News from OCLC

Just when I thought things were returning to the normal calm, OCLC have stirred them up again.  A press release announces that they are planning a web-scale library management system. I’d never really figured out Worldcat local, as it seemed  a duplication of what most of us already have available, but as the first part of an LMS it makes perfect sense: the catalogue is the first thing most users see, and the second part is circulation, which is what OCLC are working on at the moment and hope to be testing this summer. The complexity and cost of many LMS are beyond what many libraries need, and if they are members of OCLC already I can imagine the announcement being of great interest. It complements OS nicely, as somewhere to go for those libraries who can’t afford or justify the expense of local support. One to watch with interest!