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CONTENTdm offers total solution for digital content management

The latest release of CONTENTdm, the leading digital collection management software in libraries and other cultural heritage institutions, offers innovative new features that improve and simplify every aspect of digital collection development, management and delivery. Newest features include:

Fast multiple document entry.
Increased security for items and collections to better protect copyrighted or other restricted materials.
Detailed reports that show how online items and collections are being used.
Additional digital repository features.
Linking to WorldCat for worldwide visibility of digital collections.

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Public library use soars in the U.K.!

A new report published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy shows a record rise in public library usage across the United Kingdom.

In 2003/04, visits to public libraries increased by nearly 14 million, more than 250,000 extra visits a week from the previous year. This is the second consecutive annual rise and builds on an additional 5 million visits made in 2002/03—the first upturn in usage since the early 1990s.

The sea change in popularity coincides with the introduction of computers and Internet access into all 4,200 of the U.K.’s public libraries. Thanks to the lottery-funded People’s Network project, there are 32,000 computer terminals offering broadband Internet access in public libraries, and all library staff have been trained to provide help and advice for users.

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OCLC Members Council takes a closer look at global library landscape

Ernie Ingles (OCLC Canada) was elected Vice President/President-elect, the first delegate from outside the U.S. selected for that office.

OCLC Members Council met May 15–17 in Dublin, Ohio, to discuss efforts to extend the cooperative worldwide, provide services that will help libraries thrive in a Web culture, and ensure that delegates continue to focus on global initiatives in the coming years by electing, for the first time, council leadership from outside the United States.

View the full report

OCLC welcomes these new member libraries

City University, School of Informatics
Location: London, England, United Kingdom
OCLC Symbol: UKCUL
OCLC Network: OCLC PICA

Gemini Junior High School
Location: Niles, Illinois, USA
OCLC Symbol: ILGJH
OCLC Network: ILLINET

Elm School
Location:Burr Ridge, Illinois, USA
OCLC Symbol: ILESC
OCLC Network: ILLINET

Membership guidelines and protocols

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 60 million bibliographic records and holdings information contributed by more than 8,600 libraries around the world. The new 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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OCLC Abstracts uses the Internet to deliver timely information about OCLC services, programs, news and events directly to subscribers’ desktops. This e-journal augments and complements OCLC’s Web site and print communications.