Last week I had the opportunity to meet with some folks at OCLC. Yes, AT OCLC, in Ohio. It was my first visit to the OCLC headquarters, and I’d like to thankthe amazing staff there for welcoming us and making us feel so comfortable. The main purpose of the visit was to talk about marketing library services, but I learned a few interesting tidbits on the side. One of those is that OCLC has a library!

Thinking about it, of course they have a library! But, did you know that the OCLC library is an ILL supplier? The Director of OCLC’s Library, Larry Olszewski, shared that, indeed, they do loan items from their collection to other libraries through ILL. He also shared that some libraries are hesitant to request items from OCLC. I assured Larry that I would pass along word to my Idaho colleagues that the OCLC library (Symbol: OCC) was indeed a real lender. What more, they are also LVIS members!

LVIS stands for <strong>Libraries Very Interested in Sharing. LVIS member libraries agree to loan library materials to other libraries through ILL at no cost. That means no add-on fees! It is easy and free to be an LVIS member, so if your library is participating in resource sharing, consider becoming an LVIS member! To do so, just contact OCLC Western.

So what kind of materials will you find in the OCLC library collection? They focus on library science materials, management (including marketing, organizational development and human resources), and technology. Their collection is similar in scope to the Professional Development Service at the Idaho Commission for Libraries (ICFL), but OCLC has more items than ICFL at this time.