DUBLIN, Ohio, 25 April 2023—The University of Northern British Columbia, in Prince George, has selected OCLC's WorldShare Management Services (WMS) as its new library services platform. The move will improve e-resource management, increase opportunities for collaboration with partner libraries, add flexibility to its system configuration, and allow locally preferred subject headings in the WMS discovery layer that will help UNBC advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

Located in the magnificent landscape of northern British Columbia, UNBC is one of Canada's best small research-intensive universities. UNBC provides outstanding undergraduate and graduate learning opportunities that explore cultures, health, economies, sciences, and the environment. UNBC describes itself as "a university both in and for the North." This mission has instilled a strong sense of ownership, purpose, and adventure among students, alumni, faculty, and staff. UNBC is also Canada's Green University™, leading the way to a more sustainable future for all.

"We were looking for a library services platform that would meet current and future needs of the communities we serve," said Dr. Trina Fyfe, Interim University Librarian at UNBC's Geoffrey R. Weller Library. "OCLC's new platform is user-friendly and will enhance the library experience for our students, faculty, staff, and community. The system's ability to combine several services into a single platform will reduce staff time spent supporting these technical aspects and result in more time to focus on our users."  

WorldShare Management Services is a cloud-based library services platform with WorldCat as its foundation, which allows library staff to draw on OCLC's shared data network and technology for more efficient workflows. WMS also enables staff to better manage resources in all formats and to provide their users with improved access to the library's collections and the world's knowledge.

WorldCat Discovery, which is part of WMS, enables users to access local and global collections in a customized local search interface. A recently introduced locally preferred subjects feature is part of a WorldCat Discovery DEI initiative that enables libraries to re-map subject headings to display locally preferred subjects, creating a more inclusive experience for a library's local community.

"This initiative provides us with the opportunity to explore and improve our existing organizational structure with the use of local Indigenous languages," said Fyfe. "In doing so, we will eventually be able to provide culturally appropriate subject headings to our holdings, meeting a key goal in the Library's indigenization efforts to more respectfully and holistically support the identification of Indigenous-related library resources."

"We're very happy to welcome the University of Northern British Columbia to the growing WorldShare community," said Mary Sauer-Games, OCLC Vice President, Global Product Management. "We look forward to working closely with UNBC staff to take full advantage of WMS features to meet their local goals, and to collaborate more closely with partner libraries in pursuit of common goals."