OCLC and Amigos form new partnership to deliver OCLC Web-scale Management Services to libraries

Jan. 8, 2011 - PRLog -- OCLC and Amigos Library Services, two leading nonprofit library membership organizations, have entered into a new partnership to provide libraries with expanded implementation, training and education services for OCLC’s new Web-scale Management Services.

Amigos and OCLC have collaborated for many years to jointly provide extensive training, consulting and education services for OCLC’s full suite of services for libraries and consortia. The new partnership program, effective today, builds on this foundation to provide member libraries the support they will need as they implement the next generation of cooperative library services. The Amigos team of library service professionals will work with libraries to help them with project management, implementation and training for OCLC’s new Web-scale Management Services, the next-generation Web-based suite of library management tools for metadata management, acquisitions, circulation and license management.

The new partnership agreement will also continue the work the two organizations began in 2009 to streamline and enhance support, billing, reporting and other administrative services that will increase efficiencies and deliver additional cost savings to members.

“We are very pleased to expand on our long-term partnership with Amigos to increase implementation and training services for libraries moving to OCLC’s new Web-scale Management Services,” said Cathy De Rosa, OCLC Vice President of Global Marketing. “The Amigos team has unique knowledge and expertise in library services and operations and we look forward to working with them to extend this expertise to OCLC member institutions as they adopt the new suite of OCLC services.”

“Amigos welcomes this opportunity to assist libraries that are transforming internal processes and user access tools,” said Bonnie Juergens, President and CEO of Amigos. “Our role with Web-scale Management Services is a logical extension of our long partnership with OCLC to help libraries benefit from advances in technology.”

OCLC will present “Library Management Services in the Cloud: More Reality than Dream” on Sunday, January 9, from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront hotel during the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting. Jay Jordan, OCLC President and CEO, Andrew Pace, OCLC Executive Director of Networked Library Services, and early members of the OCLC Web-scale Management Services user community will share their progress to date and the realized and potential impact to library staff and users of the new services.

About Amigos Library Services
For more than 35 years, Amigos Library Services has helped its members obtain affordable services and share library resources and knowledge. With over 600 members, Amigos is one of the largest consortia of libraries and cultural heritage institutions in the United States. Through membership in Amigos, libraries collectively gain access to the latest innovations and services in the library community; pursue opportunities for continuing professional education; leverage their buying power; and preserve the region’s rich cultural heritage. This collaboration strengthens each member’s ability to serve and lead its community in the creative and effective use of information resources.

About OCLC
Founded in 1967, OCLC is a nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the world's information and reducing library costs. More than 72,000 libraries in 170 countries have used OCLC services to locate, acquire, catalog, lend, preserve and manage library materials. Researchers, students, faculty, scholars, professional librarians and other information seekers use OCLC services to obtain bibliographic, abstract and full-text information when and where they need it. OCLC and its member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat, the world’s largest online database for discovery of library resources. Search WorldCat on the Web at www.worldcat.org. For more information, visit www.oclc.org.


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