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).