OCLC Research Reports

Transforming Metadata into Linked Data to Improve Digital Collection Discoverability: A CONTENTdm Pilot Project

21 January 2021

Greta Bahnemann, Michael Carroll, Paul Clough, Mario Einaudi, Chatham Ewing, Jeff Mixter, Jason Roy, Holly Tomren, Bruce Washburn, Elliot Williams

This report shares the CONTENTdm Linked Data Pilot project findings. In this pilot project, OCLC and five partner institutions investigated methods for—and the feasibility of—transforming metadata into linked data to improve the discoverability and management of digitized cultural materials.

Transitioning to the Next Generation of Metadata

29 September 2020

Karen Smith-Yoshimura

This report synthesizes six years (2015-2020) of OCLC Research Library Partners Metadata Managers Focus Group discussions to trace how metadata services is transitioning into the “next generation of metadata” and its impact on future metadata services and staffing requirements.

Transitioning to the Next Generation of Metadata - Annotated Bibliography

29 September 2020

Karen Smith-Yoshimura

An annotated bibliography that provides details on blog posts from Hanging Together: The OCLC Research Blog referenced in the Transitioning to the Next Generation of Metadata report.

Social Interoperability in Research Support: Cross-campus Partnerships and the University Research Enterprise

20 August 2020

Rebecca Bryant, Annette Dortmund, Brian Lavoie

The report defines social interoperability and describes the network of campus units involved in major areas of university research support services. It concludes by offering recommendations for cultivating successful cross-campus relationships.

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.

Open Content Activities in Libraries: Same Direction, Different Trajectories — Findings from the 2018 OCLC Global Council Survey

1 July 2020

Titia van der Werf

This report synthesizes findings from the 2018-19 Global Council survey on current and future planned open content activities for a global cohort of research and university libraries.

Call to Action: Public Libraries and the Opioid Crisis

26 February 2020

Scott G. Allen, Larra Clark, Michele Coleman, Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Chris Cyr, Kendra Morgan, Mercy Procaccini

OCLC has partnered with the Public Library Association (PLA) to issue Call to Action: Public Libraries and the Opioid Crisis, a report that offers strategies for public libraries to consider as they determine a local response to the nationwide opioid crisis. This is the culminating output from the IMLS-funded project Public Libraries Respond to the Opioid Crisis with Their Communities.

Responsible Operations: Data Science, Machine Learning, and AI in Libraries

8 December 2019

Thomas Padilla

Responsible Operations is intended to help chart library community engagement with data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI) and was developed in partnership with an advisory group and a landscape group comprised of more than 70 librarians and professionals from universities, libraries, museums, archives, and other organizations.

Public Libraries Respond to the Opioid Crisis with Their Communities: Summary Report

29 October 2019

Scott G. Allen, Larra Clark, Michele Coleman, Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Chris Cyr, Kendra Morgan, Mercy Procaccini

As the impact of the opioid epidemic is felt in communities across the US, public libraries are choosing to be part of the community response. With funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and in partnership with the Public Library Association (PLA), OCLC is sharing knowledge and resources that will help public libraries and their community partners develop effective strategies to address the opioid epidemic in America.

Public Libraries Respond to the Opioid Crisis with Their Communities: Case Studies

28 October 2019

Scott G. Allen, Larra Clark, Michele Coleman, Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Chris Cyr, Kendra Morgan, Mercy Procaccini

This report includes eight research-based case studies highlighting varying opioid response efforts across eight locations in the US. The report details each library's response, the partnerships formed, reactions of the community, outcomes of the efforts, as well as challenges, needs, and opportunities.

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.

Creating Library Linked Data with Wikibase: Lessons Learned from Project Passage

5 August 2019

Jean Godby, Karen Smith-Yoshimura, Bruce Washburn, Kalan Knudson Davis, Karen Detling, Christine Fernsebner Eslao, Steven Folsom, Xiaoli Li, Marc McGee, Karen Miller, Honor Moody, Craig Thomas, Holly Tomren

“Project Passage” is an OCLC Research Wikibase prototype that explores using linked data in library cataloging workflows. The report overviews the prototype’s development, its adaptation for library use, and eight librarians’ experiences with the editing interface to create metadata for resources.

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.

Practices and Patterns in Research Information Management: Findings from a Global Survey

3 December 2018

Rebecca Bryant, Anna Clements, Pablo de Castro, Joanne Cantrell, Annette Dortmund, Jan Fransen, Peggy Gallagher, Michele Mennielli

OCLC and eruoCRIS partnered to conduct an international survey of research information management (RIM) practices to examine the broad global RIM ecosystem. This report details the complexity of RIM practices and the growing need for improved system-to-system interoperability.

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.

Public Libraries: Marketing and Communications Landscape

20 June 2018

OCLC

In this report, OCLC shares results from a survey of US public libraries on how they communicate and actively engage with their community. Survey questions covered library marketing concerns and barriers, communication channels, and how libraries use email marketing and social media to increase community library awareness.

The Realities of Research Data Management Part Four: Sourcing and Scaling University RDM Services

26 April 2018

Rebecca Bryant, Brian Lavoie, Constance Malpas

This report series explores how research universities are managing research data throughout the research lifecycle. This fourth report in this series examines the sourcing and scaling choices made by four research universities in their acquisition of research data management (RDM) capacity.

From Awareness to Funding: Voter Perceptions and Support of Public Libraries in 2018

21 March 2018

OCLC, ALA

In 2018, OCLC, ALA, and PLA conducted research of US voter support of libraries to examine the awareness, attitudes, and underlying motivations among US voters for supporting library funding. This report outlines findings and compares it to a similar survey conducted in 2008.

An Exploration of the Irish Presence in the Published Record

20 February 2018

Brian Lavoie, Lorcan Dempsey

OCLC Research identified more than 1.6 million distinct Irish publications using library collections data in WorldCat and mapped this information with DBpedia to trace shifting cultural patterns over time. This report analyzes distinctive features of Irish publications to examine the Irish influence on the collective public record.

Descriptive Metadata for Web Archiving: Literature Review of User Needs

7 February 2018

Jessica Ventlet, Karen Stoll Farrell, Tammy Kim, Allison Jai O’Dell, Jackie Dooley

The OCLC Research Library Partnership Web Archiving Metadata Working Group (WAM) has created recommendations for descriptive metadata best practices for archived web content to meet end-user needs, enhance discovery, and improve metadata consistency. This literature review considers both end user and metadata practitioner needs for web archives.

Descriptive Metadata for Web Archiving: Recommendations of the OCLC Research Library Partnership Web Archiving Metadata Working Group

7 February 2018

Jackie Dooley, Kate Bowers

The OCLC Research Library Partnership Web Archiving Metadata Working Group (WAM) developed recommended practices for creating consistent metadata that addresses the unique characteristics of websites and collections for web archiving. These practices can be used by anyone who needs to describe web content.

Descriptive Metadata for Web Archiving: Review of Harvesting Tools

7 February 2018

Jackie Dooley, Mary Samouelian

In this report, the OCLC Research Library Partnership Web Archiving Metadata Working Group (WAM) reviews 11 web harvesting tools to determine their descriptive metadata functionalities.

The Realities of Research Data Management Part Three: Incentives for Building University RDM Services

4 January 2018

Rebecca Bryant, Brian Lavoie, Constance Malpas

The Realities of Research Data Management series explores the research data management (RDM) capacity acquisition incentives motivating research universities. The third report creates four categories of RDM capacity incentives: compliance, evolving scholarly norms, institutional strategy, and researcher demand.