OCLC History and Background
- OCLC was founded in 1967 as the Ohio College Library Center.
- It was created through a collaboration of university presidents, vice presidents, and library directors.
- The organization's first executive director was Frederick G. Kilgour.
- The shared cataloging system was proposed by Kilgour and Ralph H. Parker.
- The first library to do online cataloging through OCLC was the Alden Library at Ohio University.
- OCLC is a worldwide library cooperative.
- OCLC has a personalised prehistory.
- OCLC is mentioned in the Encyclopedia of library and information sciences.
- The OCLC Network of Regional Service Providers has been active for the last 10 years.

OCLC Services and Products
- OCLC provides bibliographic, abstract, and full-text information.
- It maintains WorldCat, the largest online public access catalog in the world.
- WorldCat has holding records from libraries worldwide.
- OCLC acquired the trademark and copyrights associated with the Dewey Decimal Classification System.
- OCLC owned a preservation microfilm and digitization operation called the OCLC Preservation Service Center.
- OCLC commercially sells software such as CONTENTdm for managing digital collections.
- Wise is an integrated library system and community engagement system.
- WorldCat Discovery is a bibliographic discovery system.
- WorldShare Management Services is an electronic resource management system.
- OCLC also offers QuestionPoint, an around-the-clock reference service.

OCLC Initiatives and Partnerships
- OCLC is involved in advocacy efforts.
- OCLC collaborates with Wikimedia and libraries.
- WebJunction is a project supported by OCLC.
- OCLC provides training curriculum and support materials.
- OCLC Control Numbers are in the public domain and used for identification purposes.

OCLC Acquisitions and Mergers
- OCLC acquired NetLibrary, a provider of electronic books and textbooks, in 2002.
- OCLC sold NetLibrary to EBSCO Industries in 2010.
- OCLC owns OCLC PICA, a library automation systems and services company headquartered in Leiden, the Netherlands.
- OCLC merged with the Research Libraries Group (RLG) in July 2006.
- OCLC acquired EZproxy and OAIster to enhance its services.
- OCLC acquires EZproxy authentication and access software (January 11, 2008).
- OCLC acquires Dutch library systems provider HKA (October 2, 2013).
- OCLC acquires the Dutch ILS provider HKA (November 2013).
- OCLC acquires Sustainable Collection Services (January 13, 2015).
- OCLC agrees to acquire Relais International to provide library consortia more options for resource sharing (January 17, 2017).
- RLG to combine with OCLC (May 3, 2006).
- CLC/OCLC Pica Merge (October 30, 2007).
- OCLC and RLG combine for the future (October 2006).

OCLC Policies and Changes
- OCLC faced criticism for monopolistic practices and other faults.
- Library blogger Rick Mason acknowledged some valid criticisms but cautioned against hyperbole and personal attacks.
- OCLC's policy requiring member libraries to include an OCLC note on bibliographic records caused uproar among librarian bloggers.
- Activist Aaron Swartz protested the policy, fearing it would threaten projects like the Open Library, Zotero, and Wikipedia.
- OCLC retracted the policy and established a Review Board for more transparent consultation with member libraries.
- OCLC Policy Change (2008-2010).
- OCLC changes its rules for use of records in WorldCat (January 2012).
- Stop the OCLC powergrab! (February 18, 2009).
- Stealing Your Library: The OCLC Powergrab (June 4, 2011).
- Library catalog metadata: Open licensing or public domain? (August 14, 2012).