From your 1998-99 OCLC Users' Council Delegates:
   Arlene Luster                   Marcia Talley
   [log in to unmask]          [log in to unmask]
   ph: 808-449-2209                ph:  410-293-6905

> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>
> FOR MORE INFORMATION:
> Nita Dean +1-614-761-5002
> [log in to unmask]
>
> BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY IS NOW AN OCLC MEMBER
>
> DUBLIN, Ohio, Aug. 28, 1998--The Baltimore County Public Library (BCPL),
> first among major U.S. public libraries for circulation per resident, is
> now an OCLC member library.
>
> Jim Fish, director, Baltimore County Public Library, said using the OCLC
> Cataloging service will help the library to upgrade the quality of its
> cataloging, and the OCLC Interlibrary Loan service will connect his
> library with the OCLC global network of libraries.
>
> "One of the main reasons we became an OCLC member is to upgrade the
> quality of our cataloging," said Mr. Fish.  "We are also interested in
> using WorldCat (the OCLC Online Union Catalog) for international
> cataloging.  The demographics of Baltimore County are changing, so we
> are placing greater emphasis on providing non-English materials to our
> users.  We think the OCLC database is a major service tool."
>
> "We are also very interested in the OCLC ILL system," Mr. Fish
> continued.  "We want to be able to tap into the OCLC connection to other
> libraries around the world."
>
> Mr. Fish said he has "had good experiences with OCLC in other
> libraries," but the decision to join OCLC came from BCPL staff.
>
> "We created a representative staff task force to look at all the
> possibilities from a user's point of view, and the task force made a
> strong recommendation to use OCLC services," said Mr. Fish.
>
> "The Baltimore County Public Library is one of the great public
> libraries in the United States," said Phyllis B. Spies, vice president,
> OCLC Sales and International.  "The holdings from BCPL will be a
> tremendous addition to WorldCat.  And we believe that OCLC services will
> help BCPL staff and enhance efficiency in a library system that is known
> for its efficiency and public service.
>
> "We're excited that BCPL is now an OCLC member library, and we believe
> the entire library community will benefit from this relationship," said
> Ms. Spies.
>
> "BCPL is a great addition to OCLC and to the CAPCON family of
> libraries," said Bob Drescher, executive director of CAPCON, an
> OCLC-affiliated regional network that provides training, support and
> administrative services to more than 300 OCLC users in Maryland,
> Virginia and the District of Columbia.  "The addition of BCPL means
> expanded access to Maryland resources--not only for CAPCON libraries,
> but for all OCLC libraries."
>
> In addition to using the OCLC Cataloging and ILL services, BCPL uses the
> OCLC FirstSearch service, the online reference service designed for
> library users.
>
> Baltimore County Public Library was established in 1948 and is an
> independent county department.  It consists of 16 neighborhood branches
> governed by a single board of trustees and is the sole public library in
> service to the more than 711,000 citizens of Baltimore County, Maryland.
>
> The library has a yearly circulation of approximately 11 million items
> and answers over 1.5 million information questions annually.
>
> In recent years, BCPL has gained a reputation as a technology leader in
> the community and is actively involved in information technology
> projects in partnership with county agencies and community groups.
>
> The mission of the Baltimore County Public Library is to provide library
> materials and information services and leadership in the delivery of
> electronic services for Baltimore County residents in a cost-effective
> manner.
>
> In support of these services, BCPL operates a networked infrastructure
> that includes local area networks connecting approximately 450 computers
> in branch libraries and the BCPL administrative offices.  BCPL also
> serves as an Internet service provider with over 5,500 customers.
>
> Libraries used the OCLC Cataloging service, the world's busiest computer
> library network, to catalog some 44 million books and other materials in
> the 1997/98 fiscal year.
>
> WorldCat, available to libraries online since 1971, is a merged,
> electronic catalog of the bibliographic and holdings information of OCLC
> member libraries worldwide.
>
> The OCLC Interlibrary Loan service was activated in 1979.  In the
> 1997/98 fiscal year, over 6,000 libraries arranged more than 8.2 million
> loans through the system.
>
> OCLC Online Computer Library Center is a nonprofit, membership, computer
> library service and research organization whose computer network and
> services link more than 27,000 libraries in 64 countries and territories
> <http://www.oclc.org/>.    (RJM)
>
> -30-