Ontario Council of University Libraries
The Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) is an academic library consortium of Ontario’s 21 university libraries located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[1][2] Formed in 1967, OCUL member institutions work together to maximize the expertise and resources of their institutions through shared services and projects.[3] OCUL works together in a number of key areas of importance for library services, including collective content purchasing, shared digital infrastructure, external partnerships, and professional development initiatives.[4][5]
Ontario Council of University Libraries | |
Abbreviation | OCUL |
---|---|
Established | 1967 |
Location |
|
Region | Ontario, Canada |
Executive Director | John Barnett |
Affiliations | Council of Ontario Universities |
Website | ocul.on.ca |
OCUL is governed by the library directors of the member institutions and is supported by an executive committee, made up of five officers elected from the library directors. OCUL members form working groups, committees, and communities of practice to accomplish specific tasks or projects.[6] OCUL is an affiliate of the Council of Ontario Universities (COU).[7]
History
OCUL was founded in 1967 as the Ontario Council of University Librarians, working with the Council of Graduate Studies to ensure that graduate students and faculty members across the province had equitable access to the advanced library materials needed to support their research.[8] OCUL changed its name to the Ontario Council of University Libraries in 1971.
Some of OCUL’s initiatives have included:
- the Inter-University Transit System (IUTS), created by OCUL in 1967 to facilitate interlibrary loans[9]
- the Canadian University Reciprocal Borrowing Agreement (CURBA), allowing students and faculty to borrow from other Canadian universities at no cost[10]
- the OCUL Map Group, which has been collaborating since 1973 on access to map and geospatial collections[11]
- the Collaborative Futures Project, to facilitate collaborative management of library collections using the Ex Libris Alma platform[12]
- making nationally significant polling data from Ipsos available freely available online[13]
Scholars Portal
Scholars Portal is the technology service arm of OCUL. Founded in 2002, they provide a variety of services for OCUL members, including e-book and journal platforms, a repository of accessible texts for university students with print disabilities,[14] and software hosting services.[5][15][16] In 2012, Scholars Portal won the Ontario Library Association's OLITA Project Award for the Scholars GeoPortal.[17] In 2013, Scholars Portal was accredited as the first Trustworthy Repository in Canada.[18][19][20]
The service provider for Scholars Portal is the University of Toronto Libraries.[6]
Member Institutions
- Algoma University
- Brock University
- Carleton University
- University of Guelph
- Lakehead University
- Laurentian University
- McMaster University
- Nipissing University
- OCAD University
- Ontario Tech University (formerly UOIT)
- University of Ottawa
- Queen's University at Kingston
- Royal Military College of Canada
- Ryerson University
- University of Toronto
- Trent University
- University of Waterloo
- Western University
- Wilfrid Laurier University
- University of Windsor
- York University
Partnerships and memberships
- Public Knowledge Project (major development partner)
- Open Content Alliance
- Consortia Canada
- International Coalition of Library Consortia
- Project COUNTER
- OCLC
- Dataverse
- Portage Network, an initiative of the Canadian Association of Research Libraries
- Internet Archive (contributor)
- The Keepers Registry
References
- "Ontario Council of University Libraries". icolc.net. Archived from the original on 2019-05-23. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
- "Library Associations in Canada". Libraries and Archives Canada. 2001-04-01. Archived from the original on 2008-08-12. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
- Beckman, Margaret; Dahms, Moshie; Bruce, Lorne (2006-02-07). "Libraries | The Canadian Encyclopedia". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 2019-06-07. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
- "Ontario Council of University Libraries". ocul.on.ca. Archived from the original on 2019-05-22. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
- Collaboration in libraries and learning environments. Melling, Maxine,, Weaver, Margaret, 1952-. London: Facet Publishing. 2013. pp. 54–55. ISBN 9781856049511. OCLC 839805084.CS1 maint: others (link)
- "Governance | Ontario Council of University Libraries". ocul.on.ca. Archived from the original on 2019-05-23. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
- "Affiliates | Council of Ontario Universities". Council of Ontario Universities. Archived from the original on 2019-06-21. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
- Monahan, Edward J. (Edward Joseph), 1928- (2004). Collective autonomy : a history of the Council of Ontario Universities 1962-2000. Waterloo, Ont.: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. ISBN 9780889204430. OCLC 244764313.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
- "Inter-University Transit System (IUTS)". Council of Ontario Universities. Archived from the original on 2019-07-02. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
- "Canadian University Reciprocal Borrowing Agreement". www.curba.ca. Archived from the original on 2019-01-28. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
- Trimble, Leanne; Woods, Cheryl; Berish, Francine; Jakubek, Daniel; Simpkin, Sarah (2015-09-02). "Collaborative Approaches to the Management of Geospatial Data Collections in Canadian Academic Libraries: A Historical Case Study". Journal of Map & Geography Libraries. 11 (3): 330–358. doi:10.1080/15420353.2015.1043067. ISSN 1542-0353.
- "OCUL Collaborative Futures Project Gaining Momentum – OPEN SHELF". Archived from the original on 2019-07-02. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
- "Laurier works with Ipsos and Ontario Council of University Libraries to make national polling data freely available | Wilfrid Laurier University". www.wlu.ca. Archived from the original on 2019-11-09. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
- "New project benefits students with print disabilities". The Brock News, a news source for Brock University. Archived from the original on 2019-11-09. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
- "Scholars Portal". scholarsportal.info. Archived from the original on 2019-07-03. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
- "Scholars Portal | York University Libraries". Archived from the original on 2019-06-26. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
- "OLITA Project Award Recipients" (PDF). Ontario Library Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-08-29. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
- "Scholars Portal Audit Report 2013 | CRL". www.crl.edu. Archived from the original on 2019-06-26. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
- "OCUL's Scholars Portal - Canada's first certified Trustworthy Digital Repository". onesearch.library.utoronto.ca. 2013-05-15. Archived from the original on 2015-09-17. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
- "Canadiana.org certified as Trustworthy Repository - Canadiana". www.canadiana.ca. Archived from the original on 2019-06-26. Retrieved 2019-06-26.