OCLC 1967‐1997: : Thirty Years of Furthering Access to the World′s Information

Citation

Trickey, K.V. (1999), "OCLC 1967‐1997: : Thirty Years of Furthering Access to the World′s Information", Library Review, Vol. 48 No. 6, pp. 50-51. https://doi.org/10.1108/lr.1999.48.6.50.10

Sometimes you get so far down a particular track with something, you forget completely how far you have travelled. This publication is a very timely reminder of the unimaginable progress that OCLC has been involved in in its short life of 30 years. The quality of the document is underwritten by its editor the President and Chief Executive of OCLC for the later period under review (1989 to 1997). This is yet another Haworth “simultaneous co‐publication”, however the topic of this volume and its modest price ($24.00 in paperback) make it a very attractive acquisition for any OCLC acolyte or librarian who wants to be able to plan for the future. By charting the progress of OCLC, particularly the radical increase in pace in the last five years, it is clear that whatever the future of international information exchange and description is, OCLC will be a major stakeholder in the process, if not consistently blazing the trail.

What we have here are 19 papers, an introduction and a detailed index all focused on the triumphal progress of OCLC from state college co‐operative to global organisation. Various strands keep surfacing in the various narratives; OCLC is loved and respected by large sections of the international community because it has enabled them locally to achieve what was previously impossible. OCLC is an organisation that is committed to partnership, innovation and quality. So it should not be surprising to find that many of the papers presented are written by clear eyed enthusiasts, honestly singing the praises of this organisation ‐‐ then providing chapter and verse to support their enthusiasm. The American tone may prove a tad evangelical for the cooler European palette, but I admire any individual who can pack that much heart into the workplace and to any organisation that can consistently elicit that response!

Many of the papers detail the structures that OCLC has put in place as part of its commitment to democracy, innovation and commitment to purpose ‐‐ the Users Council, the Advisory Committees, the Institute, the Office of Research. It becomes clear that despite this diversity of access structures to decision‐making, OCLC′ s commitment to its community enables it to thrive on the corporate intelligence it derives from this openness to its members. Not all papers feature OCLC centre stage: Nelson′s paper on resource sharing in Kentucky, where OCLC facilitates. The same partnership approach is seen in Penson′s paper about developments at the University of Georgia.

The paper on OCLC in Europe was pleasantly euro‐centred (not UK biased) with due plaudits being given to the work of David Buckle in establishing OCLC this side of the pond. Deschamps makes a telling comment on the heady days of 1967 when Kilgour demonstrated in Europe the new OCLC online catalogue: “At a time when everyone is used to surfing the Internet, it is hard to realize how impressive an online demonstration could be, using a database located 6,000 kilometers across the Atlantic Ocean”. It is vital we remember how new many of our “tools” are in terms of the sophistication we bring to their use.

The volume is rich in anecdote ‐‐ they were wild old days, sometimes flying by the seat of your technological pants; it also contains useful material on who did what and when in terms of OCLC committees, research awards etc.

The paper I thought I would hate, Marshall Breeding on telecommunications and connectivity options proved to be a fascinating description of the potential of this evolving technology. To get a full view of what the volume is about I go back to the opening compilation paper “What WorldCat (the OCLC online union catalog) means to me”. This contains five examples submitted for an OCLC competition. I quote from the grand prize winner′s contribution, George E. Bishop who works in a small rural school library in Michigan; he details how he fought for OCLC access and how it has led to a four‐fold increase in his book budget: “The OCLC Online Union Catalog has made the single most significant contribution to our small rural school library beyond any book, database, program or person. Through OCLC our library mission has become achievable. Our library patrons will never be the same”.

The papers about Asia Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean indicate the length of outreach that this truly international organisation is engaged in. The depth of services it now provides through First Search indicates that we have here the evolution of a truly international information resource. We keep getting told that the future is wired not printed, the progression of OCLC indicates that they will be right there with that future. If the organisation evolves and develops into the future as it has in the last 30 years, I feel a greater confidence that there is a hope for document organisation and delivery in the future because OCLC will be there as a major player. I hope I get the opportunity to review the celebratory publication (in whatever form) that celebrates their half century.