![]() ![]() As libraries use WorldCat as their cataloging utility, part of the process involves updating the holdings statement for the bibliographic record with their OCLC symbol. The resource-sharing capabilities are based on the fundamentals of the WorldCat database, which provides MARC bibliographic records and details the libraries that hold each title. WorldCat Resource Sharing is the product name for OCLC's core interlibrary loan service, which will be migrating to a new technology platform in 2013, after which it will be known as WorldShare Interlibrary Loan. ![]() The domain of interlibrary loan and resource sharing falls well within OCLC's public purpose, which includes the statement “that we will work together to improve access to the information held in libraries around the globe, and find ways to reduce costs for libraries through collaboration.”2 WorldCat Resource Sharing/WorldShare Interlibrary Loan OCLC offers products and services across almost all areas of resource sharing and ILL. In the document delivery arena, OCLC also distributes the Odyssey software, developed by Atlas Systems, that competes with other established products such as Ariel. The ILLiad interlibrary loan workflow management application developed by Atlas Systems is exclusively distributed by OCLC. OCLC acquired Fretwell-Downing, which included the VDX technology, in 2005, expanding its portfolio to include both centralized and consortial resource-sharing products. SirsiDynix has withdrawn URSA, and most of the organizations using it have moved to other solutions. This genre of consortial resource-sharing applications includes such products as URSA, Auto-Graphics, VDX, and Relais D2D. OCLC is also involved with products that support peer-to-peer interlibrary loan or consortial resource sharing within participating members. (For a more detailed history of OCLC's resource-sharing activities, see “An Ongoing Revolution” by Kate Nevins.1) The WLN (Western Library Network), based in Lacey, Washington, merged into OCLC in January 1999. In July 2006, OCLC acquired RLIN, a competing organization in both the bibliographic services and interlibrary loan sectors. Other bibliographic services and resource-sharing services that previously co-existed with OCLC have been subsumed. Other national and regional interlibrary loan services continue to flourish, many with close relationships to OCLC. The realm of interlibrary loan and resource-sharing technology includes only a very small number of players, with OCLC holding a dominant position. More than 10,000 libraries spanning forty countries participate in WorldCat Resource Sharing. The organization has a variety of products and services in this area, including its core interlibrary loan subscription service as well as those for facilitating resource sharing within consortia. One of the key roles of OCLC since its inception has been to facilitate resource sharing among libraries. In 1979, OCLC introduced its interlibrary loan service, which continues to stand as one of its core services. Its bibliographic services allow subscribing members to catalog efficiently using MARC records in the massive WorldCat. The bibliographic database and the number of member libraries has steadily increased over the organization's history. OCLC was founded in 1967 as the Ohio College Library Center with an initial purpose of providing a source of cataloging records. One of the key principles of OCLC, underlying all of its products and services, involves facilitating cooperation among libraries to gain efficiencies and to increase their impact on their patrons. A global organization, it operates as a nonprofit based in Dublin, Ohio, with multiple layers of governance, including a board of trustees, a Global Council, and a set of regional councils. OCLC stands as the largest organization providing services to libraries, with more than 25,900 members spanning 170 countries. Directory of Public Libraries in the United Kingdom.Directory of Public Libraries in the United States.Academic Law Libraries in the United States.Independent Research Libraries Association.Society of College, National and University Libraries.Association of Southeastern Research Libraries. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |