INTERNATIONAL COALITION OF LIBRARY CONSORTIA (ICOLC)
Statement on the Proposed
OCLC Policy for Use and Transfer of WorldCat Records
First issued May 11, 2009, updated
periodically with additional endorsements
The “OCLC Policy for Use and
Transfer of WorldCat Records” has been widely commented on since its release on
The member consortia
endorsing this ICOLC statement add our recommendation to others in the library
community calling for OCLC to withdraw the proposed policy and start anew to
formulate a record use policy. Most
notably we add our support to the January 30, 2009 Final Report to the
We urge the OCLC Review
Board to consider the issues raised in the
1. The proposed policy appears to freeze OCLC’s
role in the library community based on historical and current
relationships. We share the concern,
voiced by many, that the policy hinders rather than encourages innovation, and
we urge the Review Board to carefully examine this issue. It is unclear that the policy has been
constructed with a focus on an evolving role of OCLC in enhancing the missions
of an international library community with diverse and complex interests.
2. The scope of the proposed policy goes well
beyond any concerns about inappropriate commercial exploitation of WorldCat
records. It applies as well to
non-commercial uses. ICOLC member
consortia are member-created, member-driven innovation agents. Our initiatives are generally non-commercial
and undertaken with member approval based on member needs. Any OCLC record use policy should account for
the rich and diverse innovation that takes place through many consortia.
3. The proposed policy is
legally murky. There is no mechanism for negotiation of terms and conditions
nor is it clear what constitutes acceptance by member libraries. A new policy
must address these problems.
The ICOLC community is
mindful of the complex set of relationships and operations that are necessary
for libraries to be successful in today’s content rich and technology driven
world. There is no single way all the
resources necessary for success will be utilized by each library or library
consortium. OCLC is one vital component
among many that libraries will use.
The ICOLC community
encourages OCLC to build on its values as an international membership
organization dedicated to helping libraries and consortia provide increased
access and control costs. To that end we
ask the Review Board to recommend that OCLC reconsider the proposed record use
policy and undertake an open, transparent process to determine how best to
support libraries around the world.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THIS
STATEMENT, PLEASE CONTACT:
Randy Dykhuis, Michigan
Library Consortium, Phone: 800-530-9019 x119, Fax: 517-492-3879, E-mail: dykhuisr@mlcnet.org
Michele Newberry,
Florida Center for Library Automation, Assistant Director for Library Services,
Phone: 352-392-9020, Fax: 352-392-9185, Email: fclmin@ufl.edu
John Helmer, Orbis Cascade
Alliance, Executive Director, Phone: 541.346.1835, Fax: 541.346.1968, Email: jhelmer@uoregon.edu
Adopters of This Statement
This statement
is adopted in principle by member representatives of consortia of the
"International Coalition of Library Consortia" (ICOLC) that are
listed below.
As of June 17,
2009 (this statement with
updates to this list will be posted periodically to http://www.library.yale.edu/consortia
)
|
BC Electronic Library Network |
Canada |
|
Conférence des recteurs et des principaux des
universités du Québec(Conference of Rectors and Principals of Universities of
Quebec) - CREPUQ |
Canada |
|
Council of Atlantic University Libraries |
Canada |
|
Council of Prairie and Pacific University
Libraries (COPPUL) |
Canada |
|
FinELib |
Finland |
|
National Library of Sweden |
Sweden |
|
ALI (Academic Libraries of Indiana) |
USA |
|
ALICE (Adventist Library Information Cooperative) |
USA |
|
Amigos Library Services |
USA |
|
Arizona Universities Library Consortium (AULC) |
USA |
|
Bibliographical Center for Research (BCR) |
USA |
|
Boston Library Consortium, Inc. |
USA |
|
California Digital Library (CDL) |
USA |
|
California State University -- Systemwide
Electronic Information Resources |
USA |
|
CARLI (Consortium of Academic and Research
Libraries in Illinois) |
USA |
|
College Center for Library Automation |
USA |
|
Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries |
USA |
|
ConnectNY |
USA |
|
Florida Center for Library Automation |
USA |
|
GALILEO |
USA |
|
INFOhio - The Information Network for Ohio
Schools |
USA |
|
LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network |
USA |
|
Lyrasis |
USA |
|
Maryland Digital Library |
USA |
|
Massachusetts Health Science
Library Network (MAHSLIN) |
USA |
|
Michigan Library Consortium |
USA |
|
MINITEX Library Information Network |
USA |
|
Missouri Library Network Corporation (MLNC) |
USA |
|
MOBIUS Consortium (Missouri) |
USA |
|
NC LIVE |
USA |
|
NELLCO |
USA |
|
NERL (NorthEast Research Libraries Consortium) |
USA |
|
New York State Higher Education Initiative |
USA |
|
Nylink |
USA |
|
OhioLINK (Ohio Library and Information
Network) |
USA |
|
OHIONET |
USA |
|
Orbis Cascade Alliance |
USA |
|
PASCAL (Partnership Among South Carolina
Academic Libraries) |
USA |
|
Pennsylvania Academic Library Consortium,
Inc. (PALCI) |
USA |
|
Private Academic Library Network of Indiana
(PALNI) |
USA |
|
SCELC, the Statewide California Electronic
Library Consortium |
USA |
|
Scottish Confederation of
University and Research Libraries (SCURL) |
United Kingdom |
|
TexShare |
USA |
|
University of Texas System Digital Library |
USA |
|
Virtual Academic Library Environment of New
Jersey (VALE) |
USA |
|
VIVA (The Virtual Library of Virginia) |
USA |
|
Washington Research Library Consortium (WRLC) |
USA |
|
WiLS (Wisconsin Library Services) |
USA |
About the International Coalition of
Library Consortia (ICOLC)
The International Coalition of
Library Consortia (ICOLC) has been in existence since 1996. The Coalition is an international, informal
group currently comprising approximately 200 library consortia in North and
South America, Europe,
More information
about ICOLC can be found at http://www.library.yale.edu/consortia
or contact Tom Sanville, Executive
Director, OhioLINK,