OCLC#Criticism

{{Infobox organization

| name = OCLC, Inc.

| logo = OCLC logo.svg

| logo_size = 181px

| image = Kilgour Building, OCLC, Dublin, OH.jpg

| caption = OCLC headquarters in 2007

| type = 501(c)3 organization

| tax_id = 31-0734115

| headquarters = Dublin, Ohio, U.S.

| coordinates = {{Coord|40.1025|-83.1269|region:US-OH_type:landmark|display=title,inline}}

| founder = Fred Kilgour

| founded = {{Start date and age|1967|7|5}} (as Ohio College Library Center)

| key_people =

| region = Worldwide

| products = {{hlist|WorldCat|Amlib|BIBLIOTHECAplus|Capira|CatExpress|CONTENTdm|Dewey Decimal Classification|EZproxy|FirstSearch|LBS|OLIB|PiCarta|Relais ILL & D2D|SISIS-SunRise|Syndeo|Tipasa|TouchPoint|UnityUK|VDX|WebJunction|Wise|WorldShare}}{{cite web |url=https://www.oclc.org/content/dam/oclc/membership/membership-qualifying-subscriptions.pdf |title=OCLC Qualifying Subscriptions for Membership |website=oclc.org |publisher=OCLC |date=February 15, 2022 |access-date=March 11, 2022 |archive-date=March 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311061055/https://www.oclc.org/content/dam/oclc/membership/membership-qualifying-subscriptions.pdf |url-status=live }}

| revenue = $217.8 million{{Cite web |url=https://www.oclc.org/en/annual-report/2021/home.html |title=OCLC Annual Report 2020–2021 |date=December 20, 2021 |publisher=OCLC |location=Dublin, Ohio |language=en |access-date=March 11, 2022 |archive-date=March 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311162629/https://www.oclc.org/en/annual-report/2021/home.html |url-status=live }}

| revenue_year = 2020–21

| members = 30,000+ libraries in 100+ countries

| leader_title = President & CEO

| leader_name = Skip Prichard

| website = {{Official URL}}

}}

OCLC, Inc.{{Cite web |date=June 26, 2017 |title=Certificate of Amendment of the Amended Articles of Incorporation of OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. |url=https://bizimage.ohiosos.gov/api/image/pdf/201717701088 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321070613/https://bizimage.ohiosos.gov/api/image/pdf/201717701088 |archive-date=March 21, 2020 |access-date=August 18, 2019 |publisher=Ohio Secretary of State}} See also: {{cite web |date=June 23, 2017 |title=Amended Articles of Incorporation of OCLC, Inc. |url=https://www.oclc.org/content/dam/oclc/membership/articles-of-incorporation.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311061001/https://www.oclc.org/content/dam/oclc/membership/articles-of-incorporation.pdf |archive-date=March 11, 2022 |access-date=March 11, 2022 |website= |publisher=OCLC}} is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large".{{Cite web|url=https://www.oclc.org/en/about.html|title=About OCLC|publisher=OCLC|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311152413/https://www.oclc.org/en/about.html|archive-date=2022-03-11|url-status=live|access-date=2022-03-11}} It was founded in 1967 as the Ohio College Library Center, then became the Online Computer Library Center as it expanded. In 2017, the name was formally changed to OCLC, Inc. OCLC and thousands of its member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat, the largest online public access catalog in the world.{{cite book |last=Oswald |first=Godfrey |date=2017 |chapter=Largest unified international library catalog |title=Library world records |edition=3rd |location=Jefferson, NC |publisher=McFarland & Company |page=291 |isbn=9781476667775 |oclc=959650095 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G4owDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA291 |access-date=December 11, 2019 |archive-date=March 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200308230751/https://books.google.com/books?id=G4owDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA291 |url-status=live }} OCLC is funded mainly by the fees that libraries pay (around $217.8 million annually in total {{as of|2021|lc=yes}}) for the many different services it offers. OCLC also maintains the Dewey Decimal Classification system.

History

OCLC began in 1967, as the Ohio College Library Center, through a collaboration of university presidents, vice presidents, and library directors who wanted to create a cooperative, computerized network for libraries in the state of Ohio. The group first met on July 5, 1967, on the campus of Ohio State University to sign the articles of incorporation for the nonprofit organization{{cite web |title=In the beginning |url=https://www.oclc.org/us/en/about/history/beginning.htm |website=oclc.org |publisher=OCLC |access-date=2012-08-28 |archive-date=October 4, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004135231/https://www.oclc.org/us/en/about/history/beginning.htm |url-status=dead }} and hired Frederick G. Kilgour, a former Yale University medical school librarian, as first executive director.{{Cite journal|last=Intner|first=Sheila|date=March–April 2007|title=The Passing of an Era|journal=Technicalities|issn=0272-0884|volume=27|pages=1–14}}{{Cite journal |last=Kilgour |first=Frederick G. |date=1987 |title=A personalized prehistory of OCLC |journal=Journal of the American Society for Information Science |volume=38 |issue=5 |pages=381–384 |doi=10.1002/(SICI)1097-4571(198709)38:5<381::AID-ASI6>3.0.CO;2-B}}

Kilgour and Ralph H. Parker, who was the head of libraries at the University of Missouri, had proposed the shared cataloging system in a 1965 report as consultants to the Committee of Librarians of the Ohio College Association. Kilgour and Parker wished to merge the latest information storage and retrieval system of the time, the computer, with the oldest, the library. They were inspired in part by the earlier Columbia–Harvard–Yale Medical Libraries Computerization Project, an attempt at shared automated printing of catalog cards. The plan was to merge the catalogs of Ohio libraries electronically through a computer network and database to streamline operations, control costs, and increase efficiency in library management, bringing libraries together cooperatively to best serve researchers and scholars. The first library to do online cataloging through OCLC was the Alden Library at Ohio University on August 26, 1971. This was the first online cataloging by any library worldwide.

Between 1967 and 1977, OCLC membership was limited to institutions in Ohio, but in 1978, a new governance structure was established that allowed institutions from other states to join. With this expansion, the name changed to the Online Computer Library Center in 1977.{{Cite web |title=SAA Dictionary: OCLC |url=https://dictionary.archivists.org/entry/oclc.html#:~:text=At%20the%20time%20of%20its,organization's%20formal%20name%20in%202017. |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=dictionary.archivists.org}} In 2002, the governance structure was again modified to accommodate participation from outside the United States.{{Cite book|last=Jordan|first=Jay|author-link=Jay Jordan|chapter=OCLC: a worldwide library cooperative|title=Encyclopedia of library and information sciences|editor-last=Bates|editor-first=Marcia J|editor-last2=Maack|editor-first2=Mary Niles|date=2010|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=9780849397127|oclc=769480033|doi=10.1081/E-ELIS3-120043963|location=Boca Raton, Florida|pages=3924–3937|volume=5|edition=3rd|language=en}}

As OCLC expanded services in the United States outside Ohio, it relied on establishing strategic partnerships with "networks", organizations that provided training, support and marketing services. By 2008, there were 15 independent United States regional service providers. OCLC networks played a key role in OCLC governance, with networks electing delegates to serve on the OCLC Members Council. During 2008, OCLC commissioned two studies to look at distribution channels; at the same time, the council approved governance changes that had been recommended by the Board of Trustees severing the tie between the networks and governance. In early 2009, OCLC negotiated new contracts with the former networks and opened a centralized support center.{{Cite journal|last=Bailey-Hainer|first=Brenda|date=October 19, 2009|title=The OCLC Network of Regional Service Providers: The Last 10 Years|journal=Journal of Library Administration|volume=49|issue=6|pages=621–629|doi=10.1080/01930820903238792|s2cid=61936408|issn=0193-0826}}

In July 2010, the company was sued by SkyRiver, a rival startup, in an antitrust suit.{{cite web |url=https://kcoyle.blogspot.com/2010/07/skyriver-sues-oclc-over-anti-trust.html |first=Karen |last=Coyle |title=SkyRiver Sues OCLC over Anti-Trust |publisher=Karen Coyle |date=July 29, 2010 |access-date=April 12, 2012 |archive-date=April 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417042522/https://kcoyle.blogspot.com/2010/07/skyriver-sues-oclc-over-anti-trust.html |url-status=live }} Library automation company Innovative Interfaces joined SkyRiver in the suit.{{cite web |url=https://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/886099-264/skyriver_and_innovative_interfaces_file.html.csp |title=SkyRiver and Innovative Interfaces File Major Antitrust Lawsuit Against OCLC |first=Marshall |last=Breeding |work=Library Journal |date=July 29, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100802044208/https://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/886099-264/skyriver_and_innovative_interfaces_file.html.csp |archive-date=August 2, 2010 }} The suit was dropped in March 2013, however, following the acquisition of SkyRiver by Innovative Interfaces.{{cite web |url=https://www.infodocket.com/2013/03/04/innovative-interfaces-integrates-all-skyriver-services-and-withdraws-antitrust-lawsuit-against-oclc/ |title=III Drops OCLC Suit, Will Absorb SkyRiver |first=Gary |last=Price |work=Library Journal |date=March 4, 2013 |access-date=February 7, 2020 |archive-date=April 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418015212/https://www.infodocket.com/2013/03/04/innovative-interfaces-integrates-all-skyriver-services-and-withdraws-antitrust-lawsuit-against-oclc/ |url-status=live }}

Innovative Interfaces was bought by ExLibris in 2020, therefore passing OCLC as the dominant supplier of ILS services in the US (over 70% market share for academic libraries and over 50% for public libraries for ExLibris, versus OCLC's 10% market share of both types of libraries in 2019).{{cite web|access-date=April 25, 2020|last=Schonfeld|first=Roger C.|title=What Are the Larger Implications of Ex Libris Buying Innovative?|url=https://sr.ithaka.org/blog/what-are-the-larger-implications-of-ex-libris-buying-innovative/|website=sr.ithaka.org|date=2019-12-05|archive-date=June 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612014535/https://sr.ithaka.org/blog/what-are-the-larger-implications-of-ex-libris-buying-innovative/|url-status=live}}

In 2022, membership and governance expanded to include any institution with a subscription to one of many qualifying OCLC products (previously institutions qualified for membership by "contributing intellectual content or participating in global resource or reference sharing"), with the exception of for-profit organizations that are part of OCLC's partner program.{{cite web |title=Membership and Governance Protocols |website=www.oclc.org |url=https://www.oclc.org/content/dam/oclc/membership/membership_protocols.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421062054/https://www.oclc.org/content/dam/oclc/membership/membership_protocols.pdf |archive-date=2022-04-21 |access-date=2023-01-23 |url-status=live}} This change reflected OCLC's expanding number of services due to its corporate acquisitions.

=Presidents=

The following people served successively as president of OCLC:{{cite web |title=OCLC Presidents |publisher=OCLC |url=https://www.oclc.org/en/about/leadership/presidents.html |access-date=2020-03-10 |archive-date=February 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223151254/https://www.oclc.org/en/about/leadership/presidents.html |url-status=live }}

1967–1980: Frederick G. Kilgour
1980–1989: Rowland C. W. Brown
1989–1998: K. Wayne Smith
1998–2013: Jay Jordan
2013–present: Skip Prichard

Services

File:OCLC Online Computer Library Center aerial view - DPLA - f77302059c9901bd7622272437e9f8d6.jpg

OCLC provides bibliographic, abstract and full-text information to anyone.

OCLC and its member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat—the OCLC Online Union Catalog, the largest online public access catalog (OPAC) in the world. WorldCat has holding records from public and private libraries worldwide.

The Online Computer Library Center acquired the trademark and copyrights associated with the Dewey Decimal Classification System when it bought Forest Press in 1988. A browser{{Cite web|url=http://deweybrowser.oclc.org/ddcbrowser2/|title=OCLC DeweyBrowser|website=deweybrowser.oclc.org|access-date=May 28, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121206025029/http://deweybrowser.oclc.org/ddcbrowser2/ |archive-date= Dec 6, 2012 }} for books with their Dewey Decimal Classifications was available until July 2013; it was replaced by the Classify Service.

Until August 2009, when it was sold to Backstage Library Works, OCLC owned a preservation microfilm and digitization operation called the OCLC Preservation Service Center,{{cite web|url=https://www.oclc.org/preservation/default.htm|title=Preservation services |publisher=OCLC|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031229033224/https://www.oclc.org/preservation/default.htm|archive-date=December 29, 2003}} with its principal office in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Starting in 1971, OCLC produced catalog cards for members alongside its shared online catalog; the company printed its last catalog cards on October 1, 2015.{{Cite news|url=https://www.oclc.org/en/news/releases/2015/201529dublin.html|title=OCLC prints last library catalog cards|date=October 1, 2015|website=OCLC|language=en|access-date=May 28, 2015|archive-date=February 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227132310/https://www.oclc.org/en/news/releases/2015/201529dublin.html|url-status=dead }}

{{Visible anchor|QuestionPoint|text=QuestionPoint}},{{Cite web|url=https://www.oclc.org/en/questionpoint.html|title=QuestionPoint|publisher=OCLC|language=en-US|access-date=May 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215101917/https://www.oclc.org/en/questionpoint.html|archive-date=February 15, 2017}} an around-the-clock reference service provided to users by a cooperative of participating global libraries, was acquired by Springshare from OCLC in 2019 and migrated to Springshare's LibAnswers platform.{{cite web |last=Gest |first=Jayne |date=June 3, 2019 |title=OCLC to sell QuestionPoint software to Florida company |url=https://www.smartbusinessdealmakers.com/articles/topic/oclc-sells-questionpoint-springshare/ |website=Smart Business Dealmakers Columbus |access-date=April 25, 2020 |archive-date=April 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200425121617/https://www.smartbusinessdealmakers.com/articles/topic/oclc-sells-questionpoint-springshare/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Springshare Acquires QuestionPoint from OCLC |url=https://springshare.com/news/libanswers-qp.html |website=springshare.com |date=May 31, 2019 |access-date=April 25, 2020 |archive-date=May 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513054549/https://springshare.com/news/libanswers-qp.html |url-status=live }}

Software

OCLC commercially sells software, such as:

CONTENTdm for managing digital collections{{Cite web|url=https://www.oclc.org/en/contentdm.html|title=CONTENTdm|publisher=OCLC|language=en-US|access-date=May 28, 2017|archive-date=May 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170527221552/https://www.oclc.org/en/contentdm.html|url-status=live}}{{cite journal |last1=Gilbert |first1=Heather |last2=Mobley |first2=Tyler |date=April 17, 2013 |title=Breaking up with CONTENTdm: why and how one institution took the leap to open source |journal=The Code4Lib Journal |issue=20 |url=https://journal.code4lib.org/articles/8327 |issn=1940-5758 |access-date=April 25, 2020 |archive-date=May 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522192004/https://journal.code4lib.org/articles/8327 |url-status=live }}{{cite journal |last1=Mita |first1=Amanda |last2=Pelli |first2=Zachary |last3=Reamer |first3=Kimberly |last4=Ince |first4=Sharon |date=April 2018 |title=CONTENTdm to Digital Commons: considerations and workflows |journal=Journal of Archival Organization |volume=15 |issue=1–2 |pages=58–70 |doi=10.1080/15332748.2019.1609308|s2cid=198349364 }}
Wise, an integrated library system and "community engagement system"
WorldCat Discovery, a bibliographic discovery system that allows library patrons to use a single search interface to access an institution's catalog, ebooks, database subscriptions and more{{Cite web|url=https://www.oclc.org/en/worldcat-discovery.html|title=WorldCat Discovery|publisher=OCLC|language=en-US|access-date=March 11, 2019|archive-date=April 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200414203041/https://www.oclc.org/en/worldcat-discovery.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web |last=Breeding |first=Marshall |date=January 2, 2019 |title=Discovery services: bundled or separate? |magazine=American Libraries |url=https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2019/01/02/discovery-services/ |access-date=April 25, 2020 |quote=Should discovery services be bundled or acquired à la carte? Perspectives differ regarding the benefits of pairing a discovery service (for example, Ex Libris Primo or OCLC's WorldCat Discovery Service) with the resource management system from the same vendor (Ex Libris Alma or OCLC's WorldShare Management Services). |archive-date=May 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522192009/https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2019/01/02/discovery-services/ |url-status=live }}
WorldShare Management Services, an electronic resource management system{{Cite web|url=https://www.oclc.org/en/worldshare-management-services.html|title=WorldShare Management Services: An advanced, cloud-based library services platform|publisher=OCLC|language=en-US|access-date=April 25, 2020|archive-date=May 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200501143514/https://www.oclc.org/en/worldshare-management-services.html|url-status=live}}
cloudLibrary, a cloud-based software system through which libraries manage and lend electronic books, digital magazines, newspapers, comics, and streaming media{{cite news |last1=Maher | first1=John |title=OCLC Acquires CloudLibrary Digital Content Platform |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/libraries/article/94719-oclc-acquires-cloudlibrary-digital-content-platform.html |access-date=1 December 2024 |work=Publishers Weekly |date=2 April 2024 |language=en}}
Meridian, a "web application and set of APIs" designed to support library resource management workflows involving linked data. Meridian is part of OCLC's larger linked data strategy.{{Cite web |date=2024-06-28 |title=Meridian: Create, curate, and connected linked data entities |url=https://www.oclc.org/en/meridian.html |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=OCLC |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250508203511/https://www.oclc.org/en/meridian.html |archive-date=2025-05-08 |url-status=live}}

Research

OCLC has been conducting research for the library community for more than 30 years. In accordance with its mission, OCLC makes its research outcomes known through various publications.{{Cite journal|last1=Hyatt|first1=Shirley|last2=Young|first2=Jeffrey A.|title=OCLC Research Publications Repository|journal=D-Lib Magazine|volume=11|issue=3|doi=10.1045/march2005-hyatt|year=2005|doi-access=free}} These publications, including journal articles, reports, newsletters, and presentations, are available through the organization's website.

OCLC Publications – Research articles from various journals including The Code4Lib Journal, OCLC Research, Reference and User Services Quarterly, College & Research Libraries News, Art Libraries Journal, and National Education Association Newsletter. The most recent publications are displayed first, and all archived resources, starting in 1970, are also available.{{cite web |title=OCLC Publications |url=https://www.oclc.org/research/publications/default.htm |website=www.oclc.org |access-date=2012-08-28 |archive-date=June 20, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120620140939/https://www.oclc.org/research/publications/default.htm |url-status=live }}
Membership Reports – A number of significant reports on topics ranging from virtual reference in libraries to perceptions about library funding.{{cite web |title=OCLC Membership Reports |url=https://www.oclc.org/us/en/reports/default.htm |website=www.oclc.org |access-date=2012-08-28 |archive-date=March 1, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130301162648/https://www.oclc.org/us/en/reports/default.htm |url-status=live }}
Newsletters – Current and archived newsletters for the library and archive community.{{cite web |title=OCLC Newsletters |url=https://www.oclc.org/research/publications/newsletters/default.htm |website=www.oclc.org |access-date=2012-08-28 |archive-date=May 8, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120508184955/https://www.oclc.org/research/publications/newsletters/default.htm |url-status=live }}
Presentations – Presentations from both guest speakers and OCLC research from conferences, webcasts, and other events. The presentations are organized into five categories: Conference presentations, Dewey presentations, Distinguished Seminar Series, Guest presentations, and Research staff presentations.{{cite web |title=OCLC Presentations |url=https://www.oclc.org/community/presentations/default.htm |website=www.oclc.org |access-date=2012-08-28 |archive-date=January 19, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130119085440/https://www.oclc.org/community/presentations/default.htm |url-status=live }}

During the COVID-19 pandemic, OCLC participated in the REopening Archives, Libraries, and Museums (REALM) project funded by the IMLS to study the surface transmission risks of SARS-CoV-2 on common library and museum materials and surfaces,{{cite magazine |url=https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2021/01/04/realm-project-test-results/ |title=REALM test results: how long SARS-CoV-2 lives on common library materials |magazine=American Libraries |first=Carrie |last=Smith |date=January 4, 2021 |access-date=2021-06-19 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624200656/https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2021/01/04/realm-project-test-results/ |url-status=live }} and published a series of reports.{{cite web |url=https://www.oclc.org/realm/research.html |title=REALM project – Research |website=www.oclc.org |access-date=2021-06-19 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624200823/https://www.oclc.org/realm/research.html |url-status=live }}

Advocacy

Advocacy has been a part of OCLC's mission since its founding in 1967. OCLC staff members meet and work regularly with library leaders, information professionals, researchers, entrepreneurs, political leaders, trustees, students and patrons to advocate "advancing research, scholarship, education, community development, information access, and global cooperation".{{Cite journal|last=Rosa|first=Cathy De|date=October 22, 2009|title=Advocacy and OCLC|journal=Journal of Library Administration|volume=49|issue=7|pages=719–726|doi=10.1080/01930820903260572|s2cid=216117540 |issn=0193-0826}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2009/jan/22/library-search-engines-books|title=Why you can't find a library book in your search engine|last=Grossman|first=Wendy M.|date=January 21, 2009|work=The Guardian|access-date=2017-05-28|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=January 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140114010642/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2009/jan/22/library-search-engines-books|url-status=live}}

WebJunction, which provides training services to librarians,{{cite web |url=https://www.oclc.org/en/webjunction.html |title=WebJunction |publisher=OCLC |access-date=2014-04-30 |archive-date=December 29, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229054456/https://www.oclc.org/webjunction.en.html |url-status=live }} is a division of OCLC funded by grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation beginning in 2003.{{cite news |last=Block |first=Marylaine |date=May 19, 2003 |title=Gates Foundation and OCLC announce WebJunction |url=http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/NewsBreaks/Gates-Foundation-and-OCLC-Announce-WebJunction-16700.asp |website=infotoday.com |publisher=Information Today |access-date=April 25, 2020 |archive-date=April 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200425223420/http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/NewsBreaks/Gates-Foundation-and-OCLC-Announce-WebJunction-16700.asp |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Enis |first=Matt |date=September 7, 2012 |title=Grant to support OCLC WebJunction for five years |url=https://www.libraryjournal.com/?detailStory=grant-to-support-oclc-webjunction-for-five-years |website=Library Journal |access-date=April 25, 2020 |archive-date=April 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200425223619/https://www.libraryjournal.com/?detailStory=grant-to-support-oclc-webjunction-for-five-years |url-status=dead }}

OCLC partnered with search engine providers in 2003 to advocate for libraries and share information across the Internet landscape. Google, Yahoo!, and Ask.com all collaborated with OCLC to make WorldCat records searchable through those search engines.

OCLC's advocacy campaign "Geek the Library", started in 2009, highlights the role of public libraries. The campaign, funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, uses a strategy based on the findings of the 2008 OCLC report, "From Awareness to Funding: A study of library support in America".{{cite web |title=Advocacy: From Awareness to Funding, the next chapter |url=https://www.oclc.org/en/reports/funding.html |website=www.oclc.org |publisher=OCLC |date=2018-07-18 |access-date=March 13, 2017 |archive-date=August 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808012038/https://www.oclc.org/en/reports/funding.html |url-status=live }}

Other past advocacy campaigns have focused on sharing the knowledge gained from library and information research. Such projects have included communities such as the Society of American Archivists, the Open Archives Initiative, the Institute for Museum and Library Services, the International Organization for Standardization, the National Information Standards Organization, the World Wide Web Consortium, the Internet Engineering Task Force, and Internet2. One of the most successful contributions to this effort was the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative, "an open forum of libraries, archives, museums, technology organizations, and software companies who work together to develop interoperable online metadata standards that support a broad range of purposes and business models."

OCLC has collaborated with the Wikimedia Foundation and the Wikimedia volunteer community, through integrating library metadata with Wikimedia projects, hosting a Wikipedian in residence, and doing a national training program through WebJunction called "Wikipedia + Libraries: Better Together".{{cite web |title=Wikipedia + Libraries: Better Together |url=https://www.webjunction.org/explore-topics/wikipedia-libraries.html |website=webjunction.org |access-date=April 25, 2020 |archive-date=April 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200415011152/https://www.webjunction.org/explore-topics/wikipedia-libraries.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Wikipedia + Libraries: Better Together: OCLC WebJunction |url=https://archive.org/details/2018WikipediaLibrariesBetterTogether |website=Internet Archive |date=August 22, 2018 |access-date=April 25, 2020}} Training curriculum and support materials.

Online database: WorldCat

OCLC's WorldCat database is used by the general public and by librarians for cataloging and research. WorldCat is available to the public for searching via a subscription web-based service called FirstSearch, to which many libraries subscribe,{{cite web |url=https://www.oclc.org/firstsearch/ |title=FirstSearch: Precision searching of WorldCat |publisher=OCLC |access-date=2019-06-26 |archive-date=February 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130221114441/https://www.oclc.org/firstsearch/ |url-status=live }} as well as through the publicly available WorldCat.org.{{cite web |last=Hane |first=Paula J. |date=July 17, 2006 |title=OCLC to open WorldCat searching to the world |url=http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/NewsBreaks/OCLC-to-Open-WorldCat-Searching-to-the-World-16951.asp |website=infotoday.com |publisher=Information Today |access-date=2019-06-26 |archive-date=May 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200510194419/http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/NewsBreaks/OCLC-to-Open-WorldCat-Searching-to-the-World-16951.asp |url-status=live }}

{{anchor|OCLC}}Identifiers and linked data

OCLC assigns a unique control number (referred to as an "OCN" for "OCLC Control Number") to each new bibliographic record in WorldCat. Numbers are assigned serially, and in mid-2013 over a billion OCNs had been created. In September 2013, OCLC declared these numbers to be in the public domain, removing a perceived barrier to widespread use of OCNs outside OCLC itself.{{cite web |last=Wallis |first=Richard |title=OCLC Declare OCLC Control Numbers Public Domain |website=dataliberate.com |date=September 24, 2013 |url=https://dataliberate.com/2013/09/oclc-declare-oclc-control-numbers-public-domain/ |access-date=January 3, 2014 |archive-date=September 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911124756/https://dataliberate.com/2013/09/oclc-declare-oclc-control-numbers-public-domain/ |url-status=dead }} The control numbers link WorldCat's records to local library system records by providing a common reference key for a record across libraries.{{cite web |title=OCLC Control Number |url=https://www.oclc.org/batchload/controlnumber.en.html |access-date=2014-01-03 |archive-date=January 3, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103190346/https://www.oclc.org/batchload/controlnumber.en.html |url-status=live }}

OCNs are particularly useful as identifiers for books and other bibliographic materials that do not have ISBNs (e.g., books published before 1970). OCNs are often used as identifiers for Wikipedia and Wikidata. In October 2013, it was reported that out of 29,673 instances of book infoboxes in Wikipedia, "there were 23,304 ISBNs and 15,226 OCNs", and regarding Wikidata: "of around 14 million Wikidata items, 28,741 were books. 5403 Wikidata items have an ISBN associated with them, and 12,262 have OCNs."{{cite web |author=HangingTogether.org |title=OCLC Control Numbers in the Wild |date=October 11, 2013 |url=https://hangingtogether.org/?p=3379 |access-date=January 3, 2014 |archive-date=January 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104014819/https://hangingtogether.org/?p=3379 |url-status=live }}

OCLC also runs the Virtual International Authority File (VIAF), an international name authority file, with oversight from the VIAF Council composed of representatives of institutions that contribute data to VIAF.{{cite web |url=https://www.oclc.org/en/viaf/viaf-council.html |title=VIAF Council |publisher=OCLC |website=www.oclc.org |date=December 20, 2019 |language=en-US |access-date=April 25, 2020 |archive-date=April 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200425220348/https://www.oclc.org/en/viaf/viaf-council.html |url-status=live }} VIAF numbers are broadly used as standard identifiers, including in Wikipedia.{{cite web |url=https://www.oclc.org/research/themes/community-catalysts/libraries-wikimedia.html |title=Libraries Leverage Wikimedia |publisher=OCLC |website=www.oclc.org |language=en-US |access-date=April 25, 2020 |archive-date=April 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200414203036/https://www.oclc.org/research/themes/community-catalysts/libraries-wikimedia.html |url-status=live }}{{cite journal |last1=Klein |first1=Maximilian |last2=Kyrios |first2=Alex |date=October 14, 2013 |title=VIAFbot and the integration of library data on Wikipedia |journal=The Code4Lib Journal |issue=22 |url=https://journal.code4lib.org/articles/8964 |issn=1940-5758 |access-date=April 25, 2020 |archive-date=April 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200415011435/https://journal.code4lib.org/articles/8964 |url-status=live }}

In 2024, OCLC launched a new linked data management tool called OCLC Meridian.{{cite news |last=Scardilli |first=Brandi |date=May 14, 2024 |title=OCLC unveils Meridian tool for creating, curating, and connecting linked data entities |url=https://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/Digest/OCLC-Unveils-Meridian-Tool-for-Creating-Curating-and-Connecting-Linked-Data-Entities-164003.asp |website=infotoday.com |publisher=Information Today |access-date=May 8, 2025 |archive-date=May 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240521102954/https://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/Digest/OCLC-Unveils-Meridian-Tool-for-Creating-Curating-and-Connecting-Linked-Data-Entities-164003.asp |url-status=live}} This was released alongside a suite of APIs for WorldCat Entities to allow greater control, connection, and integration of linked data for user institutions. This suite of APIs "enables the creation of linked data entities and descriptive relationships, forming connections to the existing value in MARC records and other datasets across the global information ecosystem". The use of these APIs and WorldCat Entities is designed to "improve discoverability and relevance for users", "integrate data management into your existing workflows", and "discover, emphasize and analyze important relationships". A set of WorldCat Entities APIs "enables users to connect identifiers from disparate sources (such as ORCID, ISNI, VIAF, etc.), learn of changes to WorldCat Entities data" and related information for local use.

Company acquisitions

File:Schipholweg 99, Leiden.JPG (the Netherlands)]]

OCLC acquired NetLibrary, a provider of electronic books and textbooks, in 2002 and sold it in 2010 to EBSCO Industries.{{cite web |url=https://www.oclc.org/services/content/lettertomembers2010.htm |title=Letter to members 2010 |last=Jordan |first=Jay |author-link=Jay Jordan |date=March 17, 2010 |publisher=OCLC |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100326140956/https://www.oclc.org/services/content/lettertomembers2010.htm |archive-date=March 26, 2010 }} OCLC owns 100% of the shares of OCLC PICA, a library automation systems and services company which has its headquarters in Leiden in the Netherlands and which was renamed "OCLC" at the end of 2007.{{cite news |url=https://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6495514.html |title=CLC/OCLC Pica Merge |first=Michael |last=Rogers |work=Library Journal |date=October 30, 2007 |location=New York |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081028205604/https://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6495514.html |archive-date=October 28, 2008 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }} In July 2006, the Research Libraries Group (RLG) merged with OCLC.Wilson, Lizabeth; Neal, James; Jordan, Jay (October 2006). "RLG and OCLC: Combining for the Future" (guest editorial). Library and Information Science. Vol. 6, no. 4. Retrieved via Project Muse database, 2017-06-21.{{cite web |url=https://worldcat.org/arcviewer/2/OCC/2010/05/07/H1273247331100/viewer/file431.htm |title=RLG to combine with OCLC |date=May 3, 2006 |website=worldcat.org |publisher=OCLC |access-date=2017-06-22 |archive-date=October 11, 2017 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20171011052258/https://worldcat.org/arcviewer/2/OCC/2010/05/07/H1273247331100/viewer/file431.htm |url-status=live }} Press release.

On January 11, 2008, OCLC announced{{cite web|url=https://www.oclc.org/news/releases/200690.htm|title=OCLC acquires EZproxy authentication and access software|date=January 11, 2008|website=www.oclc.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080117060440/https://www.oclc.org/news/releases/200690.htm|archive-date=2008-01-17|url-status=dead}} that it had purchased EZproxy. It has also acquired OAIster. The process started in January 2009 and from October 31, 2009, OAIster records are freely available via WorldCat.org.

In 2013, OCLC acquired the Dutch library automation company HKA{{cite web |title=OCLC acquires Dutch library systems provider HKA |url=https://www.stm-publishing.com/oclc-acquires-dutch-library-systems-provider-hka/ |website=STM Publishing News |date=October 2, 2013 |access-date=April 25, 2020 |archive-date=May 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522192010/https://www.stm-publishing.com/oclc-acquires-dutch-library-systems-provider-hka/ |url-status=live }}{{cite journal |last=Breeding |first=Marshall |date=November 2013 |title=OCLC acquires the Dutch ILS provider HKA |journal=Smart Libraries Newsletter |volume=33 |issue=11 |pages=2–6 |url=https://librarytechnology.org/document/21205 |access-date=April 25, 2020 |archive-date=April 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200425222523/https://librarytechnology.org/document/21205 |url-status=live }} and its integrated library system Wise,{{cite web |last=Johnson |first=Ben |date=April 2, 2019 |title=OCLC Wise Reimagines the ILS |url=http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/NewsBreaks/OCLC-Wise-Reimagines-the-ILS-130813.asp |website=infotoday.com |publisher=Information Today |access-date=April 25, 2020 |archive-date=May 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522192006/http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/NewsBreaks/OCLC-Wise-Reimagines-the-ILS-130813.asp |url-status=live }} which OCLC calls a "community engagement system" that "combines the power of customer relationship management, marketing, and analytics with ILS functions".{{cite web |url=https://www.oclc.org/en/wise.html |title=OCLC Wise: Community engagement system for public libraries |publisher=OCLC |language=en-US |access-date=April 25, 2020 |archive-date=April 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411201939/https://www.oclc.org/en/wise.html |url-status=live }} OCLC began offering Wise to libraries in the United States in 2019.

In January 2015, OCLC acquired Sustainable Collection Services (SCS). SCS offered consulting services based on analyzing library print collection data to help libraries manage and share materials.{{Cite web|url = https://www.infodocket.com/2015/01/13/print-collections-oclc-acquires-sustainable-collection-services/|title = Print Collections: OCLC Acquires Sustainable Collection Services|date = January 13, 2015|access-date = March 6, 2015|website = Infodocket|last = Price|first = Gary|archive-date = April 11, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150411202539/https://www.infodocket.com/2015/01/13/print-collections-oclc-acquires-sustainable-collection-services/|url-status = live}} In 2017, OCLC acquired Relais International, a library interlibrary loan service provider based in Ottawa, Canada.{{Cite web|url=https://www.oclc.org/en/news/releases/2017/201702dublin.html|title=OCLC agrees to acquire Relais International to provide library consortia more options for resource sharing|date=January 17, 2017|website=www.oclc.org|access-date=May 16, 2017|archive-date=January 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102170236/https://www.oclc.org/en/news/releases/2017/201702dublin.html|url-status=live}}

A more complete list of mergers and acquisitions is available on the OCLC website.{{cite web |url=https://www.oclc.org/en/about/finance/mergers.html |title=Mergers and acquisitions |website=www.oclc.org |date=March 26, 2021 |publisher=OCLC |access-date=2021-06-18 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624200701/https://www.oclc.org/en/about/finance/mergers.html |url-status=live }}

Criticism

In May 2008, OCLC was criticized by Jeffrey Beall for monopolistic practices, among other faults.{{cite book|chapter-url=https://eprints.rclis.org/11701/1/radcat.pdf|title=Radical Cataloging: Essays at the Front|last=Beall|first=Jeffrey|publisher=McFarland & Company|year=2008|isbn=978-0786435432|editor-last=Roberto|editor-first=K.R.|location=Jefferson, NC|pages=85–93|chapter=OCLC: A Review|oclc=173241123|access-date=May 16, 2017|archive-date=May 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525193438/https://eprints.rclis.org/11701/1/radcat.pdf|url-status=dead}} Library blogger Rick Mason responded that although he thought Beall had some "valid criticisms" of OCLC, he demurred from some of Beall's statements and warned readers to "beware the hyperbole and the personal nature of his criticism, for they strongly overshadow that which is worth stating".{{cite web |last=Mason |first=Rick |date=June 10, 2008 |title=OCLC: A Review (a review) |url=https://www.libology.com/blog/2008/06/10/oclc-a-review-a-review.html |website= Libology Blog |access-date=2020-02-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200207170513/https://www.libology.com/blog/2008/06/10/oclc-a-review-a-review.html |archive-date=2020-02-07 |url-status=dead}}

In November 2008, the Board of Directors of OCLC unilaterally issued a new Policy for Use and Transfer of WorldCat Records{{Cite web|url=http://marc.coffeecode.net/oclc_2008_11_02/|title=Policy for Use and Transfer of WorldCat Records|website=File_MARC package for PHP |access-date=2020-02-06|archive-date=December 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161206170445/http://marc.coffeecode.net/oclc_2008_11_02/|url-status=live}} Archived image of OCLC webpage dated November 2, 2008. that would have required member libraries to include an OCLC policy note on their bibliographic records; the policy caused an uproar among librarian bloggers.{{cite web |url=https://wiki.code4lib.org/OCLC_Policy_Change |title=OCLC Policy Change |website=Code4Lib wiki |date=2008–2010 |access-date=2020-07-18 |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806010531/https://wiki.code4lib.org/OCLC_Policy_Change |url-status=live }}{{cite tech report |last=McKenzie |first=Elizabeth |date=January 2012 |title=OCLC changes its rules for use of records in WorldCat: library community pushback through blogs and cultures of resistance |number=Research paper 12-06 |location=Boston |institution=Suffolk University Law School |url=https://ssrn.com/abstract=1988221 |access-date=October 8, 2017 |archive-date=March 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314100738/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1988221 |url-status=live }} Among those who protested the policy was the non-librarian activist Aaron Swartz, who believed the policy would threaten projects such as the Open Library, Zotero, and Wikipedia, and who started a petition to "Stop the OCLC powergrab".{{Cite web|url=http://watchdog.net/c/stop-oclc|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218011827/http://watchdog.net/c/stop-oclc|archive-date=2009-02-18|url-status=dead|title=Stop the OCLC powergrab!|date=2009-02-18|website=watchdog.net|access-date=2020-02-06}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/oclcscam.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604072755/http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/oclcscam.html|archive-date=2011-06-04|url-status=dead|title=Stealing Your Library: The OCLC Powergrab (Aaron Swartz's Raw Thought)|date=2011-06-04|website=aaronsw.com|access-date=2020-02-06}} Swartz's petition garnered 858 signatures, but the details of his proposed actions went largely unheeded. Within a few months, the library community had forced OCLC to retract its policy and to create a Review Board to consult with member libraries more transparently. In August 2012, OCLC recommended that member libraries adopt the Open Data Commons Attribution (ODC-BY) license when sharing library catalog data, although some member libraries have explicit agreements with OCLC that they can publish catalog data using the CC0 Public Domain Dedication.{{cite web |url=https://creativecommons.org/2012/08/14/library-catalog-metadata-open-licensing-or-public-domain/ |title=Library catalog metadata: Open licensing or public domain? |first=Timothy |last=Vollmer |work=Creative Commons |date=August 14, 2012 |access-date=2020-02-06 |archive-date=April 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200421051326/https://creativecommons.org/2012/08/14/library-catalog-metadata-open-licensing-or-public-domain/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.infodocket.com/2014/02/14/library-data-national-library-of-sweden-signs-agreement-with-oclc-re-cc0-license/ |title=Metadata/Catalog Records: National Library of Sweden Signs Agreement With OCLC Re: CC0 License |first=Gary |last=Price |work=Library Journal |date=February 14, 2014 |access-date=2020-02-06 |archive-date=April 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418094622/https://www.infodocket.com/2014/02/14/library-data-national-library-of-sweden-signs-agreement-with-oclc-re-cc0-license/ |url-status=live }}

References

External links

{{Official website}}
[https://hangingtogether.org/ Hanging Together – the OCLC Research blog]
[https://cdm15003.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15003coll7 OCLC Annual Reports collection] at the OCLC Archives

Category:1967 establishments in Ohio

Category:Bibliographic database providers

Category:Companies based in Dublin, Ohio

Category:Cooperatives based in Ohio

Category:Library automation

Category:Library cataloging and classification

Category:Library centers

Category:Library-related organizations

Category:Organizations established in 1967