Yesterday I received a message from one of our members that started out: “I just found out today that OCLC will be terminating the agreement with MLC on June 30, 2009. There seems to be some “buzz” going around about this.” I wasn’t too surprised to hear about the “buzz” as there has been quite a bit of talk about OCLC’s new service model. The reality is that there will be some changes, but other things will stay the same.

In September 2008, OCLC announced their intention to implement the new support and service model. That will happen on July 1, 2009. The big change is that the new model centralizes support at OCLC. In July, questions that you formerly sent to MLC about cataloging or ILL will go to OCLC directly.

MLC retains a key role in the new service model. We will continue to offer the same high-quality training on Connexion, ILL, MARC, and other OCLC-related topics. In addition, we will send you your monthly OCLC invoice.

We are in the process of working out a transition plan with OCLC, and you will hear more details as our discussions continue.