OCLC

Basic Info

Founded:: 1967

Detailed Info

Website:: http://www.oclc.org
Company Overview:: OCLC is a nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purpose of furthering access to the world's information and reducing information costs. More than 60,000 libraries in 112 countries and territories around the world use OCLC services to locate, acquire, catalog, lend and preserve library materials. The organization was founded by Fred Kilgour, and its offices are located in Dublin, Ohio.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OCLC>

In the beginning...
In 1967, the presidents of the colleges and universities in the state of Ohio founded the Ohio College Library Center (OCLC) to develop a computerized system in which the libraries of Ohio academic institutions could share resources and reduce costs.

OCLC’s first offices were in the Main Library on the campus of The Ohio State University (OSU), and its first computer room was housed in the OSU Research Center. It was from these academic roots that Frederick G. Kilgour, OCLC’s first president, oversaw the growth of OCLC from a regional computer system for 54 Ohio colleges into an international network.
Expanding beyond Ohio

In 1977, the Ohio members of OCLC adopted changes in the governance structure that enabled libraries outside Ohio to become members and participate in the election of the Board of Trustees; the Ohio College Library Center became OCLC, Inc. In 1981, the legal name of the corporation became OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. Today, OCLC serves more than 60,000 libraries of all types in the U.S. and 112 countries and territories around the world.
<http://www.oclc.org/about/history/>

(read less)
OCLC is a nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purpose of furthering access to the world's information and reducing information costs. More than 60,000 libraries in 112 countries and territories around the world use OCLC services to locate, acquire, catalog, lend and preserve library materials. The organization was founded by Fred Kilgour, and its offices are located in Dublin, Ohio.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OCLC>

In the... (read more)
Mission:: Mission
OCLC exists to further access to the world's information and reduce library costs by offering services for libraries and their users.

Vision
OCLC will be the leading global library cooperative, helping libraries serve people by providing economical access to knowledge through innovation and collaboration.
Products:: Cataloging and Metadata
We offer full-service online cataloging, simple copy cataloging, MARC record collections, offline cataloging, customized OCLC cataloging from your materials vendor, automated copy cataloging for materials purchased and custom cataloging services. We also administer the Dewey Decimal Classification system, the most widely used library classification system in the world.

Collection Management
Use our collection development services to meet your collection goals. Assess the strengths and gaps of your collection with our targeted analysis tools. Streamline your selection and ordering process with our automated materials selection service. Serve your culturally diverse community with easy-to-order, shelf-ready collections of non-English materials.

Digitization and Preservation
Our digitization, microfilm and archival services are designed to protect and share your collections. Manage your special collections, or turn to the skilled staff at our preservation centers.

eContent
Enhance your collections with eContent from NetLibrary (eBooks, eAudiobooks, eJournals and databases), plus full-text electronic journals and a variety of online reference databases.

Reference
Through FirstSearch, we offer online access to full-text documents, abstracts, indices and WorldCat, the world’s most powerful bibliographic database. We also partner with the Library of Congress to provide a comprehensive virtual reference service.

Resource Sharing
Create, send and track interlibrary loan requests with WorldCat Resource Sharing. Take users from an article citation in WorldCat to the full-text version with WorldCat Link Manager, an OpenURL linkng and listing service. And our ILL management system ILLiad helps high-productivity libraries streamline their processes.

For more information on OCLC products and services please visit: < http://www.oclc.org/services/>

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