Just weeks after OCLC began operating a new data center in Sydney, libraries in Australia began pilot projects to implement OCLC WorldShare Management Services, the cooperative’s new cloud-based approach to managing library services that provide tools to improve library workflows, reduce costs and offer new opportunities for collaboration.

OCLC WorldShare Management Services provide a Web-based environment that streamlines cataloguing, acquisitions, license management and circulation, and offer a next-gen discovery tool for library users.

Both replacing and standing apart from traditional integrated library systems, OCLC WorldShare Management Services enable libraries to share infrastructure costs and resources, as well as collaborate in ways that free them from the restrictions of local hardware and software. WorldShare Management Services also offer the ability to manage collections of print, electronic and digital material from start-to-finish, and the integration of license management features into interlibrary loan processes set WorldShare apart from legacy systems.

Libraries participating in Australian implementation pilot projects include:

• Auburn Public Library (New South Wales)
• Lowther Hall Anglican Grammar School (Victoria)
• Academic Centre, Newman College & St Mary’s College (University of Melbourne), (Victoria)
• Shire of Collie Public Library (Western Australia)
• Saint Ignatius’ College, Riverview (New South Wales)
• St Michael’s Collegiate School (Tasmania)
• The Hutchins School (Tasmania)
• Trinity Theological College, Leederville (Western Australia)

“Pilot participants are helping to promote library innovation in this part of the world, and they are expanding the possibilities for collaboration for the entire OCLC cooperative,” said Chris Thewlis, OCLC Regional Manager, Australia. “We are very pleased that these libraries are taking the lead in adopting this new, innovative approach to cooperative library management services.”

OCLC staff in Melbourne are responsible for implementing and supporting WorldShare Management Services in libraries in Australia and New Zealand. Staff in Melbourne have been working closely with OCLC staff around the world to prepare them for implementation of the new services in Australian libraries. This team has extensive experience in supporting libraries in the region; the team supports 400 libraries using Amlib library management software, as well as VDX implementations, many of which are large, state-wide groups hosted by OCLC.

In March 2012, OCLC began operating a new data center in Sydney, Australia, to support OCLC WorldShare Management Services for members in Australia and New Zealand. The Sydney center is the fourth data center in OCLC’s global network. OCLC opened a data center in the United Kingdom in December 2011 and maintains two primary operations data centers in the United States.

The Sydney center employs state-of-the-art technologies to ensure high levels of performance, reliability, scalability and cost-effectiveness. Key facilities features include high-performance Internet services with multiple service providers to ensure efficient routing, fully redundant heating and cooling systems, continuous power from multiple sources, and best-of-breed security controls and practices.

In addition, the new center enables OCLC to comply with access and data privacy requirements in Australia and New Zealand, and adhere to technical standards that promote the cost-effective, worldwide sharing of information across platforms, and support scripts, languages and cultural materials. OCLC recently obtained its ISO 27001 certification which bolsters the position of trust in OCLC-hosted solutions and will assure the security of member data.

More about OCLC WorldShare Management Services can be found on the OCLC website at www.oclc.org.

The OCLC WorldShare Platform is the technical infrastructure on which OCLC’s Webscale services are built and provides data, tools and services for library developers, users and partners to create and share applications collectively. Libraries can build applications to meet local needs, while benefiting from the innovation of the broader global library community.