MLC’s delegates to OCLC’s Members Council have prepared an analysis of OCLC’s recently announced new policy on transfer and use of WorldCat records.
Greetings! As your elected delegates to OCLC Members Council, we wanted to draw your immediate attention to the major changes that OCLC has made to its Policy for Use and Transfer of WorldCat® Records. The Policy explains what may be done with WorldCat records, listing guidelines for OCLC member and non-member institutions, and even discusses how commercial ventures and individuals may work with the records. The policy was announced at the Members Council meeting in October 2008, and several delegates expressed concern that the membership had not had an opportunity to examine the significant implications of such a major change and provide feedback.
Several delegates have since offered suggestions for clarification and improvement that have been incorporated in the Policy. However, we remain uncomfortable with some sections in the new policy.
One concern is that the policy is written in the form of a license agreement, which assumes that libraries are licensing records from OCLC, not actually owing them. Another area of concern is OCLC’s plan to include a link to the updated policy directly into all new catalog records.
Specifically, in section C.3.a. the Policy states “use of WorldCat Records authorized by this Policy is limited to Reasonable Use except as otherwise authorized by written agreement with OCLC.” The definition of “reasonable use” is at the discretion of OCLC and they may interpret “reasonable use” as they choose. We are very concerned about this language.
In section D)3. the Policy states ”OCLC’s approval of the Transfer described in the WorldCat Record Use Form: (i) must be in writing; (ii) may be conditioned upon agreement to additional terms and conditions determined by OCLC; and (iii) may be withheld by OCLC, without liability, within its sole discretion.” This language gives OCLC unilateral power to disallow any records transfer at their sole discretion and gives libraries very little control over their records.
This policy has generated much debate in the library community (this article and this wiki provide good summaries). We urge you to review this policy carefully and send your questions and comments to recorduse@oclc.org. If you wish to take further action, there are two online petitions for you to review here and here.
Please feel free to contact either one of us (George Bishop or Ishwar Laxminarayan) or MLC Executive Director Randy Dykhuis if you need further information or clarification about this very important matter. We look forward to hearing from you.
With warm wishes for the holidays and a very happy New Year!
George Bishop
Ovid Elsie Area Schools
The Information Center
8989 E. Colony Rd.
Elsie, MI 48831
Phone: 989-834-2271 x 1204
Fax: 989-862-4463
E-mail: georgeb@oe.edzone.net
Ishwar Laxminarayan
Jackson District Library
244 W. Michigan Ave.
Jackson, MI 49201
Phone: 517-788-4199
Fax: 517-788-6024
E-mail: ishwar@myjdl.com
