NEWS

OCLC acquires Sustainable Collection Services

Combination accelerates efforts to manage print collections

OCLC has acquired Sustainable Collection Services (SCS), the industry leader in helping libraries manage their print collections.

Libraries everywhere are changing. Library collections are moving from print to digital, and spaces once used to house books are now dedicated to collaboration and research. Librarians need to decide what materials to keep, what can be shared among groups of libraries and what can be recycled.

OCLC maintains WorldCat, the largest aggregation of library data in the world, as well as the world's largest library resource sharing network. SCS is the leader in analyzing print collection data to help libraries manage and share their materials. SCS services leverage WorldCat data and analytics to show individual libraries and library consortia which titles should be kept locally, which can be discarded, and which are the best candidates for shared collections.

"OCLC and SCS have worked as strategic partners to help libraries manage print materials since 2011," said Skip Prichard, OCLC President and CEO. "By bringing together the innovative services of SCS, the power of WorldCat and the thought leadership of OCLC Research, we can move quickly to build services to address this critical need for libraries."

"Our partnership with OCLC has been vital to SCS since our first day of operation," said Rick Lugg, Executive Director, SCS. "We rely on WorldCat to provide libraries the holdings data that is critical to intelligent collection management decisions. As part of OCLC, we will expand and extend our analytics capabilities, develop new products, and serve more libraries than we could ever reach on our own."

OCLC Research has been at the center of the evolution of library collections. Recent studies and reports on the subject include Right-scaling Stewardship (2014) and Understanding the Collective Collection (2013).

"Interest in shared print management among OCLC member libraries reflects a growing awareness that long-term preservation of the published record can be organized as a collective effort," said Constance Malpas, OCLC Research Scientist. "Working together, OCLC and SCS can significantly accelerate our efforts in collection management and shared print projects."

All four SCS staff members will join OCLC as employees. The team will participate in the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Chicago, January 30–February 2 at Booth #1916, adjacent to the OCLC Booth #1818. Staff there will be available to provide more information.