The 30 staff members in the Office of Research have diverse backgrounds in such fields as library science, computer science, electrical and industrial engineering, linguistics, pharmacology and physics. They pursue that mission by performing experiments, building prototypes, advancing standards, undertaking studies and participating in research collaborations. OCLC researchers are focusing on systems to help libraries cope with the World Wide Web as well as more traditional areas of library endeavor such as database quality, cataloging, classification, reference and resource sharing. It is no exaggeration to say that their work is helping to shape the future of librarianship and library service. More than 80 volunteer libraries are working with OCLC to extend the WorldCat shared cataloging model to the new electronic resources on the World Wide Web.
Some people describe the Web as the world s largest library, with all the books on the floor.
CORC is a collaborative effort by OCLC member libraries to get those books off the floor and up where people can find them rapidly and easily. It is yet another way that OCLC research is advancing the boundaries of knowledge in library and information science and helping libraries meet the challenges of the Digital Age.