OCLC Shared Print Management Program helps libraries collaborate, manage collections using WorldCat

Jan. 22, 2013 - PRLog -- The new OCLC Shared Print Management Program is designed to help libraries register shared print collections holdings in WorldCat so that they can collaborate closely to more efficiently manage and share these collections.

A growing number of regional efforts are under way to consolidate and preserve print collections among multiple libraries in response to the widespread availability of digital resources and increasing pressure for space in campus library buildings.

“OCLC member libraries have expressed a great deal of interest in reducing their physical footprints through collaboration,” said Chip Nilges, OCLC Vice President, Business Development. “We think that collaboration extends to a network of partners, ranging from national organizations such as the Center for Research Libraries (CRL) and HathiTrust, to regional consortia and companies like Sustainable Collection Services (SCS) that offer supporting services. Our approach to shared print is collaborative, and is intended to complement and integrate with a wide range of service providers.”

OCLC’s Shared Print Management Program grows out of the OCLC Print Archives Disclosure Pilot Project, which concluded in March 2012. Participants in the project, including several major U.S. research libraries, developed Print Archives Metadata Guidelines to provide libraries with a standards-based approach to registering and sharing print preservation commitments. Over the course of the pilot, participants tested the implementation of these guidelines by registering print archiving commitments in WorldCat and documenting their impact on local cataloging and resource sharing workflows. To date, several thousand print archiving commitments have been registered in WorldCat.

OCLC Research has been exploring the evolution of library operations associated with the ongoing shift from locally owned print inventory to jointly managed print and digital collections.

“The burgeoning interest in shared print management among members of the OCLC cooperative reflects a growing awareness that long-term preservation of the published record can be organized as a collective effort, enabling individual libraries to redeploy local resources in support of evolving institutional priorities,” said Constance Malpas, Program Officer, OCLC Research, who has done extensive research into shared print collaboration.

Shared print consultant Lizanne Payne, who serves as Project Manager for the Western Regional Storage Trust (WEST) and Planning Consultant for the Research Collections and Preservation Consortium (ReCAP), has assisted OCLC to understand the needs of libraries and consortia that are establishing shared print agreements. “Shared collections are actually happening now, and will change the way libraries describe and provide access to holdings,” Payne said. “I believe libraries will welcome OCLC’s active engagement in this increasingly important model for library collections.”

“OCLC is eager to help libraries and consortia as they establish the processes necessary to report shared print holdings to WorldCat,” said Bill Carney, OCLC Content Manager, who is serving as Shared Print Community Liaison to assist libraries in shared print programs. “We will work with libraries to investigate additional requirements and services to support cooperative management of print collections.”

Libraries and groups interested in registering their shared print collections in WorldCat can begin by contacting Bill Carney, OCLC’s Shared Print Community Liaison, at sharedprint@oclc.org.

Visit the OCLC website www.oclc.org for more information about the Shared Print Management Program.