OCLC News

Wednesday May 16, 2012

20 most recent items:

May 15, 2012. Project Compass National Convening offers opportunity for library staff to share best practices . Library staff members representing 45 states and the District of Columbia met in Washington, D.C., April 25–26, for the Project Compass National Convening, an opportunity for 215 participants in the project to share ideas in support of public libraries’ efforts to meet the urgent and growing needs of communities impacted by the economic downturn. <<more>>

April 20, 2012. OCLC Global Council elects Loretta Parham and Jennifer Younger to serve on the OCLC Board of Trustees . OCLC Global Council member delegates elected two librarians to serve on the OCLC Board of Trustees: Loretta Parham, CEO and Director of the Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library, and Jennifer Younger, Executive Director, Catholic Research Resources Alliance. Each will serve a four-year term beginning with the next OCLC Board meeting in November. <<more>>

April 18, 2012. OCLC Global and Regional Councils announce election results. Anne Prestamo, Oklahoma State University, University Libraries, has been elected Vice President/President-Elect of OCLC Global Council. Her term as Vice President will commence on July 1, 2012, followed by a one-year term as President of Global Council beginning July 1, 2013. Election results for OCLC’s three Regional Councils, Americas Regional Council, Europe, Middle East and Africa Regional Council, and Asia Pacific Regional Council, were also announced during the Global Council Meeting in Dublin, Ohio, April 16–18. A total of 48 delegates from 17 countries participated in the Global Council Annual Meeting, led by Berndt Dugall, President, OCLC Global Council, and Direktor/Librarian, Universität Frankfurt, Universitätsbibliothek Johann Senckenberg. ChewLeng Beh, OCLC Global Council Vice President/President-Elect, and Senior Director Library & Professional Services & Director of SILAS National Library Board Singapore, will begin his term as President of Global Council on July 1, 2012. <<more>>

April 18, 2012. Richard Wallis joins OCLC staff as Technology Evangelist. Richard Wallis, a consultant and distinguished thought leader in Semantic Web and Linked Data technology, has joined the OCLC staff as Technology Evangelist. He will be based in Birmingham, United Kingdom. <<more>>

April 5, 2012. Virtual International Authority File service transitions to OCLC. Virtual International Authority File, a project that virtually combines multiple name authority files into a single name authority service, has transitioned to become an OCLC service. OCLC will continue to make VIAF openly accessible and will also work to incorporate VIAF into various OCLC services. This transition from an interim, shared-governance arrangement to OCLC having primary responsibility for maintenance of VIAF and offering it as an OCLC service is done in agreement with institutions participating in VIAF. <<more>>

March 29, 2012. Gene Oliver promoted to Vice President, OCLC Global Systems and Information Technology . Gene Oliver has been promoted to Vice President, OCLC Global Systems and Information Technology. Mr. Oliver joined OCLC in 1984 as a Systems Analyst. In 28 years with OCLC, he has held progressively larger roles including various systems management, department management and director positions. <<more>>

March 22, 2012. OCLC opens new data center in Sydney, Australia. OCLC is now operating a new data center in Sydney, Australia, to support OCLC WorldShare Management Services for members in Australia and New Zealand. The Sydney center becomes the fourth data center in OCLC's global network. OCLC opened a data center in the United Kingdom in December and maintains its two primary operations data centers in the United States. The Sydney center employs state-of-the-art technologies to ensure high levels of performance, reliability, scalability and cost-effectiveness. Key facilities features include high performance Internet services with multiple service providers to ensure efficient routing, fully redundant heating and cooling systems, continuous power from multiple sources, and best of breed security controls and practices. In addition, the new center enables OCLC to comply with access and data privacy requirements in Australia and New Zealand and adhere to technical standards that promote the cost-effective, worldwide sharing of information across platforms, scripts, languages and cultural materials. OCLC recently obtained its ISO 27001 certification which bolsters the position of trust in OCLC-hosted solutions and will assure the security of member data. <<more>>

March 20, 2012. CIPE Italian University Consortium to add 11 million records to WorldCat . OCLC and the CIPE consortium, which comprises 11 university libraries in northern and central Italy, have signed an agreement to load CIPE library records into WorldCat to increase visibility of these Italian collections, and enrich the world’s largest resource for discovery of library materials. The CIPE consortium (Consorzio Interistituzionale per Progetti Elettronici – Interistitutional Consortium for Electronic Projects) was founded in 2007 with the objective to promote national and international cooperation, research, standardisation, training and development of services for the consortium members aimed at library innovation and efficiencies of scale. Participating in CIPE are the Universities of Bologna, Florence, Genoa, Modena and Reggio Emilia, Padua, Parma, Pisa, Sassari, Siena, Venice and the Polytechnic University of the Marche. <<more>>

March 13, 2012. San Juan Island Library, Union County Public Library among latest to join OCLC WorldShare Management Services community . San Juan Island Library, Friday Harbor, Washington, and Union County Public Library, North Carolina, have recently selected OCLC WorldShare Management Services as their Web-based cooperative library management solution. The San Juan Island Library plans to implement OCLC WorldShare Management Services by the end of 2012. Marjorie Harrison, Library Director, said the decision to select WorldShare Management Services was based on the seamless integration of the services and the potential to streamline processes and lower costs. <<more>>

March 1, 2012. OCLC and Bibliotheek.nl to include complete collections of Dutch public libraries in shared cataloguing system. OCLC and Bibliotheek.nl, the organisation of Dutch public libraries, have signed an agreement to include the complete collections of public libraries in the GGC, the Dutch shared cataloguing system. The agreement to include collections of Dutch public libraries, signed during the OCLC EMEA Regional Council Meeting in Birmingham, United Kingdom, will serve as a foundation for the new Dutch National Library Catalogue, and will make these collections visible through WorldCat.org. <<more>>

February 29, 2012. OCLC earns ISO Information Security Management Certification. OCLC has achieved ISO certification for information security management, recognition that provides several benefits including compliance with various privacy frameworks, improved security, clearer definition of security roles and standardized quality procedures. OCLC achieved ISO 27001:2005 certification from Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance. The ISO 27001 certification complements OCLC’s current ISO 9001:2008 Quality Certification. The certification confirms that OCLC is meeting a recognized international standard for security management. This standard recognizes OCLC’s capability to manage information security related to the provision of secure IT infrastructure and data center management. <<more>>

February 29, 2012. Lawrence Tech transitions to OCLC WorldShare Management Services. During the spring semester the Lawrence Technological University's library staff will begin what should be a smooth transition from the current Sirsi library system to the all-new cloud computing-based OCLC WorldShare Management Services, sometimes called OCLC WMS. <<more>>

February 24, 2012. OCLC announces new agreements with publishers around the world, adds more content and collections to WorldCat Local . OCLC has signed new agreements with leading publishers around the world and has added important new content and collections to WorldCat Local, the OCLC discovery and delivery service that offers users integrated access to more than 922 million items. <<more>>

February 16, 2012. OCLC adds 500,000 records to WorldCat from China Academic Library and Information System . OCLC has added 500,000 records to WorldCat from the China Academic Library and Information System, a nationwide academic library consortium with a mission to promote, maintain and improve resource sharing among Chinese university libraries and other libraries and institutions. These records represent Chinese publications between 1987 and 2001. The records have been added to WorldCat to help promote the use of the CALIS collection and use of OCLC resource sharing services in libraries in China, and to maximize each organization’s strengths in enhancing cooperative building and sharing of information resources on a global scale. <<more>>

February 15, 2012. OCLC Research and ALISE name recipients of 2012 Library and Information Science Research Grants. OCLC Research and the Association for Library and Information Science Education have awarded research grants to Abdulhussain Mahdi and Arash Joorabchi of the University of Limerick, Laura Saunders and Mary Wilkins Jordan of Simmons College, and Carolyn Hank of McGill University and Cassidy Sugimoto of Indiana University Bloomington. The awards were presented January 19 at the ALISE 2012 Annual Conference Awards Reception in Dallas, Texas. <<more>>

February 14, 2012. OCLC Website for Small Libraries project makes getting on the Web easy and fast for small libraries . The Website for Small Libraries project, which began as an OCLC Innovation Lab experiment in 2011, is now available as a beta service for any library wishing to set up its own website. By participating in the project, libraries will be able to quickly and easily set up a website that provides basic functionality for making small collection information available on the Web, setting up users, checking materials in and out, placing holds, and providing library contact, location, service and event information. <<more>>

February 10, 2012. Executive Search Committee and Community Advisory Group report significant progress, set timeline for selecting OCLC President and CEO . The Executive Search Committee of the OCLC Board of Trustees and OCLC’s Community Advisory Group have made significant progress and established a general timeline in the process to select the next President and CEO of the OCLC cooperative. <<more>>

February 3, 2012. OCLC WorldShare Management Services recognized as 'Outstanding Service of the Year' with TechColumbus Innovation Award. OCLC WorldShare Management Services was recognized as "Outstanding Service of the Year" during the TechColumbus Innovation Awards ceremony at the Greater Columbus Convention Center on February 2. WorldShare Management Services was selected in a category of organizations with more than 250 employees, and from entries in a variety of disciplines and industries. More than 1,100 people attended the premier technology event in central Ohio. <<more>>

January 19, 2012. E-resource Advisory Council assisting OCLC in further development of e-resource strategy . OCLC is working with the E-resource Advisory Council, a group of 10 library leaders who have agreed to help guide the cooperative in advancing a new Webscale, electronic resource management strategy. As library investments and patron demands for e-resources continue to grow, libraries need to effectively manage these resources alongside their print materials. OCLC has responded to this change through a strategy that includes adding licensed and open access content to WorldCat, building the knowledge base for e-resources, enhancing resource sharing to allow the sharing of electronic articles, and introducing an entire suite of new services for electronic materials. That suite includes link resolving, acquisitions, and a license manager for subscription, access, license, vendor and rights management. <<more>>

January 18, 2012. University of Delaware Library joins OCLC WorldShare community. The University of Delaware Library has selected OCLC WorldShare Management Services as its Web-based cooperative library management system for metadata management, acquisitions, circulation, discovery, license management and workflow improvements. The University of Delaware Library is the first member of the Association of Research Libraries to join the OCLC WorldShare Management Services community. <<more>>

January 17, 2012. Public launch of National Catalogue imminent. OCLC and The Combined Regions announced that FABLibraries, the national public library catalogue has now been rolled out to all libraries that subscribe to UnityUK - the UK's nationwide network for resource sharing, as part of a limited release. The intent of this penultimate stage in the project is to give UnityUK member libraries a chance to offer feedback. When it is complete the project will see the launch of Britain's first freely accessible national online library catalogue for public use. <<more>>

Note: The information on this page is a directory listing and is not the company's own Web site. The company may offer additional products and services other than those listed here. Library Technology Guides focuses primarily on Integrated Library Systems. Return to company list

OCLC

6565 Frantz Road
Dublin, 43017-3395
United States
Toll free: 800-848-5878 ext 5091
Phone: 614-764-6000
Fax: 614-764-6096
Web site: http://www.oclc.org
Email:

Executives

Robert L. Jay Jordan -- President and Chief Executive Officer
Rick J. Schwieterman -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer
Bruce Crocco -- Vice President, Library Services for the Americas
Lorcan Dempsey -- Vice President, OCLC Research and Chief Strategist
Catherine K. De Rosa -- Vice President for the Americas and Global Vice President of Marketing
James T. Houfek -- Vice President and General Counsel
Eric van Lubeek -- Managing Director, OCLC Europe, Middle East and Africa
Jim Michalko -- Vice President of RLG Programs Development
Robin Murray -- Vice President, Global Product Management
George M. Needham -- Vice President, Global and Regional Councils
William Chip Nilges -- Vice President, Business Development
Gene Oliver -- Vice President, OCLC Global Systems and Information Technology
Tammi Spayde -- Vice President, Corporate Human Resources
Michael A. Teets -- Vice President, Enterprise Architecture
Andrew H. Wang -- Vice President, OCLC Asia Pacific
Greg Zick -- Vice President, Global Engineering

Company Ownership

OCLC is a non-profit membership organization.

Library automation systems

OCLC offers the following Integrated Library Systems:

WorldShare Management Services (53 libraries, 76 facilities in lib-web-cats)
Public libraries: 7
Academic libraries: 39
School libraries: 2
0 libraries have migrated away from this system.
Amlib (130 libraries, 302 facilities in lib-web-cats)
Public libraries: 127
Academic libraries: 1
School libraries: 1
80 libraries have migrated away from this system.
Sunrise (15 libraries, 79 facilities in lib-web-cats)
Public libraries: 5
Academic libraries: 9
School libraries: 0
0 libraries have migrated away from this system.
OLIB (22 libraries, 37 facilities in lib-web-cats)
Public libraries: 2
Academic libraries: 13
School libraries: 0
10 libraries have migrated away from this system.
LBS Lokaal Bibliotheek Systeem (21 libraries, 22 facilities in lib-web-cats)
Public libraries: 0
Academic libraries: 14
School libraries: 0
2 libraries have migrated away from this system.
Bibliotheca2000 (15 libraries, 112 facilities in lib-web-cats)
Public libraries: 13
Academic libraries: 1
School libraries: 0
1 libraries have migrated away from this system.
LS/2000 (0 libraries, 0 facilities in lib-web-cats)
Public libraries: 0
Academic libraries: 0
School libraries: 0
82 libraries have migrated away from this system.

A total of 628 library facilities included in lib-web-cats use an ILS provided by OCLC.

Corporate Chronology

Apr 18, 2011	OCLC acquires the assets of German library system provider, BOND GmbH for $5,915,400. OCLC acquires the assets of German library system provider, BOND GmbH and Co. KG. BOND, based in Böhl-Iggelheim, near Mannheim, is a leading integrated system provider for public libraries in German speaking countries. From the 2011 OCLC Annual Report: Effective April 15, 2011, OCLC EMEA B.V. acquired certain assets and related liabilities of B.O.N.D. GmbH & Co. KG (“BOND”), a German software development organization specializing in library management systems for 4,100,000 Euros ($5,915,400). The agreement allows for additional consideration of up to a maximum of 1,500,000 Euros that may be paid if BOND achieves predefined revenue targets during fiscal year 2012. The fair value of the contingency is deemed to be zero at June 30, 2011. The purchase was accounted for by the acquisition method of accounting. Assets acquired, primarily software of 4,823,600 Euros ($6,959,500) and liabilities assumed, primarily contract performance liabilities of 723,600 Euros ($1,044,100) were based on their fair values at the date of acquisition. BOND’s operations subsequent to the date of the sale are included in the consolidated financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2011, and its revenues for the two and a half months ended June 30, 2011, were $283,000.
Mar 17, 2010	OCLC sells NetLibrary to EBSCO Publishing for $7,867,200. From the 2009/10 OCLC Annual Report: On March 17, 2010, OCLC sold the assets of the NetLibrary Division (including the NetLibrary platform, operations and infrastructure in Boulder, Colorado) and the rights to license a select number of vendor-owned databases previously sold on the OCLC FirstSearch service to EBSCO Publishing for $7,867,200 and assumption of related liabilities. The transition services agreement between OCLC and EBSCO Publishing ($230,000 annually for an initial term of three years) ensures that all NetLibrary eBooks have been placed in a dark archive at OCLC and OCLC will continue to make OCLC- MARC records available for download by the relevant library for NetLibrary eBooks as well as providing library holdings synchronization. OCLC recognized a gain on the sale of $21,666,500.
Aug 1, 2009	OCLC sells Preservation Service Center to Backstage Library Works. From the OCLC 2009/10 Annual Report: Effective August 1, 2009, OCLC sold the assets of its Preservation Service Center operation to Backstage Library Works, Inc. for $100,000 cash, $313,500 promissory note (paid in full on October 1, 2009), and a royalty of up to $1,750,000. The royalty agreement has a seven-year term and requires 4% of revenues above $300,000 per year, payable quarterly. The first $1,000,000 of royalty is secured by personal guarantee and a life insurance policy. The royalties above $1,000,000 will be recognized as payments are received. The building in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was purchased by Backstage Library Works, Inc. on November 2, 2009, for $1,400,000. OCLC recognized a total gain on the sale of $822,400 including the discounted guaranteed royalty receivable of $717,100.
Sep 12, 2008	OCLC acquires Amlib for $2,477,800 (US). From the 2009 OCLC Annual report: Effective July 1, 2008, OCLC EMEA B.V. acquired certain assets and related liabilities of Amlib Pty. Ltd., (“Amlib”) the Australian software development organization specializing in library management solutions for 2,600,000 Australian dollars ($2,477,800). The purchase was accounted for by the purchase method of accounting. Assets acquired of 2,796,200 Australian dollars ($2,644,700) and liabilities assumed of 427,500 Australian dollars ($407,300) were based on their fair market values at the date of acquisition. Goodwill, representing the excess of cost over fair value of assets acquired of 231,300 Australian dollars ($220,400) was recorded and is included in fixed assets. Amlib’s operations subsequent to the date of the sale are included in the consolidated financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2009. OCLC has acquired Amlib, the Australian software development organisation specialising in library management solutions. Amlib, based in Rowville and Perth, Australia, serves libraries in Australia, Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Amlib library management solution is particularly popular amongst school, public and special libraries, because of the combination of comprehensive functionality, high reliability and attractive pricing. It further complements the existing OCLC portfolio of integrated library management systems, a market where OCLC has established a strong presence in recent years. As a result of the acquisition, 11 Amlib staff members will become part of the OCLC Australia office, under the direction of Chris Thewlis.
Jan 11, 2008	OCLC acquires EZproxy from Useful Utilities for $600,000. From the 2009 OCLC Annual Report: Effective January 11, 2008, OCLC acquired certain assets and related liabilities of Useful Utilities, LLC, (“EZproxy”) the owner of the EZproxy software for $600,000. EZproxy provides libraries a solution for authenticating remote user access to licensed databases. The purchase was accounted for by the purchase method of accounting. Assets acquired of $600,000 and liabilities assumed of $395,400 were based on their fair market values at the date of acquisition. Goodwill, representing the excess of cost over fair value of assets acquired, of $395,400 was recorded and is included in fixed assets. EZproxy’s operations subsequent to the date of the sale are included in the consolidated financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2008.
Jan 1, 2008	OCLC EMEA B.V. sells its shares of Strata Preservation N.V. $331,000 to KMM Group. OCLC EMEA B.V. sold its shares of Strata Preservation N.V. for 225,000 Euros ($331,000) to KMM Group.
Jul 3, 2007	OCLC acquires remaining shares of OCLC PICA. Effective July 1, 2007 OCLC EMEA B.V. repurchased the outstanding shares from its minority shareholder Stitchting Pica effectively becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of OCLC for 10,272000 Euros or $13,903,200
Jan 19, 2007	Eric van Lubeek appointed Director of Operations and Services of OCLC PICA. van Lubeek was previously Managing Director of Infor Library Solutions.
Aug 14, 2006	OCLC acquires DiMeMa, Inc. for $3,912,200. From the 2006 OCLC Annual Report: On August 14, 2006, OCLC through OCLC Information Distribution, Inc., acquired DiMeMa, Inc., the organization that developed and supports CONTENTdm, for $3,912,200, which approximates the value of the software intangible.
Jul 1, 2006	OCLC acquires Research Libraries group. From the 2006 OCLC Annual Report: Effective July 1, 2006, OCLC combined operations with The Research Libraries Group, Inc. (“RLG”). The fair values of assets acquired with the transaction were approximately $2.8 million and liabilities assumed were approximately $7.1 million with goodwill expected to be approximately $4.3 million. that will be evaluated for impairment.
May 3, 2006	OCLC announces agreement to acquire Research Libraries Group.
Jan 3, 2006	OCLC acquires Openly Informatics for $1,950,000. From the 2006 OCLC Annual Report: On January 1, 2006, OCLC acquired certain assets and related liabilities of Openly Informatics, Inc., a global knowledge base provider for $1,950,000.
Nov 3, 2005	OCLC PICA acquires Fretwell-Downing Informatics for $8,913,100. According to the 2006 OCLC Annual Report: FDI—On November 2, 2005, OCLC PICA B.V. purchased Fretwell-Downing Group, Ltd. and subsidiaries (“FDI”), a provider of digital library solutions, for 7,383,600 Euros ($8,913,100 at November 2, 2005).
Jun 27, 2005	OCLC PICA acquires Sisis Informationssysteme for $4,504,700. According to the OCLC 2006 Annual Report: SISIS—Effective July 1, 2005, OCLC PICA B.V. purchased library management systems provider Sisis Informationssysteme GmbH and subsidiary (“Sisis”) for 3,769,500 Euros ($4,504,700 at July 1, 2005).
May 27, 2005	OCLC PICA acquires a majority share in Strata Preservation in The Hague.. Strata Preservation specializes in high-end preservation services, for fragile and unique materials that cultural heritage institutions want to preserve and make more easily accessible to the public. Strata Preservation N.V. was established in 2002 as a joint venture of American-based OCLC Inc (60 %) and the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (40 %). OCLC PICA B.V., also a Dutch company and itself owned by OCLC Inc (60 %) and Stichting Pica (40 %), has now taken over the share that OCLC Inc had in Strata Preservation. On top of the synergy advantages mentioned earlier, this means that Strata Preservation can now be managed more directly in a time that national and international microfilming and digitization are expected to take off. Strata Preservation currently employs a staff of almost 20.
Aug 2004	OCLC absorbs 24/7 Reference Service from Metropolitan Cooperative Library System.
Nov 12, 2003	OCLC acquires CAPCON. On June 17, 2003, the membership of CAPCON approved an agreement that enabled the nonprofit OCLC regional service provider to become the OCLC CAPCON Service Center. OCLC purchased CAPCON and created OCLC CAPCON, an OCLC-owned service center to offer education and support for all OCLC products and services. On November 12, the CAPCON Library Network officially became the OCLC CAPCON Service Center.
Jul 1, 2003	OCLC PICA acquires V3.Web, the ILL requesting and management system from LIBPAC. OCLC PICA acquires V3.Web, the ILL requesting and management system previously provided by LIBPAC. OCLC PICA a newly created European Library Co-operative has acquired V3.Web to enhance their services to UK public libraries and to continue the role LIBPAC previously offered. LIBPAC will facilities manage the V3.Web service on behalf of OCLC PICA.
Apr 16, 2002	Rein van Charldorp appointed Managing Director of OCLC PICA.
Jan 2002	OCLC PICA formed through the consolidation of Pica BV and OCLC Europe, Middle East and Africa. OCLC PICA thorugh the integration of Pica BV and OCLC Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Apr 20, 2001	InfoVision Technology assumes support for Altarama Systems library management products. InfoVision Technology and Altarama Systems have concluded an agreement for InfoVision Technology to provide support for the Altarama library software products and a migration path for all Altarama customers (using Data*Library, VTLS or Virtua) to InfoVision''s Windows based Amlib Library Management System.
Apr 2001	Altarama Information Systems founded.
Oct 2000	OCLC becomes exclusive distributor for ILLiad software developed by Virginia Tech and Atlas Systems.
Apr 1999	OCLC acquires 60 percent ownership of PICA BV for $8.7 million. OCLC acquires sixty-percent ownership of PICA, with forty percent retained by the Stichting Pica. From the 1999 OCLC Annual Report: "Effective December 23, 1999, OCLC acquired 35 percent equity interest in Pica B.V. for $5.4 million from the Pica Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Leiden, the Netherlands. Pica B.V. provides cataloging, interlibrary loan, local and end-user (reference) services to libraries in the Netherlands, France and Germany. Subsequently, on September 29, 2000, OCLC acquired an additional 25 percent of Pica B.V. shares for $3.3 million, bringing OCLC’s total share to 60 percent as prescribed in the agreement with Pica Foundation. For the six months ended June 30, 2000, Pica B.V. recorded revenues of $3.9 million and a positive result after taxes of $397,200. OCLC’s equity share is reflected in the condensed consolidated financial statements in “Other Income.” Pica B.V. complements the activities of OCLC Europe, the Middle East & Africa, based in Birmingham, England. Both organizations are self-supporting from revenues generated by system use in their regions."
1999	Stichting Pica forms PICA BV established as a Dutch limited liability company .
1999	OCLC acquires Library Technical Services (LTS). OCLC acquires the Winnipeg, Canada-based Library Technical Services (LTS). OCLC LTS provides original and copy cataloging as well as physical processing of materials for libraries.
Jan 1999	OCLC acquires WLN . OCLC Pacific merged with the Western Library Network (WLN) to form OCLC/WLN Pacific Northwest Service Center. This organization is now named OCLC Western.
Jun 1, 1998	Openly Informatics Inc. founded by Eric Hellman.
Oct 1997	OCLC acquires Blackwell North America’s authority control service business.
Jul 14, 1997	OCLC opens its office in Montréal, Canada.
Jul 1997	OCLC sells Information Dimensions to Gores Technology Group. . IDI became part of OpenText in June 1998.
Feb 1997	OCLC acquires ALIS I and I software from Data Phase to be marketed under the new name of LS/2.
1997	Sisis Informationssysteme founded by Siemens. Sisis Informationssysteme established by Siemens, a spin-off of Siemens' library software activities in which the company had been inovlved since the late 1970s.
1997	Bibliocentre joins OCLC. The Ontario Colleges Bibliocentre joins OCLC. The Ontario Colleges Bibliocentre provides cataloging services to 25 community colleges in Ontario
1996	Stichting Centre for Library Automation, Pica becomes Stichting Pica.
1995	InfoVision founded.
Jun 1993	OCLC Acquires Information Dimensions, Inc., from Battelle Memorial Institute.
1992	Fretwell-Downing Informatics founded by Anthony Fretwell-Downing .
1992	Altarama Systems Pty Ltd founded by Shirley Forster.
Feb 1991	OCLC acquires UTLAS from Thomas Canada Limited.
Apr 1990	Ameritech acquires LS/2000 from OCLC. Ameritech acquires the rights to the library automation products of the OCLC Local Systems Division, including LS/2, LS/2000, ACQ-350, and SC350.
1988	OCLC acquires Dewey Decimal Classification. OCLC acquires the rights to the Dewey Decimal Classification and the assets of Forest Press from the Lake Placid Education Foundation for $3.8 million.
1986	PICA becomes an independent organization named Stichting Centre for Library Automation, Pica.
Aug 1983	OCLC acquires Avatar . OCLC acquires Avatar to assist in the development of LS/2000
May 1983	OCLC purchases Integrated Library System (ILS) from Lister Hill Center. Purchased Integrated Library System (ILS) from Lister Hill Center of National Library of Medicine. Development of Local Library System discontinued.
Apr 1982	OCLC purchased Total Library System from The Claremont Colleges . Purchased Total Library System from The Claremont Colleges in California. HP/3000 based system.
1981	OCLC Europe established.
1981	OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. becomes the legal name for OCLC.
1977	OCLC begins to accept members outside Ohio and changes its name to OCLC, Inc. Ohio members of OCLC adopted changes in the governance structure that enabled libraries outside Ohio to become members and participate in the election of the Board of Trustees
1969	PICA founded by Royal National Library and a group of Dutch University Libraries.
1967	Ohio College Library Center founded. The colleges and universities in the state of Ohio founded the Ohio College Library Center to create a computerized system for the libraries of Ohio academic institutions.

Key Articles from Library Technology Guides

The following are a sample of articles related to the major events in the corporate history of OCLC, or you can view all articles related to the company from Library Technology Guides.

Breeding, Marshall, Smart Libraries Newsletter (June 2011). OCLC Acquires German Public Library Vendor BOND, Extending its European Presence

In the latest business acquisition of a library automation company, OCLC announced in April 2011 that it has acquired BOND GmbH & Co. KG Bond, is a major commercial vendor of library automation software for libraries in German speaking countries in Europe. Around 4,000 libraries in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland have implemented the company's automation products, including Bibliotheca2000 or Bibliotheca.net. The company also offers a bibliographic utility for its customers to support cataloging operations. While public libraries dominate its customer base, it also serves school, special, and academic libraries in smaller proportions. The acquisition represents the latest in a series of business acquisitions that contributes to OCLC's standing as one of the largest players in European library automation sector.

Breeding, Marshall, Smart Libraries Newsletter (July 2006). Big Bibliographic Services: OCLC and RLG

Breeding, Marshall, Smart Libraries Newsletter (July 2006). Strategic Development: SirsiDynix and Serials Solutions

Breeding, Marshall, Smart Libraries Newsletter (September 2005). OCLC Back in the ILS Business?

Though not considered a major move back into the integrated library system arena, OCLC PICA, a cooperative of European libraries in the Netherlands, has acquired Sisis Informationssysteme, a small company that produces library automation software. Based in Oberhaching, Germany, Sisis offers a library management system called SISIS-SunRise, which finds use in about 150 libraries. The company also produces SISIS Elektra, a product designed to help implement a portal for an organization. This acquisition strengthens the OCLC PICA operation, adding to its resources in systems development and support.

Library Technology Guides