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Collective Collection

A Collective Collection refers to the shared resources of multiple libraries, archives, and museums. Collective Collections can be leveraged to benefit all institutional stakeholders, including researchers, scholars, students, and patrons.

OCLC Research’s Collective Collection work provides evidence and insight to support decision-making into how cultural heritage institutions organize shared collections and services. Through this work, OCLC Research is helping to create a more connected, collaborative landscape for libraries, archives, and museums, with the goal of making collections more accessible, impactful, and cost-efficient.

Publications

    Sustaining Art Research Collections: Case Studies in Collaboration

    Sustaining Art Research Collections: Case Studies in Collaboration

    18 April 2023

    Dennis Massie, Chela Scott Weber, Mercy Procaccini, Brian Lavoie

    This report shares recommendations for building successful collaborations and identifies typical challenges library partnerships navigate based on case study research of current art library collaborations.

    Sustaining Art Research Collections: Using Data to Explore Collaboration

    Sustaining Art Research Collections: Using Data to Explore Collaboration

    15 February 2023

    Brian Lavoie, Dennis Massie, Chela Scott Weber

    This report explores collaboration opportunities between art, academic, and independent research libraries by analyzing WorldCat bibliographic and holdings data and WorldShare interlibrary loan transaction data.

    Archives and Special Collections Linked Data: Navigating between Notes and Nodes

    Archives and Special Collections Linked Data: Navigating between Notes and Nodes

    21 July 2020

    OCLC Research Archives and Special Collections Linked Data Review Group

    This publication shares the findings from the Archives and Special Collections Linked Data Review Group, which explored key areas of concern and opportunities for archives and special collections in transitioning to a linked data environment.

    La facilitated collection: una riflessione sulle collezioni come servizio

    La facilitated collection: una riflessione sulle collezioni come servizio

    21 April 2020

    Lorcan Dempsey

    The post considers how the contract termination between the University of California and Elsevier has signaled a change for our scholarly communication models. 

    Reflections on Collective Collections

    Reflections on Collective Collections

    16 January 2020

    Brian Lavoie, Lorcan Dempsey, Constance Malpas

    Collective collections are the combined holdings of a group of libraries, analyzed and possibly managed as a unified resource. Constructing, understanding, and operationalizing collective collections is an increasingly important aspect of collection management for many libraries. This article presents some general insights about collective collections, drawn from a series of studies conducted by OCLC.

    The US and Canadian Collective Print Book Collection: A 2019 Snapshot

    The US and Canadian Collective Print Book Collection: A 2019 Snapshot

    26 September 2019

    Brian Lavoie

    In this position paper, Lavoie traces the contours of the US and Canadian collective print book collection—the collective print book holdings of all libraries in the US and Canada whose collections are registered in WorldCat. The paper examines the US/Canadian collective print book collection for insight and trends and includes a new rendering of the mega-regional map of US/Canadian Collective Print Book Collections.

    Operationalizing the BIG Collective Collection: A Case Study of Consolidation vs Autonomy

    Operationalizing the BIG Collective Collection: A Case Study of Consolidation vs Autonomy

    20 August 2019

    Lorcan Dempsey, Constance Malpas, Mark Sandler

    The proposed framework recommends strategies for advancing the Big Ten Academic Alliance’s (BTAA) collective collections toward a more purposeful coordination of their print collections. It defines four traits of a purposeful collective collection that can also apply broadly to other consortium settings.

    Maple Leaves: Discovering Canada through the Published Record

    Maple Leaves: Discovering Canada through the Published Record

    21 May 2019

    Brian Lavoie

    OCLC Research identified 10.9 million Canadian publications using WorldCat and mapped this information with Wikidata to trace shifting cultural patterns over time. This report analyzes distinctive features of Canadian publications to examine the Canadian influence on the collective public record.

    What Collaboration Means to Me: Library collaboration is hard; effective collaboration is harder

    What Collaboration Means to Me: Library collaboration is hard; effective collaboration is harder

    19 March 2019

    Lorcan Dempsey

    Dempsey argues that library collaboration is important—especially in a network environment, where scale is key for efficiency and impact—and must be a strategic focus for libraries and partners. Library collaboration is hard; this paper analyzes why and offers suggestions for improvement.

    University Futures, Library Futures: Aligning library strategies with institutional directions

    University Futures, Library Futures: Aligning library strategies with institutional directions

    18 October 2018

    Constance Malpas, Roger Schonfeld, Rona Stein, Lorcan Dempsey, Deanna Marcum

    This report proposes a new library services framework for academic libraries in place of a collections model. This report studies the relationship between emerging library service paradigms and different university settings and surveys the importance of library service areas according to library directors.