Are you redefining the library experience?

Next blog header image for Global Council area of focus post

Change has been a constant for libraries around the world for many decades now. But during the past few years, the pace has clearly accelerated. How do these changes, and our responses to them, shape library experiences?

This year’s OCLC Global Council area of focus explores this important question. We’ll take a deep dive into how experiences have shifted and how library workers are purposefully redefining resources and services.

As we prepare to gather your insights related to this year’s area of focus, “Redefining the library experience,” we asked our 2022–2023 Global Council leaders to provide some personal perspectives—especially with what they, and we, can do to be more intentional about identifying and innovating around these changes. Below are some of the highlights from their discussion.

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DEI: A journey, not a destination

Last month, we received a very special honor. In a worldwide survey of technology organizations, Computerworld ranked OCLC first among midsized IT enterprises worldwide for demonstrating excellence in advancing workforce diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

It’s gratifying to see our years of work in DEI acknowledged. Recognition like this is a milestone, a marker—and an opportunity to consider the questions that need to be answered as we continue our journey toward a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace.

It’s a journey because we cannot claim we have arrived. Persistent reflection and action are required to keep moving forward. We can share what has been achieved so far. What more needs to be done? What can we learn from each other?

In 2020, I shared a blog post calling all of us to action. On this day when we honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I’d like to provide an update on where we’ve been and what we’ve learned.

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Investing in a long-term future for libraries

Investing in a long-term future for libraries

Evaluating progress is complicated when the pace of change is accelerating. Move too quickly? Your choice may be made obsolete by tomorrow’s changes. Move too slowly? You can be overtaken and find your relevance diminished. So, how do we tell if we’re on the right path?

At OCLC, we measure where we are and where we’re going against this question: Are we helping libraries better connect the people they serve to the resources they need?

This approach holds when we assess annual accomplishments, set new goals, and make plans for much further down the road.

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Can you imagine a world without WorldCat?

WorldCat is a legend—a remarkable achievement in global collaboration. What began as a way for a handful of academic libraries in Ohio to distribute the cost of cataloging has turned into a critical, core asset for libraries around the world.

WorldCat is not just a place for individual libraries to write and store MARC records. Collaboration among our metadata experts, libraries, and many partners has evolved WorldCat to the point where it is a hub for an astonishing volume of library activities every day. The one thing that hasn’t changed is our global, community commitment to ensuring that high-quality, library-centric data is available now and in the future.

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Seven game-changing solutions for libraries

OCLC is accomplishing amazing things. It’s invigorating for all the passionate people who come to work every day to help libraries have more impact. While you may have heard specifics about some of these projects, I invite you to take just a few minutes for a quick overview of seven exciting advances we’re making on behalf of (and often alongside) libraries worldwide. 

There’s a lot to be excited about as we move forward together. Stay tuned for additional updates from OCLC experts about WorldCat quality, collection insights, linked data, and more.

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The new WorldCat.org expands the impact of libraries everywhere

Seven years ago, I was the director of e-commerce development for a global brand with more than $USD 2.5 billion in sales, 500 stores, and nearly 12,000 employees. Then I found WorldCat.org.

It was love at first search as I’ve always been a superfan of libraries. I saw the fundamentals of my chosen career—improving online services, intuitive interface design, and an exceptional user experience—put to use in the service of libraries. That moment moved me to join OCLC.

Today I can say, without hesitation, that our recently rolled-out work to reimagine, redesign, and rebuild WorldCat.org has been the highlight of my career.

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Build new community connections with partnership marketing

Most high-level library marketing goals aim to expand services into new communities and increase engagement with current users. But traditional library marketing is often geared toward reaching people who already know and love the library. Partnership marketing can help meet all your library marketing goals and it can reach entirely new audiences, while also showing a different side of the library to people who may have a narrow understanding of available resources and services.

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How do you measure the value of cooperation?

OCLC Next blog header image: How do you measure the value of cooperation?

As the new Executive Director of Metadata and Digital Services, I’m honored to have the chance to work alongside a community of library professionals who believe strongly in improving access to information for all. I’m also thrilled to work with our robust, networked services and proven technology across a global footprint. And I’m proud to join an organization that has supported richer discovery experiences for decades by creating, maintaining, and promoting cooperative and trusted data.

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Controlled digital lending: Past successes can guide our future

When the COVID-19 pandemic created barriers to traditional information access, library workers reacted immediately to help make up the difference. I don’t think I’ve talked to a single person whose library didn’t put forward major, sometimes dramatic efforts to ramp up “anytime, anywhere” access to resources. And that includes forays into controlled digital lending (CDL).

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Three lessons for launching successful multilingual programs at your library

The Center for Immigration Studies estimates that 67.3 million Americans speak a language other than English at home, a number that has more than doubled since 1990. That’s a huge number with powerful implications for social institutions, including libraries. For many of us, getting started serving those communities feels like an overwhelming task. I’m here to tell you—you can do it. And you can start today to make a significant difference for your community with multilingual programming.

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