OCLC Members Council discusses innovation in libraries, governance of the worldwide cooperative

OCLC Members Council met February 10–12 in Dublin, Ohio, to explore innovative ideas for new services, opportunities that global members and cultural heritage institutions bring to the collaborative, and discuss new possibilities for governance of the world’s largest library cooperative. Under the leadership of OCLC Members Council President Sandy Yee, Dean of Libraries, Wayne State University (MLC), Council heard from a variety of speakers in plenary sessions offering ideas in library and information science innovation, and met in small groups to discuss ideas and topics of particular interest to delegates.

Library design in the Information Age

Joe Branin, University Librarian, The Ohio State University, opened the General Session with a brief virtual tour of The Ohio State University Main Library, which is in the ninth year of a 10-year, $109 million renovation project. Mr. Branin’s presentation was held at the Ohio Historical Society in nearby Columbus.

The original William Oxley Thompson Memorial (Main) Library building, located at the center of the Ohio State campus, was completed in 1913. Several additions were constructed between then and the late 1970s. Following a task force and feasibility study from 1998–2002, design work and construction began on a new main library that is specifically designed to update and restore some of the original architecture, to accommodate the changing nature of print collection management and the growing importance of “learning space” in libraries.

Mr. Branin said designing library space today poses explicit and tacit challenges—financial challenges, architectural challenges, changing information technology, multiple constituents with different perceptions of what the library should be, and new learning and research patterns were all considered during the project. Leaders of the renovation project held open meetings, led focus groups, conducted surveys, maintained a Web site where suggestions were encouraged and observed faculty and student behaviors, all in an effort to make the right decisions for the project.

He noted that storage and delivery options for library materials played a key role in the project. “We found that you don’t have to keep all of your print material on prime real estate,” said Mr. Branin. “More and more of our students and faculty are getting used to having the books come to them, and them not having to go to the books. If storage is going to work, you have to have good document delivery.”

The renovation project resulted in programmatic reorganizations in the library, which included placing greater emphasis on content management, learning and outreach; consolidation of collections and service points; more collaboration with other libraries; public space that is varied, flexible and information technology-rich; and creating “learning space” that allows for social interaction. “Our real goal is to bring together students, faculty, librarians and library materials,” said Mr. Branin.

He noted that a recent study by the Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers reveals that more than half the students surveyed ranked the condition of a university’s libraries near the top of their list of reasons for choosing a college.

“I think it’s a wise investment—it’s a big investment. No matter how the technology changes for the way we gather information, I think people will always want to come together in a beautiful space. I think these great buildings will remain vital forever.”

The newly renovated library is scheduled to open in 2009.

Defining a 21st century library for faculty and graduate student research

Carol Mandel, Dean of Libraries, New York University, discussed findings of a study focused on defining a library research environment in her presentation, “Defining a 21st Century Library for Faculty and Graduate Student Research.” The study was conducted with the assistance of Katzenbach Partners, LLC (KPL) in 2006.

Ms. Mandel said the NYU Libraries had completed a successful information commons renovation recently where they focused on group study rooms, different kinds of seating arrangements and other new learning spaces. She described those renovations as “wildly successful—it’s full of students all the time.” So she said she began to think about renovation of the rest of the Elmer Holmes Bobst Library building.

Ms. Mandel said she was confident she could tell what kind of environments works well with undergraduate students, but was unsure of what would work best for faculty and graduate students.

Interviews with faculty members and focus groups with graduate students provided the major source of data for the study, and a number of core issues surfaced that scholars face as they engage in their research activities. Interviews determined that there is a great interest in the question of space for research, especially physical space and ways that the library can serve as a dynamic environment that contributes to intellectual and community life.

“We need places where faculty can interact intentionally because they have to have a meeting,” said Ms. Mandel. “But you also need the serendipity—so that you can bump into people. The issue of serendipity comes up a lot. We think of research as being really methodical, but great discoveries have that other creative component. That serendipity component is so important.”

In the new world of scholarly research, there are many ways to support and enable the diverse work of scholars, according to the KPL report. “At NYU, the changing story of scholarly work can be supported by improving spaces for work; enabling collaboration and connections across disparate disciplines; making the discovery process more powerful; expanding beyond traditional conceptions of the library; and creating more spaces and mechanisms for intellectual creativity and inspiration.”

“Of all the findings we made, the one that struck me the most was the issue of stimulation and inspiration,” said Ms. Mandel. “The research process requires a variety of inputs and stimulations that are not just about doggedly tracking something down, but what happens when you look up from that dogged tracking and talk to other people and get stimulated and just think creatively.”

“So what’s our responsibility for providing that kind of environment—both online and physically for you to have that? It is a responsibility of the research library to be a space for inspiration,” said Ms. Mandel.

The final report can be found at library.nyu.edu/about/KPLReport.pdf.

Redefining the possibilities at a school library

George Bishop, Director, Ovid-Elsie Area Schools Information Center, provided his vision of OCLC global resource sharing from the perspective of a small school library in rural Michigan.

Mr. Bishop described his school located in a rural farm community. It serves 900 students in grades 7–12 and district-wide about 1,900. More cows live on just one farm than live in the two villages served by the school district. Forty percent of students in the district live in poverty, and the school district has a print collection of about 25,000 titles. Today, the Ovid-Elsie Area Schools Information Center has a photocopy center with 24-hour turnaround and delivery to teachers, an FM radio station streamed on the Web 24/7, a TV studio, an ITV classroom, a computer lab, 30 wireless laptops, 52 wired desktops, 19 television monitors and wireless headsets for students. The Center has a library automation system, a security system, a self-checkout system, document delivery to the desktop, many subscription databases and a current budget exceeding $100,000.

“None of these things existed in 1991 before I was introduced to the power of OCLC,” said Mr. Bishop. “In 1991 my total budget was $4,000 and we were not an effective library, in my opinion. My small school library has changed significantly over the last 16 years because of OCLC.”

In 1991, the school library became part of an LSTA grant that provided Group Access Capability. They started a small retrospective conversion project and OCLC provided access to millions of items through WorldCat. “Suddenly, I had online access to the world,” said Mr. Bishop.

He said it was important to promote the benefits of using OCLC services to school staff, and soon the library became the most popular place in the school.

“My library soon became a credible source for all information,” said Mr. Bishop. “I really wasn’t prepared for the positive after-effects that were ahead. I thought I was simply offering OCLC ILL, but in small libraries with limited access it’s more than just ILL, it’s transformational. In the first year of implementing OCLC, my library had literally been transformed into a credible and important part of the school.”

Mr. Bishop encouraged OCLC to bring more libraries like his into the cooperative to achieve the kind of success his library has achieved. “Let us transform more libraries in the same way mine was transformed,” he said. “Let us create a bright future for all sizes of libraries by offering and promoting affordable OCLC resource sharing globally. Let us connect all the world’s libraries sustaining OCLC as the world’s preeminent library cooperative.”

The Members Council Executive Committee allowed time during the meeting for delegates to hear a variety of short presentations promoting innovative ideas, including:

• “Pumping Up Automated Cataloging,” by Migell Acosta, Head, ILS Operations, County of Los Angeles Public Library (OCLC Western)

• “Web Learning Integration and Community E-spaces for Libraries,” by Lynn Wiley, Head of Acquisitions and Coordinator for Technical Services, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Main Library (ILLINET)

• “Streamlining Mass Digitization for Archives Materials,” by Joshua Ranger, University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh (WILS)

OCLC President’s Report

Jay Jordan, OCLC President and CEO, provided an update on OCLC plans and activities. He talked about the continued consolidation among service providers in the library community, noting several high-profile mergers and acquisitions in the past two years.

Mr. Jordan noted some of OCLC’s recent mergers and acquisitions. He introduced Chris Zagar, now an OCLC consultant, whose EZproxy software was acquired by OCLC in January. EZproxy software allows libraries to manage access and authentication configurations through a proxy server so that library users do not have to make any configuration changes to their personal Web browsers.

“In pursuing acquisitions, we look for opportunities that are consistent with OCLC’s public purposes and that will lead to new or better services, to new markets or to lower costs for member libraries,” said Mr. Jordan. “Because of these mergers, we now have eight engineering centers in Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States that will augment our existing strong development capabilities.”

Mr. Jordan said the vast majority of OCLC participants are dot.edus or dot.orgs, and OCLC has many responsibilities among them to grapple with challenges of the Web.

“Our goals complement those of libraries and other knowledge institutions—to advance research and education, to organize and preserve knowledge, and pass it on to future generations,” said Mr. Jordan.

“Consistent with our public purposes, we will also pursue worthwhile projects for the benefit of libraries and their users through OCLC Programs and Research, WebJunction and advocacy.”

He said the governance issues that the OCLC Board of Trustees and Members Council are now addressing are extremely important to the long-term viability of OCLC.

Governance discussion

Marshall Keys, former delegate and network director, led Members Council in discussions about governance of the cooperative and conducted an informal poll on various issues related to recommendations of the OCLC Governance Study Committee. The OCLC Board of Trustees will consider that input as they determine whether or not to formulate and present resolutions to Members Council in May to make any changes in the OCLC Code of Regulations.

More information about OCLC governance can be found at www.oclc.org/us/en/membership/governance/.

In other matters:

• Rick Schwieterman, OCLC Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, provided an update on finances.

• Larry Alford, Vice Provost for Libraries and University Librarian, Temple University, and Chair of the OCLC Board of Trustees, presented an update on Board activities.

• Members Council delegates toured exhibits and the archives at The Ohio Historical Society, host site of the opening session. The Ohio Historical Society is a nonprofit organization incorporated in 1885 “to promote a knowledge of archaeology and history, especially in Ohio.” The society exists to interpret, preserve, collect and make available evidence of the past, and to provide leadership on furthering knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the prehistory and history of Ohio and of the broader cultural and natural environments of which Ohio is a part. More information is available at www.ohiohistory.org/.

The next OCLC Members Council meeting is May 18–20, 2008, in Dublin, Ohio.