(via Dr. Scott Walter, University Librarian at DePaul University)
The OCLC Americas Regional Council (ARC) is holding its inaugural Conference this October, in what we hope will be the first of many opportunities to take a regional (and global) perspective on challenges and opportunities in OCLC member libraries and allied institutions. Information on the Conference is available here.
The inaugural Conference (which will take place in Baltimore, MD, on October 30 and 31) will provide a unique opportunity not only to pursue the Conference theme of how the “smarter library” employs data to make user experiences more customized, effective and intuitive”, but also to help your regional council delegates to imagine new ways in which we can leverage the unique power of the OCLC global cooperative to bring together library leaders and practitioners in support of innovative practice. Of all the associations, consortia, and cooperative efforts of which DePaul University is a member, OCLC is unique in its scope, breadth, and engagement across the libraries, archives, and museums community. This conference is the first step in thinking about how we can make the most of OCLC’s unique composition and mission, and take a broad view of opportunities, innovation, and change in an increasingly global information community.
The Call for Papers for the inaugural ARC meeting is available here, and it identifies program themes and idea starters. The deadline for submission is Friday, July 14, and the program is inclusive of libraries in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. I hope you’ll consider making a proposal and joining us in Baltimore this Fall.
The Americas Regional Council (ARC) is one of 3 regional councils that make up OCLC’s Global Council, its primary mechanism for member governance of the cooperative. You can learn more about ARC, and meet your ARC delegates, here. (Please note that Christopher Cronin, Director of Technical Services at The University of Chicago Library, is on the ARC Program Committee.)