After an extensive review process, the University of New Mexico College of University Libraries and Learning Sciences purchased a new web-based cataloging and acquisition system that will be implemented over the next year. For library users the transition will be largely invisible except that new tools will improve the ease with which students and faculty find and get what they need for their research.  

“The current system has been in place for a number of years and we have outgrown it.” said Rebecca Lubas, director of discovery, acquisitions and consortial services for University Libraries. The LIBROS Consortium of 16 libraries around the state is managed by UL&LS and continues to grow, as do the university collections. All members of the consortium and some potential new members will transition to the new system. The project is an opportunity to cleanup the catalog. As with any large data management system, changes in best practices and leadership over 20 plus years have resulted in some surprising and unnecessary complexities.

The new system, Worldshare, is a product of OCLC. WorldShare is a set of integrated applications built on a cloud-based, software platform. The platform provides the cooperative technical infrastructure where WorldCat data and WorldShare applications work together. WorldShare Management Services offer a completely integrated, web-based set of library management applications.  

With everything integrated within one, cooperative system, administrators with University Libraries expect to see three very real benefits:

  • Users will get better, faster access to more resources
  • Tools will meet the specific, local needs of the people we serve
  • Staff will get more done in less time

Founded in 1967, OCLC is a nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the world’s information and reducing information costs. More than 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories around the world have used OCLC services for cataloging, reference, resource sharing, eContent, preservation, library management and Web services. OCLC and its worldwide member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat, making it the world’s largest and richest database of bibliographic information. OCLC publishes the Dewey Decimal Classification system, the most widely used library classification system in the world. OCLC is headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, USA and has more than 1,200 employees worldwide.

For more information visit http://www.oclc.org/