OCLC is committed to honoring the dignity and worth of all people
OCLC® reflects the shared expectations of libraries around the world. Our founders infused the organization with a strong sense of public purpose and librarian values, including a commitment to inclusion and belonging.
Many of our customers and partners are engaged in initiatives for the betterment of their communities and users. We’re on a similar path and we use our services to help support our libraries, customers, and teams as we work together to foster inclusivity for all.
We continually evaluate and calibrate our practices and policies as part of our ongoing best workplace initiatives and compliance with regulatory requirements. In this way, our culture and services reflect our purpose and values and help build a future that’s better for all.
Our workplace culture and values
As a global library and technology company, OCLC serves libraries and individuals from varied backgrounds and experiences. Our inclusive approach to people and libraries is deeply engrained in how we work.
We believe in the dignity and worth of every individual. We know that diverse and inclusive teams drive creativity and innovation. For many years, OCLC has lived out these values through human resource practices as well as through our products and services. Examples include:
- Fellowships, scholarships, and sponsorships for librarians and other business professionals.
- Domestic partner benefits and pride recognition.
- Cultural heritage celebrations.
- Training and development options for librarians through our WebJunction platform.
- Ongoing employee training on inclusion, respect, and awareness of potential bias.
Using our technology and resources to foster inclusivity
Reimagine Descriptive Workflows
The “Reimagine Descriptive Workflows” project convened a group of experts, practitioners, and community members to determine ways to improve descriptive practices, tools, workflows, and related underlying infrastructures in libraries and archives. The resulting community agenda synthesizes their findings and contextualizes the challenges facing the library and information field in inclusive and reparative metadata work.
Responding to our members' needs
Public libraries
Through WebJunction, OCLC offers free webinars, courses, and resources to help staff at public libraries create a welcoming, inclusive environment that meets the needs of their diverse local communities.
WebJunction also worked with Washington State University to develop training for staff of tribal and rural libraries on community-centered curation of cultural collections.
Collection management tools included in services such as OCLC Wise help libraries balance their collections across library branches based on local community needs.
The recently reimagined WorldCat.org and fully redesigned CONTENTdm enable libraries to share the rich cultural heritage of their communities on the local, national, and global stage.
And automation tools, including AI, free library staff from repetitive tasks to spend more time talking with and supporting their communities.
Academic libraries
OCLC’s services for academic libraries include tools to catalog and share collections using WorldCat, the world’s largest and most diverse representation of library collections.
Systems including WorldShare Management Services (WMS) are designed from an efficiency-first perspective and provide library staff with more time to serve their research and student communities.
Our metadata, discovery and reference solutions (including FirstSearch and WorldCat Discovery) excel at helping students and scholars discover the richness of library collections.
Our resource sharing services facilitate sharing among groups, libraries, and their unique communities and cultures globally.
And we constantly strive to design software that is WCAG 2.0 AA compliant, helping even more members of the scholarly and academic community access information that leads to breakthroughs.
Global conversations
We offer a variety of resources to engage with library workers on the topic of inclusion. For example, WebJunction provides webinars and resources on “access and equity” topics. OCLC Research provides guidance on data governance, respectful/inclusive descriptions, and building community.