get to this next level.
   • She reported that IFLA has been looking at linked data. They had a survey in 2023.
   • CDN libraries outside of PCC are partnering with various vendors to test linked data editors. Feels there is a renewed look at moving within implementation within the next 5 years, no longer.
   • Forward Linking Partnership presentation, May 2024
   • Ms Chan indicated also that the U of T library is pressured to look into AI. She feels this needs to be more coordinated together and not isolated initiatives.
   • Mr. Boivin then asked how budgets were affected, or not, with all the on-going tariff discussions, a possible recession, etc.:
   • Ms. Horrall said it was on their minds at LAC for sure. They had cuts and expecting more in coming years. In terms of priorities, LAC is building the new building with OPL in collaboration with the indigenous community for environmental sustainability. Planning to complete the project at the beginning of 2026 with an opening for the summer 2026. They are trying to balance this transformation with public services and resources they have. They are expecting over 1 million visits a year once the new building opens, compare to 40k before: ādisōke They are also looking at replacing their archival information system. They continue their digitization projects with Internet Archives for documents that are in the public domain. They also continue supporting NIKLA.
   • Access to Info and Privacy (ATIP).
   • Ms. Venne added that at NRC they are also affected by budget cuts. They are cutting subscriptions and reducing in coming years. Reviewing workflows and various initiatives for possible "adjustments". Pressure within government is growing and they are expecting cuts. They are also looking at a building renovation for M-55, the library during the next 2 years, so they are currently packing a lot these days (rare books and 1st floor collections).
   • Ms. Dumas shared that budget-wise, it is difficult too at BAnQ, especially for the past few weeks. They cannot hire and that is true for the entire Quebec government. They are prioritizing projects. The Conseil de l'innovation du Québec asked to be ready for AI in their recent report. She said that BAnQ could take care of the AI database on culture, ie. they can feed AI with that French content. Thus, they are working on a feasibility study in the next months. She finally indicated that all public libraries in the province was looking at identifying a potential shared ILS. This is an initiative managed by the ABPQ.
   • Ms. Prefontaine wanted to share that universities in Canada are all affected by the student cap. This means lower revenues coming from tuition fees. In Manitoba, they are struggling with physical storage despite attrition and going more digital. Digital preservation infrastructure is top of mind for them and the library market in Canada. Building infrastructure for that remains a challenge.
   • Ms. Reaume confirmed that budgets are also top of mind for them. The provincial government has not announced anything yet and that is "keeping them on their toes" until this is done. The Canadian dollar fluctuation is a growing concern as well. U of C presented on Centre for Artificial Intelligence Ethics, Literacy and Integrity–physical space. They have been having workshops, etc., on the topic: music and AI, AI in courses, human rights, academic integrity, etc. But, being involved in these helps the library growing its relationships and network on campus.
   • York University lost several thousand foreign students with the new cap, and at the same time, tuition does not go up. This causes lots of financial pressure for them at the university. The Canadian Shared Print, North initiative, is moving ahead with the three projects (FYI, Univ. Presses–should be able to make commitments in next year). OCLC has a new guide to stir the collective collections and the North Shared Print Partnership is part of it. Mr. Hafner got elected co-chair to this initiative. Worth noting:
   • The Rosemont Shared Print Alliance and the Partnership for Shared Book Collections were separate organizations focused on ensuring the retention of and access to print journal backfiles and monographs respectively.
   • OCLC research.

6. Other business
   • None.

7. End of the meeting
   • At 16h10 Eastern Time.