MEMBERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE PROTOCOLS.

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Membership and Governance Protocols 1 as of July 1 2010
MEMBERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE PROTOCOLS
HISTORY
Approved by OCLC Members Council, 10 February 2009 Ratified by OCLC Board of Trustees, 20 April 2009 Replacement Article II approved by Members Council, 19 May 2009 Ratified by Board of Trustees, 8 June 2009. Revised by OCLC Board of Trustees 14 June 2010, ratified by Global Council electronic vote 21 June 2010.
I. PREAMBLE AND DEFINITIONS
This document sets forth the following protocols for membership in and for the governance of the OCLC cooperative. It is authorized by Article IV and succeeding passages of the OCLC Code of Regulations.
For purposes of this document, the following definitions shall apply: Administratively independent entity: An OCLC member is “ administratively Independent” if it directs its own policies or expenditures; is recognized as being independent for tax or legal reasons; or, if it is the highest reporting operational unit, with, for example, sub- units reporting to it and it reporting to a board of trustees, college president, dean, provost, vice- president, or some other lead operating officer or office. Similarly, a member is “ administratively independent” if it is at the highest level of its administrative hierarchy, that is, if sub- units report to it ( if there are subunits). Corporation, or Nonprofit Corporation: See OCLC OCLC: Founded in 1967, OCLC Online Computer Library Center is a nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the world's information and reducing the rate of rise of library costs. OCLC Cooperative. The phrase “ OCLC Cooperative” references collectively: OCLC members ( typically libraries, archives, or museums), the OCLC governance structure ( Board of Trustees and Global and Regional Councils), and the non- profit OCLC corporation.
II. MEMBERS
Article IV of the OCLC Code of Regulations states, “ Members shall be those entities that meet the minimum but continuing threshold of engagement with OCLC, as set forth in OCLC’s Membership and Governance Protocols.” Article IV, Section A of the Code empowers the Membership Committee to develop the definition of Membership for the review and approval of the Global Council and the Board of Trustees.
Any library, archive, or museum embracing the OCLC values of cooperation and sharing is welcome. Institutions worldwide become members of OCLC by contractually agreeing to contribute intellectual content or share resources with the entire Cooperative.