OCLC to convert Newberry Library holdings
for worldwide sharing

The Newberry Library, an independent research library in Chicago devoted to the humanities, has contracted with OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. for the retrospective conversion of approximately 725,000 of the library’s records. Over the course of the next three years, OCLC will create MARC records for each title and enter the Newberry Library’s holdings in WorldCat, the world’s largest bibliographic database.

The contract was signed in January and is scheduled to be completed by December 2006.

The Newberry Library holdings span the history and culture of Western Europe from the Middle Ages to the mid-20th century, and the Americas from the time of first contact between Europeans and Native Americans. The extensive collections include 1.5 million printed works, 5 million manuscript pages and 300,000 historic maps.

The Newberry Library has contributed to WorldCat since 1978, adding some 175,000 records to the database. The Newberry contributes original records to WorldCat for 30 percent of the titles it catalogs annually.

“We're privileged to have the opportunity to work with a renowned library such as the Newberry,” said Phyllis B. Spies, Vice President, OCLC Collection Management Services. “This conversion project will promote these remarkable collections to students, researchers and scholars around the world.”

The Newberry Library made the decision to complete the conversion of their records as part of a strategic five-year plan.

“This conversion project not only provides unprecedented access to the Library's catalog, it paves the way for future planning including digitization and collection development,” said Charles Cullen, President and Librarian, Newberry Library. “The conversion of our card-form catalog records is fundamental to our strategic plan, and we are extremely pleased that we will be able to address that goal in a timely and efficient manner.”

Since 1976, OCLC Conversion Services staff have converted millions of records in a variety of languages for thousands of libraries worldwide.