OCLC and the new record policy continued

More links to more posts about the continuing saga of OCLC's change in policy on record use:

• Petition created to Stop the OCLC powergrab!
• Wiki created by Code4Lib on the issue
• Podcast discussion on the issue with Karen Calhoun (OCLC), Roy Tennant (OCLC) and Talis on the Panlibus blog
• I don't want to destroy OCLC post by Bibliographic Wilderness
• Raw Thought: Stealing your library: OCLC powergrab by Aaron Swartz of Open Library
• Discussion of his blog entry on MetaFilter
• More OCLC policy ...
  

This issue hasn't died; although it is no longer really being discussed on AUTOCAT and OCLC-Cat, two of the major cataloging discussion lists.

What's OCLC up to?

Links to a number of posts on OCLC's new and improved Policy for Use and Transfer of WorldCat records:

• Summary of the policy and the policy itself
• Panlibus - What are OCLC playing at?
• Terry's Worklog
• Inkdroid - Bibliovirus
• blog.ecorrado.us
• Tim Spaulding of LibraryThing runs the old and new policies through wiki software and compares the language between the two.

OCLC - Who are you? Do we really want to know?

We have been discussing today the mysterious policy changes to OCLC's use of WorldCat records. Our team wondered when did OCLC became the bad guy? Our library programmer and I just had a conversation last week about how old and confusing we found the policy currently in place. When did we begin to automatically assume that any changes they make to their policies would make matters worse, instead of better. In part, we decided it is because they hold all our data and don't do some simple things to add value to it. We've also had some bad experiences in the past with their help desk and the new service model does not allay our fears. By removing our regional representative from the chain, they are taking out the local contact who put a face on the bloated body of OCLC. Perhaps they have gotten too big, and we find it hard to trust big corporations, whether they are "non-profit" or not. We are not quite sure whose best interests they have in mind.

There are three ways to do things. The right way, the wrong way, and the OCLC way! Which is the wrong way but slower. - D.W. (2008) a tribute to the Simpsons.