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RLG to combine with OCLC

After thoughtful consideration and thorough review, the Board of Directors of the Research Libraries Group and the OCLC Board of Trustees have signed a definitive agreement that recommends the two service and research organizations be brought together.

The combined organization will retain the name OCLC and offer an integrated product line to give libraries, archives and museums new leverage in developing services, standards and software that will help them support research and disseminate knowledge online. In addition, RLG’s program initiatives will be brought forward as a new division within OCLC Research.

RLG will now ask its membership to approve the agreement. Voting will begin in mid-May and conclude June 7.

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Digital divide shrinking

The digital divide is narrowing as citizens in emerging markets get online via computers and mobile phones, with some regions now on a par with developed nations

According to a study conducted by IBM and The Economist magazine, although the digital divide remains considerable for some countries, the gaps are shrinking. The study assessed both availability and use of technology in 68 countries and assigned each an “e-readiness” score on a scale of 1 to 10. The study noted that nearly every country's score improved from last year but that countries nearer the bottom of the list saw greater gains than those in the upper tiers, indicating a shrinking digital divide overall. Beyond the issue of connectivity lies the question of what efforts each country makes to use technology.

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LITA names Ching-chih Chen winner of the 2006 Kilgour Award

A Professor in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Simmons College, Dr. Chen’s research has led to significant achievements in the areas of global digital libraries, multimedia technology, digital imaging, interactive videodisc technology, global information infrastructure and information management, according to Qiang Jin, chair of the award committee.

The award was established to honor the achievements of Frederick G. Kilgour, the founder of OCLC and a seminal figure in library automation, and is given to a person who has amassed a significant body of research in the field of library and information technology.

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Ching-chih Chen

OCLC welcomes these new member libraries

Princeton Public Library
Location: Princeton, Indiana, USA
OCLC Symbol: INPPL
OCLC Network: INCOLSA

Mutah University
Location: Karak, Jordan
OCLC Symbol: JOMUT
OCLC Network: OCLC Middle East and India

Champaign Community Unit School District #4
Location: Champaign, Illinois, USA
OCLC Symbol: ILBOT
OCLC Network: ILLINET

Membership guidelines

WorldCat update

WorldCat is the world’s most comprehensive bibliographic database. Updated at a rate of nearly one new record every 10 seconds, WorldCat contains more than 68 million bibliographic records and 1 billion holdings contributed by more than 9,000 libraries around the world. The Open WorldCat program makes the items in library collections—physical and digital, popular or special—discoverable by people searching the Internet.

See the latest WorldCat record

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