O C L C
N E W S L E T T E R
M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 0 0 I S S N : 0 1 6 3 - 8 9 8 X N O . 2 4 4
C O N T E N T S March/ April 2000 No. 244
Editor in chief:
Nita Dean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . nita_ dean@ oclc. org
Editor:
George Promenschenkel . . . . . . . promensg@ oclc. org
Assistant Editor:
Bob Murphy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . bob_ murphy@ oclc. org
Editorial Assistant:
Marifay Makssour . . . . . marifay_ makssour@ oclc. org
Cover Design: Linda Shepard
Art Production/ Desktop Publishing:
Rick Limes and Tammy Miller
All photos taken by Rich Skopin or Lorna Williamson
unless otherwise noted.
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Correspondents:
Rick Bennett
Bob Bolander
Suzanne Butte
Amy Lytle
Dan McIver
Larry Olszewski
Chandra Prabha
Tom Storey
David Whitehair
Membership News
Users Council nominates candidates for OCLC Board,
participates in OCLC governance study and announces videoconference
RLG and OCLC explore digital archiving
University of Florida makes 97 millionth OCLC ILL request
GPO joins CORC
100 million to be a rewarding number
Wilma Minty speaks at OCLC
OCLC Statistics
Big 12 Plus libraries test pilot ILL service
OCLC pilot project explores increasing ILL fill rates
Arabic cataloging pilot seeks participants
University of Göttingen library becomes OCLC member
Buried treasure made public: Dewey riches of the past and the future
Dewey for Windows drawing winner named
Pamela Bailey appointed director of OCLC Pacific
Shirley Hyatt promoted to director, OCLC Distributed Systems
OCLC/ WLN executive director Paul McCarthy joins
University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Network and OCLC staff meet
OCLC Institute announces winner, seminars
LIS Web site supports students and faculty
Plaque presented to OCLC
Wisconsin regional network name changed
Top 25 languages of materials requested on the OCLC ILL service during 1999
Research
Bringing Chinese cataloging records up to date
Marketing and strategic planning processes enhance libraries’
abilities to control their futures
Platform for the Future:
OCLC’s Technological Infrastructure
OCLC systems run on state- of- the- art platforms
Redundancy and diversity help eliminate single points of
communications failure at OCLC
Product News
OCLC/ WLN collection services now provide comparisons with
outstanding academic titles and titles reviewed in Booklist
Videoconference
28 OCLC Users Council Worldwide Virtual Meeting
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INVESTING
IN THE FUTURE
F R O M J A Y J O R D A N
H ave you noticed that we never truly
appreciate electricity until it goes off
and we find ourselves in the dark, unable
to cook, read or send e- mail? Most of us
take the foundations of our lives for granted— we
expect the infrastructure to be there for us, always
working optimally.
At OCLC, we spend a lot of time thinking about
our technological infrastructure— the foundation for
our products and services. We know that when you
log on to an OCLC service, you expect it to be there,
ready and responsive. Whether you are cataloging,
arranging an interlibrary loan or doing a reference
search, you have come to expect high- quality
performance. When you have an OCLC system
problem or question, you expect a solution to be a
phone call or an e- mail away.
Just think of the technological changes that have
occurred since 1971, when OCLC member libraries
began entrusting their catalog records to WorldCat
( the OCLC Online Union Catalog). The original
terminals, computers and telecommunications
network have given way to several succeeding
generations of technology, each of which has been
faster, better, cheaper and smaller than its
predecessor. This means increased value for
member libraries and their users, who can also
be assured that their information remains
accessible despite the rapidly changing
technological environment.
Behind the scenes at OCLC is a complex and
continuously changing technological infrastructure.
Over the past 10 years, OCLC has invested
approximately $ 120 million to provide member
libraries with systems and services, including
computers, telecommunications and electrical
power. We’re working to create redundancy
throughout the system to eliminate the impact
of a single point of failure. We improved
telecommunications in 24 countries outside
the U. S. through an agreement with Digital Island,
a global applications network. We also spend a lot
of resources on security. One recent example,
which was reported by the Associated Press, is
OCLC’s early detection and avoidance of damage by
the “ Melissa” virus that crippled computers around
the world.
As a result of these efforts, last year, the OCLC
online system for cataloging and resource sharing
was available 99.8 percent of its scheduled time and
handled more than 1 billion messages.
This issue of the OCLC Newsletter provides an
inside look at OCLC’s infrastructure and shows how
we continuously invest in quality system solutions so
that anywhere/ anytime/ always- on is something
OCLC libraries can count on.
Jay Jordan
President and Chief Executive Officer
OCLC
M E M B E R S H I P N E W S
4 OCLC Newsletter March/ April 2000
Users Council delegates nominated members for
two positions on the OCLC Board of Trustees,
heard speakers on libraries and globalization,
and participated in the OCLC Strategic
Directions and Governance Study at the
Feb. 6– 8 meeting in Dublin.
Betsy Wilson, president, Users Council, and
associate director of Libraries for Research and
Instructional Services, University of Washington,
also announced that part of the May Users
Council meeting will be broadcast in a worldwide
videoconference hosted by OCLC, its U. S.
networks, service centers, and international
distributors and divisions. The program will
include reports on OCLC and Users Council and a
discussion on strategic directions and
governance. The live satellite broadcast will take
place May 23, 11 a. m.– 1 p. m. U. S. Eastern
Daylight Time.
Delegates nominated four members to fill two
positions on the OCLC Board of Trustees: Bradley
Baker, university librarian, Northeastern Illinois
University, Chicago; Sherrie Bergman, librarian,
Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine; William
Sannwald, assistant to the city manager, San Diego
Public Library, California; and Betsy Wilson. The
elections will take place at the May meeting.
As part of the OCLC Strategic Directions and
Governance Study, delegates spent some five
hours in sessions with Arthur D. Little consultants
to discuss the information environment and the
trends and roles of libraries in the digital age.
Users Council will be involved in the study
through most of 2000.
“ The board initiated the study following
ongoing discussions over the previous year,” said
William Crowe, chair of the OCLC Board of
Trustees, and Spencer librarian, Kenneth Spencer
Research Library, University of Kansas. “ The scale
and scope of OCLC has changed considerably
since 1977 [ when the current governance
structure was established].”
“ It’s a very important time for OCLC to take
another look at itself,” said Nancy Eaton, chair of
the OCLC Strategic Directions and Governance
Advisory Council, member of the OCLC Board of
Trustees, and dean of university libraries,
Pennsylvania State University. “ We should emerge
with a joint vision and shared expectations.”
In addition to the nominations and governance
study, the meeting also focused on the Users
Council’s annual theme “ A New World: OCLC,
Libraries and Users in the 21st Century.”
Christine Deschamps— president of the
International Federation of Library Associations
and Institutions ( IFLA) and member of the OCLC
Board of Trustees— spoke on “ Global
Librarianship.” Ms. Deschamps said that the
entire library community will benefit from a
growing global membership in OCLC, which is
more than a business. “ OCLC is seen as a global
community, not just a buyer and seller,” she said.
Gary Strong, director, Queens Borough Public
Library, New York, discussed “ The Local Library
and the Global View.” Mr. Strong said that 36
percent of the population of Queens was born in
another country ( with some 120 countries
represented), and that 44 percent speak a
Users Council nominates candidates for OCLC Board,
participates in OCLC governance study and announces
videoconference
Betsy Wilson
Bradley Baker
M E M B E R S H I P N E W S
OCLC Newsletter March/ April 2000 5
The Research Libraries Group ( RLG) and OCLC
have begun discussing ways the two organizations
can cooperate to create infrastructures for
digital archiving.
As a first step, OCLC and RLG have begun to
collaborate on two working documents to
establish best practices. Attributes of a Digital
Archive for Research Repositories will outline
the characteristics of reliable archiving services,
and Preservation Metadata for Long- Term
Retention will propose approaches for
descriptive and management metadata needed in
the long- term retention of digital files. RLG and
OCLC will bring key players together to review
progress to date and identify common practices
among those most experienced in the archiving
arena. The draft working papers will then be
reviewed by key stakeholders around the world.
The papers are expected to serve as a basis for
further exploration of roles and responsibilities of
RLG, OCLC and others.
Research repositories globally are working to
develop infrastructures for identifying, acquiring,
managing and accessing digital materials.
Organizational models for successful digital
archives being tested in Europe, Australia and
North America hold promise for institutional and
collaborative approaches to a wide range of
operations and facilities.
“ OCLC has long recognized the importance of
digital archiving to libraries, and over the last
few years has initiated several projects to
explore technologies OCLC might use to provide
long- term access to digital materials,” said Jay
Jordan, OCLC president and CEO. “ This
partnership with RLG holds great potential for
libraries around the world.”
“ Long- term retention of digital research
resources is one of RLG’s three top priorities in
the new decade,” said James Michalko, RLG’s
president. “ We all know that effective solutions to
problems in digital archiving require different
players to apply their strengths and perspectives
in complementary ways. I’m pleased that OCLC
and RLG are doing just that.”
The draft documents will be made available on
the RLG and OCLC Web sites, and comments will
be invited from interested parties before final
publication. More information is available from
Nancy Elkington, RLG program officer
< nee@ notes. rlg. org>, or Meg Bellinger, president,
Preservation Resources < bellingm@ oclc. org>.
Headquartered in Mountain View, California, the
Research Libraries Group < http:// www. rlg. org/>
is a not- for- profit membership corporation of over
RLG and OCLC explore digital archiving
language other than English at home. The
challenge that the QPL is facing is the same as
that of a growing number of libraries— how to
support an ever- more- diverse clientele while
maintaining the same level of service. The
challenges range from understanding the culture
and the materials people want to the technical
processing of the items.
“ We’ve had to stand back and learn the politics
of the countries with which we partner,” he said.
“ The more difficult it is to acquire an item, the
more expensive it is to catalog and enter into
the database.”
Jay Jordan, OCLC president and CEO, updated
delegates on OCLC’s recent activities since the
last meeting in October.
A pre- meeting symposium,��� OCLC Innovations
for Library Services in the New Millennium,”
focused on the OCLC Cooperative Online
Resource Catalog ( CORC) project. Some 55
delegates, network directors and guests heard
a presentation by Gary Houk, vice president,
OCLC Services; and one by Taylor Surface,
program director, CORC; Eric Childress,
senior product support specialist, CORC; and
Bradley Watson, consulting systems analyst
and chief trainer, CORC.
Minutes from the February 2000 meeting are
available on the OCLC Users Council Web site
< http:// www. oclc. org/ oclc/ uc/>. The next Users
Council meeting is scheduled for May 21– 23.
The Users Council supports OCLC’s mission by
serving as a key discussion forum and
communications link between member libraries,
regional networks and other partners, and OCLC
management. By providing a channel for
recommendations and questions from Users
Council delegates, approving changes in the Code
of Regulations, and electing six members of the
Board of Trustees, Users Council helps shape the
future direction of OCLC.
• • •
Sherrie Bergman
William Sannwald
M E M B E R S H I P N E W S
6 OCLC Newsletter March/ April 2000
160 universities, national libraries, archives,
historical societies and other institutions. In
addition to a range of collaborative activities that
address members’ shared goals, RLG develops and
operates databases and software to serve the
information needs of member and nonmember
institutions and individuals around the world.
Preservation Resources is a nonprofit
organization devoted to the reformatting or
conversion of library and archival materials.
Originally called MAPS ( Mid- Atlantic Preservation
Service), the organization was established in 1985
to serve the preservation microfilming needs of
five Mid- Atlantic research libraries— Columbia
University Libraries, Cornell University Library,
Princeton University Library, New York State
Library and the New York Public Library. It has
been a division of OCLC since 1994 and is based
in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
< http:// www. oclc. org/ oclc/ presres/>.
• • •
The University of Florida, in Gainesville, made
the 97 millionth request on the OCLC Interlibrary
Loan ( ILL) service Feb. 8 for an article from
the serial Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and
Vascular Biology.
The request was filled by the University of
Memphis, in Tennessee, and was shipped Feb. 9.
David Fuller, head of Interlibrary Loan at the
University of Florida Libraries, entered the
milestone request. “ I had finished ordering and
then read the number on the screen,” he said. “ I
called someone over to look at the number and
said, ‘ Is this what I think it is?’ We concluded that,
‘ Yeah, we hit the millionth.’ We just lucked out.”
The Interlibrary Loan Department at the
University of Florida Libraries comprises a staff of
seven— three in borrowing, three in lending and
one for document delivery for off- campus faculty
and students. Last year, the library filled 25,000
lending requests and 13,000 borrowing requests.
“ We’ve seen a tremendous increase in
interlibrary loan activity since we’ve started using
electronic request forms,” said David Hickey,
chair, Access Services Department. The library
received 2,600 borrowing requests in January and
2,400 in February this year.
“ Interlibrary loan is a very interesting field to
be in right now,” said Mr. Fuller. “ New
technologies continue to make interlibrary loan
enjoyable and challenging.”
The University of Florida Libraries is made up
of eight libraries. Six are in the system known as
the George A. Smathers Libraries of the University
of Florida, named for the former U. S. senator and
university alumnus, and two ( Health Sciences and
Legal Information) are attached to their respective
administrative units. Together the libraries hold
over 3 million cataloged volumes, 4.2 million
microforms, 1 million documents, 550,000 maps
and images, and 20,000 computer datasets.
The University of Florida ( OCLC symbol: FUG)
and the University of Memphis ( TMA) are
members of SOLINET, an OCLC- affiliated regional
network serving the southeastern United States.
The OCLC Interlibrary Loan service came
online in 1979. In the 1998/ 99 fiscal year, nearly
6,200 libraries arranged over 8.2 million loans
through the system. OCLC offers a number of
products and services that support ILL, including
the OCLC ILL Direct Request service, which
allows library users to enter ILL requests with
little or no staff intervention.
• • •
University of Florida makes 97 millionth
OCLC ILL request
The University of Florida, in Gainesville, entered the 97 millionth OCLC ILL request on
Feb. 8. Staff of the Interlibrary Loan Department at the University of Florida libraries
includes ( from left to right): ( front row) Christina Haskins, Jane Anne Carey, Eatheana
West, ( back row) Amanda Rust, Angela Moose, Patricia Coristin, Veronica Woodard and
David Fuller, who entered the request.
photo provided by the University of Florida
M E M B E R S H I P N E W S
OCLC Newsletter March/ April 2000 7
GPO joins CORC
The U. S. Government Printing Office ( GPO) is now
participating in the OCLC Cooperative Online
Resource Catalog ( CORC) project, an international
effort to organize and facilitate access to local
library and Web- based electronic resources.
CORC is a collaborative effort to create a
high- quality, library- selected database of
electronic resource descriptions modeled
after the creation ofWorldCat ( the OCLC
Online Union Catalog).
“ GPO is excited to join the CORC
project, and we look forward to
developing another means to provide
access to U. S. Government electronic
resources,” said Gil Baldwin, director,
GPO Library Programs Service. “ Taking
our place in the CORC project extends the
tradition of GPO/ OCLC cooperation further
into the electronic era by adapting new
approaches to providing online access to
critical resources.
“ As the national authority for cataloging U. S.
Government publications, GPO will use CORC in
conjunction with OCLC’s persistent uniform
resource locators, or PURLs, to enhance our suite
of cataloging and locator services,” he said. “ CORC
will also assist our information discovery efforts to
identify and add resources to the Federal
Depository Library Program Electronic Collection.”
“ We are pleased to welcome GPO as an early
participant in the CORC service,” said Gary Houk,
vice president, OCLC Services. “ GPO has been
doing innovative work with PURLs and electronic
resources. The resource descriptions that GPO
will add to the CORC catalog will help connect
users to the actual content. Such collaborative
efforts fulfill the public purposes of both
organizations to provide access to information.”
During the development phase of CORC,
participating libraries use the service to create
records, and they provide feedback to OCLC to
enhance its design. OCLC plans to release CORC
as a new service later in 2000.
With its origin as an OCLC Office of Research
project, CORC was launched in January 1999 with
50 libraries from around the world using new,
automated tools developed by OCLC to create a
database of electronic resources.
More than 380 institutions are now
participating in CORC, including: consortia
( such as the GALILEO Project in Georgia and
RERO based in Martigny, Switzerland), national
libraries ( such as the Deutsche Bibliothek,
Germany; National Library of Wales, United
Kingdom; National Library of Australia, Canberra)
and a variety of other institutions ( such as St.
Joseph County Public Library, Indiana;
Washtenaw Community College, Michigan;
Hong Kong University of Science &
Technology; Universidad Autónoma de
Ciudad Juárez, Juárez, Mexico; Canada
Institute for Scientific and Technical
Information; the University of the West
Indies, St. Augustine; NETLAB/ Desire II
Project, Lund, Sweden; National
Chengchi University Libraries, Taipei,
Taiwan; U. S. Department of Transportation
Library, Washington, D. C.; Institute of
Information Science, Slovenia; the American
Museum of Natural History, New York; and the
Oregon Health Sciences University Library).
OCLC is encouraging libraries interested in
participating in CORC to apply. Libraries may
request an application via e- mail to
< corc@ oclc. org> or visit < http:// purl. oclc. org/
corc/> to find more information and an online
application form.
GPO makes more than 1 million U. S.
Government publications accessible in paper,
microfiche, CD- ROM or online formats through
nearly 1,350 federal depository libraries
throughout the United States. Publications
cataloged and disseminated by GPO provide
information of current and enduring interest on
a broad assortment of topics, including
congressional documents, federal research,
business, science, technology, statistical data, law,
medicine and federal regulations. GPO cataloging
records, maintained in thousands of library online
public access catalogs and on the Web
< http:// www. access. gpo. gov/ catalog/>, provide
access to an ever- increasing number of online
titles via GPO servers and to publications
maintained at federal depository libraries. More
information is available on the Web regarding
GPO’s suite of cataloging and locator services
< http:// www. access. gpo. gov/ su_ docs/ tools. html>,
as well as on the Federal Depository Library
Program and how to obtain access to the universe
of government information available through GPO
< http:// www. access. gpo. gov/ su_ docs/>.
• • •
M E M B E R S H I P N E W S
8 OCLC Newsletter March/ April 2000
The competition to be the library that logs each
millionth interlibrary loan request on the OCLC
Interlibrary Loan service is traditionally strong,
but the race for the 100 millionth ILL may set a
new record.
“ We expect the run- up to the 100 millionth
request to be very rapid,” said Frank Hermes, vice
president, OCLC Marketing and Planning. ������� It’s
taken us 21 years to reach this point, however, it
will take less than half that long to reach another
100 million requests.”
To mark this significant milestone, which is
expected sometime in June, OCLC will award
prizes to the library that hits the 100 millionth
request, which will show as 1 since the system
will roll over from 9,999,999.
The library that enters the request will receive a
$ 1,000 credit on its ILL bill from OCLC. Both the
borrowing library and the supplier will receive:
· a one- year free subscription to the OCLC ILL
Management Statistics service, which offers
subscribers electronic files of OCLC ILL
activity statistics that can be used with
standard third- party spreadsheet and database
software applications such as Microsoft Excel
or Access < http:// www. oclc. org/ oclc/ menu/
ill_ mgmt_ stats. htm>.
· A one- year free subscription to the OCLC
Monthly Activity report, which provides
statistics of borrowing- to- lending ratio, filled
versus unfilled requests, average monthly
turnaround time for receiving items requested,
and more. Year- to- date totals are based on a
July– June fiscal year < http:// www. oclc. org/
oclc/ promo/ 2819morp/ 2819. htm>.
· A three- month free subscription to OCLC ILL
Direct Request service, which will accept
locally created ILL requests from a library user
via the OCLC FirstSearch service. Requests
from the user can be transmitted directly to
the OCLC ILL service for immediate fulfillment
< http:// www. oclc. org/ oclc/ menu/ drill. htm>.
· a plaque commemorating the request
To be eligible for the prizes, the 100 millionth
interlibrary loan request must be a legitimate
request. For more information, contact Tony
Melvyn, < melvynt@ oclc. org> or + 1- 614- 761- 5091.
• • •
100 million to be a rewarding number
On March 15, Wilma Minty, head
of Catalog Support Services,
Bodleian Library, University of
Oxford, spoke at OCLC on “ Playing
mouZe and Cat: WorldCat
searches through Oxford’s
GeoPAC.” The program
focused on how Oxford
connected its Z39.50
server with OCLC��s.
• • •
OCLC Statistics
( as of March 1, 2000)
Current statistics are at
< http:// www. oclc. org/
oclc/ new/ stats. htm>.
Par ticipating
libraries
36,616
New member libraries
( Jan. 1– Feb. 29, 2000)
201
Total interlibrary loan
requests
97,676,233
Wilma Minty speaks at OCLC
The Big 12 Plus Libraries and OCLC have agreed
to begin a pilot project designed to test the
utility of a library- user- initiated, Web- based
interlibrary loan service in a large, multi- library
consortium environment. The service will allow
library users to search and view bibliographic
records and request library materials directly via
an easy- to- use Web interface. The system will
integrate local online public access catalog
information, local policies and standards- based
communications to eliminate the need for
multiple ILL systems. The Web- based interface
will also allow library users to search across
other electronic resources that the Big 12 Plus
will make available to its member libraries.
“ This pilot project with OCLC is the next
logical step in the ongoing development of a
heavily used interlibrary lending and borrowing
program that we operate in the Big 12 Plus,” said
Adrian W. Alexander, executive director, Big 12
Plus. “ We are excited about the prospect of
adding powerful Web- based searching and
ordering capabilities to this service.”
The Big 12 Plus includes 23 research libraries
at institutions located in 10 states in the central
and southwest U. S. The consortium has operated
an ILL program for its members since 1995 and is
developing other programs related to resource
sharing, scholarly communications and
continuing education. In the first stage of the
pilot, eight Big 12 Plus libraries will participate.
The pilot will use a modified version of resource
sharing software OCLC developed for the libraries
of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation
( CIC) member universities and the Minnesota
Library Information Network ( MnLINK). The Big
12 Plus system will run on an “ application server”
located in Dublin, Ohio; the CIC and MnLINK
systems use a distributed software/ server model,
operating from computers based in those
organizations’ networks.
The Big 12 Plus Libraries Consortium
< http:// www. big12plus. org/> comprises the
following institutions:
Baylor University
Brigham Young University
Colorado State University
Iowa State University
Kansas State University
Linda Hall Library
New Mexico State University
Oklahoma State University
Rice University
Southern Illinois University
Texas A& M University
Texas Tech University
University of Arkansas
University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Houston
University of Kansas
University of Missouri at Columbia
University of Nebraska- Lincoln
University of New Mexico
University of Oklahoma
University of Texas at Austin
University of Utah
Utah State University
• • •
M E M B E R S H I P N E W S
OCLC Newsletter March/ April 2000 9
Big 12 Plus libraries test pilot ILL service
“ This pilot project
with OCLC is the
next logical step in
the ongoing
development of a
heavily used
interlibrary lending
and borrowing
program that we
operate in the Big
12 Plus”
Adrian W. Alexander
executive director
Big 12 Plus
Highest OCLC
record number
43,568,518
Location listings
( holdings)
748,414,314
OCLC FirstSearch service searches
( since October 1991)
260,505,083
M E M B E R S H I P N E W S
10 OCLC Newsletter March/ April 2000
Eleven libraries are participating in the Strategic
OCLC Union Listing Pilot Project, which was
launched in December to determine whether
libraries’ use of the OCLC Union List service
increases interlibrary loan fill rates for journals.
In the first two months of the project, OCLC
trained library staff to enter local data records
( LDRs) in the OCLC Union List service, and the
staff then added records for their most-requested
serials.
“ The libraries invited to participate had strong
ILL activity, but few or no LDRs,” said Cathy
Kellum, pilot project manager and consulting
product support specialist in Resource Sharing.
“ They represent a combination of library type and
geographic distribution.
“ Our goal is two- fold,” Ms. Kellum said. “ We
think union listing makes a difference in the ILL
process, so we want to test our theory and see if
it really does. And if union listing does make a
difference, we want to analyze what we learn to
help turn this into an ongoing service.”
Nancy Paine, Inter- Library Service librarian,
University of Texas at Austin, said the Perry-
Castaneda Library did not enter LDRs on the union
list until they began participating in the pilot.
“ We’ve already seen an increase in requests
received and in fill rate over last year at this time,”
she said. “ I expect the increase in requests is
because of the new records on the union list, and
that the higher fill rate is the result of the LDRs.”
Libraries participating in the pilot are:
Auburn University, Alabama
Boston Public Library, Massachusetts
California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco
Occidental College, Los Angeles, California
University of Colorado– Boulder
University of Delaware, Newark
Denver Public Library, Colorado
Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
University of Texas at Austin
University of Kansas, Lawrence
San Francisco Public Library, California.
OCLC will present an overview of the project
and its results at an open meeting of the OCLC
Interlibrary Loan service Users Group and OCLC
Union List Users Group at the American Library
Association Conference in Chicago on Sunday,
July 9, at 4: 30 p. m. Project results will also be
published in the OCLC Newsletter and on the
OCLC Web site < http:// www. oclc. org/>.
• • •
OCLC pilot project explores increasing ILL fill rates
by David Whitehair
OCLC is developing a pilot
project to test software for
cataloging Arabic language
materials, including the
Arabic vernacular
characters. This will allow
libraries to take advantage
of OCLC’s cooperative
cataloging model for sharing Arabic OCLC- MARC
records and using them with MARC 21
( USMARC) based local systems.
The Arabic Cataloging Pilot will allow
libraries to search for MARC records, edit
records, create and add records that are not
found in WorldCat and download a copy of the
MARC record to the library’s local system.
The pilot project will provide a Windows- based
interface, which will require Microsoft Windows
2000. Libraries interested in participating in the
pilot should plan to purchase and upgrade to
Windows 2000.
The pilot software will be provided at no
charge to pilot participants; however, all
cataloging activity completed during the pilot
and telecommunication charges ( if applicable)
to access the online OCLC Cataloging service
will be billed at prevailing cataloging rates.
OCLC expects to begin the pilot test in mid-
2000. After the completion of the project, OCLC
will evaluate the results of the study and determine
how a production product should be pursued.
Arabic cataloging pilot seeks participants
“ We’ve already seen
an increase in
requests received
and in fill rate
over last year at
this time”
Nancy Paine
Inter- Library Service
librarian
University of Texas
at Austin
M E M B E R S H I P N E W S
OCLC Newsletter March/ April 2000 11
University of Göttingen library becomes OCLC member
The Niedersächsische Staats und
Universitätsbibliothek, Göttingen ( the State
and University Library of Göttingen) is the
first German university library to become a full
OCLC member.
The library will tapeload current materials
into WorldCat ( the OCLC Online Union Catalog)
and use the OCLC Cataloging and Interlibrary
Loan services.
“ For my library, this is quite exciting,” said
Elmar Mittler, professor, State and University
Library of Göttingen. “ We expect our
membership in OCLC to improve international
bibliographic exchange, particularly between
Anglo- American and German- speaking countries,
as well as to support research in both the United
States and Europe.”
Dr. Mittler said that preliminary tests have
found that 60 percent of the university’s materials
are not yet in WorldCat.
“ This shows that libraries with an outstanding
scholarly tradition, like SUB Göttingen, can
contribute to WorldCat,” he said.
According to Janet Lees, managing
director, OCLC Europe, the Middle East &
Africa, the addition of the university library
of Göttingen’s holdings to WorldCat will provide
opportunities for OCLC libraries worldwide
to access the holdings of one of the leading
German universities.
Dr. Mittler cited the University of Göttingen’s
participation in the REUSE project, which
researched harmonization
of Anglo- American and
German cataloging rules,
as a major factor in the
library’s decision to join
OCLC. Information on
the project is available at
< http:// www. oclc. org/
oclc/ cataloging/
reuse_ project/
index. htm>.
Dr. Mittler said the
library is also actively
involved in the OCLC
Cooperative Online Resource Catalog
( CORC), a cooperative effort to create a high-quality,
library- selected database of Web- based
electronic resource descriptions.
The Niedersächsische Staats und
Universitätsbibliothek, Göttingen, traces its
history to 1734, preceding the University of
Göttingen by three years. The library now has
more than 4 million volumes, including over
12,000 manuscripts, 3,000 incunabula and 15,000
periodicals. The Göttingen Digitization Center
produces Internet and CD- ROM versions of the
Göttingen Gutenberg Bible as well as of early
travel books describing North America. During
the 18th century, Göttingen developed for the
first time the concept of a modern research
library, buying books and periodicals of research
value worldwide.
• • •
For more information about the OCLC Arabic Cataloging
Pilot and to submit the participation form to register for
the pilot study, visit the OCLC Web site at
< http:// www. oclc. org/ oclc/ menu/ arabic. htm>.
— David Whitehair is consulting product support
specialist, OCLC.
Abdulrahman A. Al- Hamidi ( center), library director, King Abdulaziz City for
Science and Technology, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, visited OCLC in Dublin,
Ohio, during the Research Library Directors Conference. On March 13, he
discussed the Arabic Cataloging Pilot project with ( from left to right), Marty
Withrow, director, OCLC Technical Services Development; Chris
Grabenstatter, manager, OCLC Cataloging Services; Janet Lees, managing
director, OCLC Europe, the Middle East & Africa; Glenn Patton, manager,
OCLC Cataloging Products; Dan Whitney, manager, OCLC Workstation
Development and project manager for the OCLC Arabic Pilot Project; and
David Whitehair, consulting product support specialist and product manager
for the OCLC Arabic Pilot Project.
• • •
< http:// www. sub. uni- goettingen. de/>
M E M B E R S H I P N E W S
12 OCLC Newsletter March/ April 2000
by Larry Olszewski
When the Forest Press
division of OCLC closed
the doors to its Albany
operations and moved to
Dublin, Ohio, in June 1999,
the decision had to be made
about what to do with the
library of historic Dewey
Decimal Classification materials stored there.
These “ treasures,” long out of public reach, have
been integrated into the archival function of the
OCLC Information Center, which by appointment
opens them for scholarly use.
These materials comprise one of the most
comprehensive collections of primary materials
dealing with Melvil Dewey and his classification
system. Highlights include:
· A complete run of every abridged and
unabridged Dewey Decimal Classification
publication, including a complete set
on microfilm
· Translations of the classification into
17 languages
· Biographies about Melvil Dewey
· Videos pertaining to the classification
scheme, such as “ Mr. Dewey and His Dot”
and “ Party Girl”
· Posters and other marketing memorabilia
· Software and copies of DDC electronic
versions
An especially unusual item is a draft of the
DDC second edition written into a copy of the
first edition in Melvil Dewey’s own handwriting.
This manuscript is more than a rare item— it is a
unique one.
All items have been cataloged and entered into
WorldCat. Some of the more fragile items are
physically housed at OCLC’s Preservation
Resources division, which also assumed
responsibility for microfilming the editions.
The historic DDC collection is a dynamic,
expanding collection. For example, the latest
version of the Dewey for Windows software
( version 2.0) has just been added, and 10 new
translations will be added over the next two
years. Eventually the DDC collection will
encompass all secondary literature as well.
A bibliography of the collection and finding
aid are projected.— Larry Olszewski is manager
and information services specialist, OCLC
Information Center.
• • •
Buried treasure made public:
Dewey riches of the past and the future
by Suzanne Butte
The winner of a one- year,
single workstation
subscription to Dewey for
Windows software, version
2.00, is Phyllis D. Fisher,
Online Services coordinator
for the New York City
School Library System.
OCLC Forest Press held
the drawing for the
subscription in
January at the ALA
Midwinter Meeting
in San Antonio,
Texas.
Dewey for Windows drawing winner named
A draft of the second edition of the DDC written into a copy of the
first edition in Melvil Dewey’s own handwriting is among the more
unique items in the OCLC Information Center’s collection.
Suzanne Butte
M E M B E R S H I P N E W S
OCLC Newsletter March/ April 2000 13
Pamela Bailey appointed director of OCLC Pacific
Pamela J. Bailey has been promoted to
director, OCLC Pacific, by Donald J. Muccino,
OCLC executive vice president and chief
operating officer.
Responsible for managing the west coast
training and support operations of OCLC with a
staff of 10, Ms. Bailey develops, directs and
implements program goals for more than 700
libraries in the western United States. She is
responsible for ensuring optimal operations
effectiveness and member retention.
Ms. Bailey has been with OCLC Pacific since
1986 and acting director since 1998. From
1996– 1998, she was senior library analyst, helping
to develop and introduce the OCLC Pacific Library
Analysis service. From 1989– 1996, she was manager
of Member Services and Training, supervising the
implementation of the new OCLC Cataloging and
Interlibrary Loan services in libraries.
Prior to joining OCLC Pacific as user support
assistant, Ms. Bailey was employed in a variety of
positions at the Pomona ( California) Public Library
and as a research assistant for an urban sociologist.
Ms. Bailey holds a bachelor’s degree from the
California State Polytechnic University.
• • •
Shirley Hyatt promoted to director, OCLC Distributed Systems
Shirley Hyatt, manager, OCLC Product Marketing,
has been promoted to director, OCLC Distributed
Systems, by Terry Noreault, vice president, OCLC
Office of Research.
“ Shirley has a strong knowledge of libraries
and their needs as well as a demonstrated
ability to provide leadership in developing
information technologies to serve OCLC
members,” said Dr. Noreault. “ These skills will
serve libraries well both through continuing the
leadership position of SiteSearch suite and during
development and introduction of the new OCLC
WebExpress service.”
In the Product Marketing Department, Ms.
Hyatt devised and executed marketing and
promotion plans for the transition of the
Cooperative Online Resource Catalog ( CORC)
from a research project to a key component of
OCLC’s technical services strategy. In her
previous position as manager, Product Services,
Ms. Hyatt introduced Internet access for
cataloging, oversaw the migration of OCLC
members from OCLC’s X. 25 protocol network to
the new Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet
Protocol ( TCP/ IP) access network and supervised
the product management of OCLC Passport
software and OCLC CJK software packages. Ms.
Hyatt was also responsible for introducing a flat
fee pricing option for Internet access.
Before joining OCLC in 1985, Ms. Hyatt was a
member services librarian for the Missouri Library
Network and a cataloger at the Southeast Missouri
State University library.
Ms. Hyatt has a bachelor’s degree from John
Carroll University and a master’s degree in library
science from Case Western Reserve University.
She also holds a master’s degree in philosophy
from Notre Dame University.
• • •
After hearing that she had won, Ms. Fisher
said, “ I’m excited to learn that I have won a
subscription for the new release to Dewey for
Windows, and I’m very eager to begin using it.”
Dewey for Windows software, version 2.00,
offers an enhanced and updated DDC 21
database, automatic cuttering and an improved
annotation feature that allows users to add as
many as 16,000 notes to the schedules to reflect
local classification decisions. For more
information about the updated Dewey for
Windows software, visit the Dewey Web site at
< http:// purl. oclc. org/ fp/>.— Suzanne Butte is
marketing manager, OCLC Forest Press.
• • •
Pamela Bailey
Shirley Hyatt
M E M B E R S H I P N E W S
14 OCLC Newsletter March/ April 2000
Paul McCarthy, executive director of the
OCLC/ WLN Pacific Northwest Service Center,
announced that he will become director of
libraries and information technology at the
University of Alaska, Fairbanks, on April 14.
“ Although it would be our strong preference
for Paul to stay on as executive director at
OCLC/ WLN, we realize that this is a wonderful
opportunity for him,” said Donald J. Muccino,
executive vice president and chief operating
officer, OCLC. “ His leadership over the past 18
months during the merger of WLN with OCLC has
been exemplary. We look forward to a continuing
affiliation between Paul and OCLC.”
Jay Jordan, president and chief executive
officer, OCLC, stated,“ Paul’s dedication, focus and
tireless efforts have created new synergies and
opportunities for the entire OCLC membership.
We will miss him, and we wish him well.”
“ It is with mixed emotions that I leave OCLC,”
said Mr. McCarthy. “ I have enjoyed the challenges
of working in this environment immensely and
also look forward to the challenges ahead. When
I assumed the position of president and CEO of
WLN in 1995, I and the other executive staff of
WLN knew we had to closely examine the
direction of WLN and its business in this rapidly
changing Internet- dominated environment. After
exploring and then evaluating a number of
options, we concluded that a merger with OCLC
was in the best interests of our libraries, the
organization and the staff. The approach and
commitment of Jay Jordan and Don Muccino
made that decision easy. With 18 months
experience, I know it was absolutely the right
decision. The OCLC/ WLN staff is expanding; our
products and services are achieving a national and
international market through the global efforts of
OCLC. We have achieved the merger and
concluded a critical transition phase. In a
philosophical sense, the work I was called to do
at WLN and then OCLC/ WLN is largely
accomplished. I feel comfortable in moving on to
new challenges with a sense of confidence in
what we all have accomplished and the future of
OCLC and OCLC/ WLN.”
Mr. McCarthy joined the former WLN as
president and CEO in 1995. In January 1999,
following the merger of WLN with OCLC, he was
named executive director, OCLC/ WLN Pacific
Northwest Service Center. Before joining WLN,
he spent 30 years at the University of Alaska,
Fairbanks, including seven as director of libraries.
In his new post as director of Libraries and
Information Technology, he will be responsible
for both libraries and campus computing at
the university.
OCLC and WLN merged on Jan. 1, 1999, and
WLN became the OCLC/ WLN Pacific Northwest
Service Center.
• • •
OCLC/ WLN executive director Paul McCarthy joins
University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Paul McCarthy
Library service staff
from OCLC and
affiliated U. S. regional
networks met in
March at OCLC for
their semiannual
meeting to discuss
ways to better meet
the needs of libraries.
• • •
Network and OCLC staff meet
M E M B E R S H I P N E W S
OCLC Newsletter March/ April 2000 15
by Amy Lytle
Mary T. Kalnin, library
specialist at the University
of Washington, is the winner
of free participation in an
OCLC Institute event. Her
name was drawn from
entries submitted at the
OCLC booth during the ALA
Midwinter Meeting in San
Antonio, Texas.
A nonprofit educational organization, the
OCLC Institute is dedicated to promoting the
evolution of libraries and information services by
providing managers with opportunities for
advanced education and knowledge exchange.
Current offerings include the new Knowledge
Management: Methods and System seminar. This
new two- and- a- half- day workshop has been
developed to follow “ Knowledge Access
Management: Tools and Concepts for Next-
Generation Catalogers” and “ Using Metadata for
Knowledge Management,” though neither seminar
is a prerequisite for this new professional
development course.
Ongoing seminars include:
· Knowledge Access Management: Tools and
Concepts for Next- Generation Catalogers—
an intensive, interactive seminar specifically
designed for cataloging leaders
· Knowledge Access Management for Reference
Librarians— a two- and- a- half- day seminar that
examines key issues in knowledge
management with a special emphasis on
reference services
· Using Metadata for Knowledge Management
— an intensive theoretical and practical
exploration of metadata and its applications
in knowledge management systems
· Knowledge Access on the Web: Metadata
Applications— an accelerated one- and- three-quarters-
day version of Using Metadata for
Knowledge Management
· Continuity and Innovation in Resource
Sharing— this one- and- three- quarters- day
seminar addresses the overarching question:
What does resource sharing mean in a world
of networked digital resources and how will
it be practiced?
· Technology Planning in a Time of Rapid
Change— a one- and- a- half- day seminar designed
to help library directors better understand
current technology trends and their impact
on libraries, and to enable directors to guide
their institutions with improved strategic
planning skills
More information about the OCLC
Institute, including course details and
registration information, is available at
< http:// www. oclc. org/ institute/> .
Amy Lytle is event coordinator,
OCLC Institute.
OCLC Institute announces winner, seminars
Amy Lytle
• • •
M E M B E R S H I P N E W S
16 OCLC Newsletter March/ April 2000
LIS Web site supports students and faculty
The new OCLC Library and Information Science
Web site provides resources for students and
faculty of LIS programs.
For more than a decade, OCLC has supported
library education programs. Through the OCLC
Library and Information Science Education
Program, OCLC seeks to help schools provide
students with the skills and qualifications
needed to lead in today’s library environment.
The site is divided into six sections:
· Partnership— information on OCLC
programs and services that support the
partnership between LIS schools and OCLC
· News— items of interest to LIS students and
faculty, including recent honors
· Learning— LIS schools, distance learning, the
OCLC Institute, network training schedules
and other educational opportunities
· Jobs— positions, internships, publishing
opportunities, grants and the OCLC Visiting
Scholar position
· About OCLC— links to OCLC resources of
interest to students and faculty
· Web Resources— links to Web sites that help
students and faculty become better librarians
The Web site is located at < http:// lis. oclc. org/>.
• • •
Wisconsin regional network name changed
Nearly 30 years ago the Council of Wisconsin
Libraries developed a program office to provide
services to Wisconsin libraries. The program,
initially named Wisconsin Interlibrary Loan
Service, was later changed to Wisconsin
InterLibrary Services as the service expanded.
WILS was a service organization operating under
the direction and guidance of the council.
Following a yearlong review of mission and
organization, the council determined that the
interests of resource sharing in the state would
be best served by merging council and program
office under a single name: Wisconsin Library
Services ( WiLS).
• • •
Antonio Alba, library services executive, OCLC Latin America and the
Caribbean, accepts a plaque on OCLC���s behalf from Jan Barnhart ( left),
FORO copresident. The plaque recognized OCLC’s support of the X
Transborder Library Forum March 23– 25 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
FORO, the Transborder Library Forum, provides a venue for the cooperative
exchange of ideas concerning library services in the border regions of the
U. S., Mexico and Canada.
• • •
Plaque presented to OCLC
photo provided by FORO
Serbo- Croatian ( Roman) 1,362
Greek 1,525
Korean 1,749
Vietnamese 1,771
Danish 1,844
Norwegian 1,862
Afrikaans 2,144
Hebrew 2,889
Swedish 2,905
Czech 2,952
Arabic 3,647
Polish 6,016
Dutch 6,864
Latin 8,007
Portuguese 9,908
Multilingual 14,881
Chinese 16,858
Japanese 24,705
Unknown* 25,471
Russian 26,484
Italian 36,787
Spanish 100,356
German 106,803
French 113,856
All other
languages 521,646
English
7,656,056
M E M B E R S H I P N E W S
OCLC Newsletter March/ April 2000 17
* Unknowns come from two types of Bibliographic
Items:
· und: Undetermined is used if the language
associated with an item cannot be determined.
This code is also used for works having textual
content consisting of arbitrary syllables,
humming or other human- produced sounds for
which a language cannot be specified.
· n/ a: Not applicable is used in place of a
language code when the item has no sung,
spoken or written textual content ( e. g.
instrumental or electronic music; sound
recordings consisting of nonverbal sounds;
audiovisual materials with no narration,
printed titles, or subtitles; machine- readable
data files consisting of machine languages or
character codes). Entered in OCLC records,
converted from 3 blanks.
Also, codes for sign language have only
recently been assigned, so older works showing a
pictorial representation of sign language may fall
into these categories.
• • •
Top 25 languages of materials requested
on the OCLC ILL service during 1999
While most materials requested through the OCLC Interlibrary Loan
service are in English, requests for non- English materials are
steadily growing.
R E S E A R C H
18 OCLC Newsletter March/ April 2000
Bringing Chinese cataloging records up to date
by Rick Bennett
In the United States, most libraries use a system
developed in the last part of the 19th century to
represent Chinese characters with Roman letters
in catalog records. This system of Romanization,
known as Wade- Giles, has been widely used in
English- speaking and some other countries
throughout most of the 20th century.
Over the last several decades, the Pinyin
system has become the most recognized Chinese
Romanization system. It was developed in the
1950s in the People’s Republic of China and is
widely taught there. In the United States, federal
agencies, the news media and scholarly
communities have used the Pinyin system for
many years. Competing systems are used around
the world, but none of these earlier systems has
achieved international dominance.
In 1980, the Library of Congress considered a
conversion to the Pinyin system but decided
against it due to technical difficulties and
resistance from the library community. Recently,
the National Library of Australia completed a
transition from Wade- Giles to Pinyin for their
catalog. With the improved technology available
and the successful Australian conversion project,
the Library of Congress announced in 1997 that
they would begin conversion to Pinyin.
The newer Pinyin system will benefit end users
by making the Chinese terms more familiar.
Newspapers and most other sources currently
refer to “ Beijing” and “ Deng Xiaoping,” while
libraries still use the older forms “ Peking” and
“ Teng Hsaio- p’ing.” Pinyin is also widely known
among Chinese users. Because the vernacular is
not indexed, searching some records is difficult or
impossible. Pinyin records enable users to search
effectively for Chinese language materials. Search
results will be more selective because Pinyin uses
fewer diacritics, which are also not indexed.
However, neither the current Wade- Giles nor the
Pinyin systems used in cataloging contain the
additional tone marks needed for Chinese
speakers to easily understand the meaning of
Romanized phrases.
The new Pinyin cataloging standards are being
implemented by the Library of Congress to
maintain as much continuity as possible with the
existing Wade- Giles standards. Each Chinese
character represents a syllable, and these syllables
are separated for easy identification for most
cases. Only multisyllable personal and place
names will be joined. Hyphens, currently used
with Wade- Giles, will no longer be needed.
Conversion of Records
The conversion process itself is relatively
straightforward, and software is being developed
to perform this conversion. The Chinese
language consists of over 400 syllables, and
conversion is primarily a direct substitution of the
Pinyin syllable for the Wade- Giles. The OCLC CJK
software features a similar algorithm that
performs this conversion for the convenience of
the catalogers who are more familiar with Pinyin
than Wade- Giles. Place names that are not in a
standard Wade- Giles form will be changed by a
combination of substitution and a few additional
cataloging rules.
The Library of Congress has contracted with
the Research Libraries Group to convert Chinese
language bibliographic records created by the
library. OCLC will be doing the automated
conversion of the Chinese Name Authority
records and returning those to the Library of
Congress for distribution.
Issues for Record Conversion
A cleanly cataloged Chinese record that is
completely in Wade- Giles is relatively easy to
convert. Even though conversion is a
conceptually simple process, there are several
issues that are being investigated in the OCLC
Office of Research. Resolution of these issues will
lead to supporting a high- quality conversion
while minimizing manual review.
R E S E A R C H
OCLC Newsletter March/ April 2000 19
Some of the issues being investigated are:
· Catalogers of many records have already added
Pinyin variants of key parts of the record for
the convenience of the end user. Since Wade-
Giles and Pinyin syllables are frequently the
same, this can lead to incorrect double
conversions. Even common typing errors can
cause a problem of partial or incomplete
conversion. Ways are being developed to
compensate for some of the common, simple
occurrences of these difficulties to minimize
manual review.
· Many non- Chinese records have Wade- Giles
fields that should be converted for the overall
quality of the database. Complete conversion
of entire records with only some Wade- Giles
would be likely to introduce errors, so ways of
identifying non- Chinese coded records that
have potentially convertible Wade- Giles and the
fields that are safe to convert in those records
are being investigated. For example, it may be
safe to convert certain title fields in records
coded as having Chinese as a secondary
language, such as:
Hong Kong 1991 population census. ‡ p
Basic tables for district board districts =
‡ b I chiu chiu i nien jen k‘ ou p‘ u ch‘ a yo
kuan ko ch‘ ü i hui fen ch‘ ü ti chi pen
t‘ ung chi piao.
· Chinese Name Authority Records do not
have a language code and must be identified
for conversion.
· Some fields, particularly personal names that
appear to be in Wade- Giles form, will be an
“ established” form due to common or non-
Chinese usage. An author may simply be of
Chinese descent with a Wade- Giles form name,
but the name may not be written in Chinese.
These names will need to be identified and
protected from changing. Conversion of the
Name Authority Records first will allow these
to be identified before conversion.
· Fields controlled by authorities will need to be
identified and converted. For example, Library
of Congress has already changed the
authorities and their records for geographic
terms. In WorldCat there are 900 uses of the
old “ Hunan Province ( China)” ( 99 of these are
not in Chinese records) and only 71 uses of the
new version “ Hunan Sheng ( China)” ( 21 of
these are not in Chinese records).
Conversion Plans
As currently planned, all new cataloging should
be in Wade- Giles until the transition, planned for
Oct. 1. After that day, all cataloging should be in
Pinyin. This cutoff date will allow the
identification of records that require conversion,
thus minimizing the possibility of errors. The
existing Chinese records in WorldCat will be
automatically changed shortly after that date,
followed by a process of identifying and updating
non- Chinese coded records that have Wade- Giles,
which should be converted. Temporary markers
will be placed in converted records to indicate
their conversion status.
WorldCat has over 750,000 Chinese records
that will require conversion. The Name Authority
File has approximately 160,000 authority records
that will require conversion as well. The extent
and scope of changes to non- Chinese records is
still under investigation.
The OCLC Authority Control services will be
changed to perform the bibliographic record
conversion, and it is planned that libraries will be
able to submit their records for conversion as
well. More information about the scope and
schedule of the conversion project can be found
on the Library of Congress Web site at
< http:// lcweb. loc. gov/ catdir/ pinyin/
pinyin. html>.�� Rick Bennett is consulting
systems analyst, OCLC Office of Research.
• • •
R E S E A R C H
20 OCLC Newsletter March/ April 2000
Marketing and strategic planning processes enhance
libraries’ abilities to control their futures
by Chandra Prabha and Bob Bolander
“ Information explosion,”“ electronic library,”
“ virtual library,”“ e- books” … as these phrases
suggest, technology- driven change surrounds the
library profession. More obvious, perhaps, are
actual changes in our workplaces and daily
activities. We use e- mail almost as much as the
telephone. Library users check out materials
electronically. Librarians negotiate electronic-access
contracts for an increasing number of
reference sources and scholarly journals instead
of buying them outright. And it seems as though
there are never enough public- access
workstations to meet the demand for
Internet resources.
Upon closer inspection many of these
changes merely represent new methods for
performing traditional activities, rather than
entirely new functions for libraries. Librarians
have been checking out materials, entering into
contracts with book and serial vendors, and
ordering from publishers for quite some time.
Only recently, however, have these activities been
conducted electronically.
For some, the newer approaches appear to
involve more complexity as well as greater speed
and efficiency. As an example, consider the
problem of user authentification arising from
electronic publications and the business model
that has developed around them. While the
development of online publications offers the
opportunity for greatly enhanced access, it also
creates substantial new problems of regulating
that access.
Times of rapid change produce anxieties about
the future. Such worries are linked with
concerns about our abilities to fulfill our missions
successfully in the face of changing
environments. Enhancing our sense of concern is
the ongoing debate in the profession about the
future of libraries— whether they will continue to
exist and in what form. At times the discussion
seems to be polarized between those who see
libraries being displaced by other access
providers, and those who believe there always
will be a need for some aspect of librarianship
they view as crucial. One wonders whether
library leaders and managers will be able to forge
new initiatives in the face of marginalizing forces,
and whether libraries can continue to play a vital
role as the “ information commons�� of our society.
Fortunately there is much material in the
library management literature about how to face
such challenges. Strategic- planning and
marketing processes provide major tools for
organizations determined to chart their own
courses successfully into the future. We can find
examples of libraries that have used strategic
planning, long- range planning, environmental
scanning, scenario building and other specific
techniques and approaches.
Many presentations of these processes have a
common theme: focus on constituencies first,
then shape the organization and its activities to
meet their needs. This emphasis on
understanding the needs of constituents is not
entirely new to the professional library literature.
The community analysis emphases of past years,
especially in public libraries, were not altogether
different from the notions and activities involved
in today’s discussions of marketing. In both cases
In the face of continuing technological, social,
political and economic changes, libraries are
using increasingly sophisticated techniques to
pursue their missions. As they do so, they have
the opportunity to chart a more stable future by
developing a better understanding of the
constituencies they serve, and by designing their
Chandra Prabha activities to meet the needs of these groups. Bob Bolander
R E S E A R C H
OCLC Newsletter March/ April 2000 21
the emphasis is on populations to be served—
who they are, what their needs are and how the
library might best serve those needs.
The library’s constituencies— its
stakeholders— represent its most important
resource. No library can survive without the
support of those it serves, be they taxpayers,
clients, customers or any other group. Such
constituencies represent not only demand for
services, but also sources of support in the
community, the marketplace and the polls.
Strong constituent relations enhance an
organization’s stability, funding, voluntary
support, strategic information, contacts and
public image. They also provide a source of key
feedback on organizational effectiveness and new
ideas for providing services.
In Future- Driven Library Marketing ( 1998), a
publication of the American Library Association,
Darlene Weigand starts with the fundamentals of
marketing and instructs the reader how to
develop a vision of a preferred library future.
Along the way, she describes a methodology for
enhancing the likelihood that the library’s real
future comes to resemble the one it envisions.
Her contribution is unique in that she takes many
methods in vogue— visioning, systems analysis,
scenario building, decision trees and delphi
methods— and discusses them as mechanisms for
making libraries vital to those they purport to
serve. Theory and practice are elegantly woven
together in the library parlance.
Bonnie Nardi and Vicki O’Day develop the new
metaphor of information ecology to highlight the
characteristic ways organizations use information
and technology. This perspective can also help
librarians articulate the library’s role in the digital
age. These authors define information ecology as
a “ system of people, practices, values and
technologies in a particular local environment.”
A library has its own information ecology, but it
also plays a key role in the larger information
ecology of the community it serves.
Based on their field research, these authors
regard librarians as a keystone species in the
information ecologies of their communities. As
such they play important roles in mediating the
supply of information available to their
constituencies, and facilitating access to it. These
activities often remain largely invisible to, or
taken for granted by, the larger community. If the
library’s understanding of its community is
incomplete, however, it will be in a poor position
to provide for the information needs of that
community. In such situations the increasing
availability of technologically mediated
alternatives will be even more attractive to
potential users.
The current environment of rapid change
presents many opportunities for the future. It is a
good time for libraries to evaluate the ways in
which they use information, and how they relate
to constituencies, both internal and external.
Libraries need successful strategies for
determining their most important opportunities,
identifying how to make the most of them, and
developing activities that meet those goals. One
process for doing this involves gathering
pertinent information about the external
environment, then developing internal
mechanisms for acting on that information to
develop or enhance programs and services.
Along the way, the library’s position is
strengthened by having its base of support
broadened and its value recognized by a larger
group of people than before.
In this time of change and turbulence, the
initiatives taken by library leaders and managers
to position and promote library goals and
activities are critical. Effective marketing
activities help organizations to assess themselves
and their constituencies— their communities
— and to match organizational resources and
capabilities with community need. From this
perspective, marketing can be seen as linking
the organization with its environment in
mutually beneficial endeavors. Just as libraries
have professional budget officers, system
engineers and public relations officers ( to name
a few examples), in the coming years marketing
staff can play an important role in operating a
library successfully.
We recently have seen a number of postings
for library marketing positions. This encouraging
trend suggests that libraries are concerned about
their relationships with external constituencies,
that they are investing in professional leadership
in this area and are poised to strengthen their
niche in their local information ecologies.
— Chandra Prabha is research scientist, and
Bob Bolander is research assistant, OCLC Office
of Research.
• • •
PLATFORM FOR THE FUTURE
22 OCLC Newsletter March/ April 2000
OCLC systems run on state- of- the- art platforms
by Dan McIver, Tom Storey and
George Promenschenkel
Together, libraries and OCLC have built a
comprehensive online system for cataloging,
resource sharing and reference services that has
saved libraries millions of dollars through
increased productivity and reduced duplication of
effort. At the heart of this system is OCLC’s three-story,
44,000- square- foot facility that houses the
system’s computers. Over the years, OCLC has
continually updated both the support structure
for the computer systems and the computers
themselves. New computing and storage
technologies have enabled OCLC to add features
and capabilities to help libraries manage their
collections and streamline the flow of materials
from the publisher to the library to the user. As
technology changes, the computer room changes
along with it.
Deep in the Heart of OCLC
The OCLC computer center is the engine room
for OCLC’s services, powering the online system
for more than 36,000 libraries worldwide. A
unique configuration of several different kinds of
computers linked by cable forms the aggregate
system, maximizing cost- effectiveness.
To protect the multi- million- dollar investment
in equipment and to maintain system availability,
the computer facility is located in the center of
the Kilgour building and is designed to withstand
blackouts and most weather- related problems.
Each floor has an independent fire detection and
suppression system. Power can be supplied in an
emergency by the Uninterruptible Power System
( UPS). The UPS consists of some 40 batteries,
located in the building’s basement, that will kick
in instantly to run the online system until the
building’s diesel generators reach full power. The
four diesel generators come up to speed in about
10 seconds and can produce up to three
megawatts of power to keep the online system
running even when the lights go out. OCLC is
currently upgrading the entire electrical system
for the building.
When the Kilgour Building was designed over
20 years ago, the needs of the computers were
one of the main concerns. The computer facility
was built to reclaim heat produced by the Sigma
9 computers and use it to help heat the rest of the
building. New computers produce much less
P L ATFORM F O R T H E F U T U R E
OCLC Newsletter March/ April 2000 23
excess heat, however, and the building’s heating
system has had to be upgraded to compensate.
The facility was stacked— three nearly identical
rooms, one on top of another— to minimize the
distance between the computers. In the late 70s,
all of the cables that linked the computers were
made of copper. While copper is a fine
conductor, signals passing through copper cables
take some time to get from one end to the other.
In a large computer operation, this time can add
up and slow overall performance, so the length of
cables becomes important. In a stacked
configuration, cabling can run between floors and
shorten the distance between computers that a
one- floor layout would necessitate. The cable
limitations also necessitated that the catalog card
printers be located in the computer facility.
Today, nearly all of the cables in the computer
facility are fiber optic, and signals pass through
them at the speed of light; so the distance
between computers is no longer as important.
The card printers are now located on the lower
level of the building. Not only are fiber optic
cables faster for communications, they are also
smaller and much lighter than their predecessors.
Doing More with Less ( Space)
Less than 12 years ago, the computer hardware
supporting the OCLC cataloging and resource
sharing systems filled two and one- half floors of
the OCLC computer room, with communications
equipment taking up much of the remaining
space. Today, the computer facility looks much
different. The cataloging and resource sharing
systems now occupy a space about the size of an
average living room. Reference services and the
disk drives containing the databases fill up about
half of one floor. One floor is used for little other
than storage but is available for future uses.
The drastic change is due to the incredible
size reduction in computers that has occurred
even as those same computers became faster and
more powerful. All in all, there is a lot more
bang these days for the physical space, or
footprint, that the computers occupy. The new
machines are faster, and the drives store much
more data, more efficiently. They are also much
less expensive than OCLC’s first computers were.
The array of computers of the online system
is controlled and managed from the Master
Console area. Technicians have special terminals
that monitor system usage and performance,
and they can run certain diagnostic and
recovery procedures should the system
experience any problems.
The cataloging and resource sharing system is
based on two Tandem Himalaya computers that
consist of 16 processors and 335 gigabytes of disk
storage. A redundant architecture that is fault-tolerant
with all critical components mirrored
protects the system against a single point of
failure. Available 24 hours a day ( except for an
hour on Thursdays and 10 hours on Sunday), the
system operates 99.8 percent of its scheduled
hours and can easily handle 4,000 simultaneous
users and process 125 transactions per second.
Last year, using the system, libraries cataloged
57.7 million items, arranged 8.2 million
interlibrary loans, and conducted more than 100
million online searches. Response time averaged
between 0.3– 0.5 seconds.
Four diesel generators,
located in the Kilgour
Building’s basement,
can come up to speed
in about 10 seconds
and produce up to three
megawatts of power.
The generators are
usually operated in pairs,
and either pair can
power OCLC’s online
computer systems.
Power can be supplied
in an emergency by the
Uninterruptible Power
System ( UPS). The UPS
consists of some 40
batteries, located in the
building’s basement,
that will kick in instantly
to run the online system
until the building’s
diesel generators
reach full power.
The OCLC FirstSearch service, an online
reference system for librarians and library users that
provides access to more than 80 databases, runs on
two IBM 9672 mainframe enterprise servers with
five processors and approximately three terabytes
of disk storage ( a terabyte is equivalent to roughly
400 million typed pages). The system is available 24
hours a day ( except for four hours on Sundays) and
operates 99.8 percent of its scheduled hours. More
than 1,000 users can be supported simultaneously.
Last year, users performed 62 million searches and
displayed approximately 5 million full- text
documents using FirstSearch. The new FirstSearch
uses several IBM RS6000 large- scale servers in a
UNIX environment.
Backing up the software and nearly five terabytes
of online databases for cataloging, resource sharing
and reference services are 10 robotic tape libraries.
Each of the 10 units holds 5,700 cartridges that can
be selected, mounted and dismounted at the rate of
3,500 exchanges per hour. And each unit has a
capacity of storing 96 terabytes of data.
With the growing capacity of tape cartridges,
OCLC recently began using a “ Virtual Tape System.”
Previously, files that could not fill a cartridge
resulted in unused space on a tape. The virtual tape
system sends these small files to a disk buffer where
they are collected. Once the disk buffer reaches a
predefined threshold, the system copies the
collection to a real tape cartridge. Since OCLC
began using this system, about 16,000 virtual tapes
have been stacked on 150 real tapes in the silos, a
savings of 15,850 tape cartridges.
A potential new use of the silos is “ near- line”
access to full- text and image data. While the tape
silos are not as fast as online access, they do provide
an acceptable seek- and- retrieve time for resources
that are not constantly accessed. The advantage of
using the tape silos in this application rather than
disk storage is lower storage cost. Currently the
silos are used to back up everything from the
FirstSearch and cataloging databases to the
workstation files of OCLC staff.
Keeping Everything Safe
With nearly 30 years of work invested in it by
member libraries and OCLC, WorldCat is a
priceless asset. For that reason, its security is a
primary concern. Every transaction in WorldCat
is journalized to a separate file, and that file is
copied off to tape nightly. More than a copy of
“ new” records, the journal includes before and
after images of any changed records, deleted
records or additional records taken at the time of
the transaction.
24 OCLC Newsletter March/ April 2000
The computers are not the only
things that have become smaller in
the computer room; the cables that
connect the computers and other
equipment have become much
smaller and faster. Felicia
Simpson- Ogden, operations coordinator, OCLC, holds a section of the old copper-based
cable and the new fiber optic cable. Along with being smaller in diameter, the
new cable is substantially lighter in weight.
Card production
peaked at 131 million
cards in 1985, and has
dropped steadily since
then due to the
proliferation of local
library systems and
online public access
catalogs. In the
1998/ 99 fiscal year,
OCLC produced 12.3
million catalog cards.
The cataloging and
resource sharing
system is based on
two Tandem Himalaya
computers, which
consist of 16
processors and
335 gigabytes of
disk storage.
P L ATFORM F O R T H E F U T U R E
P L ATFORM F O R T H E F U T U R E
OCLC Newsletter March/ April 2000 25
OCLC makes a complete
backup of the entire system ( not
just new activity) twice a week—
a disk copy each Thursday
morning and both a disk and tape
copy on Sundays.
A tape backup is also regularly
sent to an underground storage
site outside the state.
OCLC’s precautions to keep its
systems available go even further.
If a disaster strikes the Kilgour
Building, OCLC’s systems could
be available again in about 48
hours from a site in Philadelphia.
In addition to physical threats,
OCLC also has to consider online
threats. As OCLC’s hardware has
changed over the years, so has
the aspect of data integrity and
computer security. OCLC has
migrated from a closed proprietary
communications protocol to the fully open
Internet community with e- mail, Web, file-transfer
and Telnet access. Computer security
has had to keep pace with these changes, as
OCLC went from a low exposure to a higher
risk environment where data and application
services could be threatened.
OCLC has adapted to these new concerns
by adopting standard and custom security
practices. Current information and security
issues are monitored to assess the impact upon
OCLC resources. Computer security awareness
has been heightened and is incorporated into
the OCLC network infrastructure, as well as the
application computer systems
themselves. E- mail is scanned
for hidden viruses, and OCLC
strives to be an Internet “ good
neighbor,” which involves trying
to prevent potentially disruptive
behavior ( e. g., the sending of e-mail
viruses, control of routing
information, preventing the
origin of denial- of- service
attacks, etc.).
Computer security risks are
constantly changing, and OCLC
actively works to detect these
risks and prevent any
interruption of service.
As technology changes,
OCLC’s computer facility will
The new FirstSearch uses several IBM RS6000 large- scale servers
in a UNIX environment. The numbers on the wall are used like
latitude and longitude by Operations staff to help chart the location
of equipment and cabling.
OCLC’s 10 robotic tape
silos are just one of the
places that backups of
databases are kept. Each
silo contains up to 5,700
tape cartridges capable of
storing a total of 96
terabytes of information.
OCLC Operations staff monitor
OCLC’s online systems from
the Operations Center. They
are on hand to perform
backups, installs and
maintenance, as well as handle
any problems that may arise.
The computer room is staffed
24 hours a day, 365 days a
year. Staff includes ( left to
right) Sharon Cowans, team
leader; Felicia Simpson- Ogden,
operations coordinator; Lonny
Sivey, consulting systems
analyst; and Peggy Lathouse,
lead operator.
P L ATFORM F O R T H E F U T U R E
26 OCLC Newsletter March/ April 2000
continue to change along with it. In the digital
age, this system is helping libraries bring their
skills in collecting, organizing, accessing and
preserving to electronic resources, as libraries
become the center of the information landscape,
blending the world of print with the digital
world.— Dan McIver is freelance writer;
Tom Storey is editor, OCLC Communications;
and George Promenschenkel is senior
marketing/ public relations writer,
OCLC Communications.
• • •
OCLC’s primary local link to network providers is through
Ameritech’s SONET ring, a fiber- optic backbone that
provides 622 megabytes- per- second communications
( MBPS). This ring actually passes through the Kilgour
Building, entering from one side and exiting the other, and
links OCLC to several major service providers and the
Internet. The incoming and outgoing “ pipes” link with
separate Ameritech offices and can reverse automatically.
If a backhoe, for example, should accidentally severe the
link on one side, the connected side would form a virtual
loop through OCLC with incoming and outgoing traffic
sharing the same pipe. The redundant properties of this
link help ensure that OCLC’s communications lines will
remain available through nearly any scenario.
OCLC maintains links to several major Internet service
providers to provide alternate routes for data traffic and to
lower the number of peering points between libraries and
OCLC’s online services. This diversity of routing also helps
ensure that communications stay up and running.
OCLC’s communications links include:
OCLC local access:
· OC12 ( 622 MBPS) connection on Ameritech’s
SONET ring
Current Internet connectivity
· 15 MBPS link to SprintLink
· 7 T1 links to Cable & Wireless provide 10 MBPS total
· a 512 kilobyte- per- second ( KBPS) link to Digital Island,
an alternative to the Internet primarily for international
access
· 256 KBPS link to JANET for international connectivity
( supported by a 384 KBPS Compuserve Frame Relay link
between OCLC Dublin and the OCLC Europe, the Middle
East & Africa office in Birmingham, England)
Planned upgrades
· 15 MBPS link with UUnet
• • •
Sprint Dedicated
TCP/ IP Frame
Internet
Sprint 800 Service
SprintLinK Cable & UUnet JANET
Wireless
Digital
Island
OCLC
Ameritech
Worthington
Office
Ameritech
Columbus
Office
OCLC Europe, the
Middle East
& Africa
OCLC/ Ameritech
OC12 SONET Ring
Redundancy and diversity help eliminate single points of
communications failure at OCLC
P R O D U C T N E W S
OCLC Newsletter March/ April 2000 27
OCLC/ WLN collection services now provide
comparisons with outstanding academic titles
and titles reviewed in Booklist
The OCLC/ WLN Automated Collection
Assessment and Analysis Services ( ACAS) now
provides comparisons of libraries’ bibliographic
records with the list of Outstanding Academic
Titles ( OAT) from Choice magazine and titles
reviewed in Booklist review journal.
OCLC/ WLN has added these services for
college, public and school libraries to its
comparison with Books for College Libraries, 3rd
edition. As with BCL3 comparisons, OCLC/ WLN
can use libraries’ WorldCat or local system
records for the comparison.
“ We are very pleased to be associated with
OCLC/ WLN in presenting this new technology to
aid librarians in their work,” said Bill Ott, Booklist
publisher and editor. “ Booklist magazine has
always played an important role in helping
librarians with collection development as well as
readers’ advisory services; now we have the
technology at hand to help librarians perform
these tasks more efficiently than ever.”
Irving E. Rockwood, editor and publisher of
Choice magazine, said: “ The Outstanding
Academic Titles list is easily the most popular
feature we produce here at Choice. We are
delighted that OCLC/ WLN has chosen to make
this new service available, and we hope that it
will prove valuable.”
OCLC/ WLN’s comparisons with recommended
lists are available for individual libraries and
groups. The library or group receives a list of the
titles on the recommended list that it does not
own ( the miss list). The list is composed of
bibliographic records organized in WLN
Conspectus order. OCLC/ WLN also provides lists
of matching titles, with brief bibliographical
information from the OAT or Booklist file and the
library’s file, and a statistical summary of matches
and misses by WLN Conspectus divisions,
categories and subjects.
More information on OCLC/ WLN Automated
Collection Assessment and Analysis Services is
available at < http:// www. wln. org/>.
OCLC and WLN merged on Jan. 1, 1999, and
WLN became the OCLC/ WLN Pacific Northwest
Service Center.
• • •
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