OCLC EMEA Regional Council

Programme changes announced

The EMEA Regional Council Meeting 2012 will now also be hearing from Larry Alford and Kathleen Imhoff from the OCLC Board of Trustees. Learn more >>>

A message from Robin Green

Greetings to all OCLC Members and customers in the EMEA Region, and welcome to the EMEA Regional Council Web site.

We are now in the third year since the new structure of a Global Council supported by three Regional Councils was introduced to respond to the increasingly global nature of the OCLC cooperative.

This new structure brings the cooperative into the Regions. The Delegates to Global Council elected by OCLC Members in each Region represent Members by bringing their questions, issues and suggestions around the cooperative directly to OCLC's Strategic Leadership Team and Board of Trustees.

This means that every OCLC Member now has the means to change the cooperative - and so Membership Matters! is the name of our multi-year Plan to develop the still very young EMEA Regional Council.

The focus this year for me and the other Regional Council Executive Committee members is 'Reaching Out'. This reflects our intent to improve communication with Members and increase understanding of the OCLC cooperative within the Region.

Each year the Regional Council holds a major meeting for all EMEA Members and customers. In 2011 this event was held in Frankfurt, Germany. The 2012 meeting will be on 28 and 29 February and will take place in Birmingham, UK. Mark these days in your diary!

Further information can be found on these pages about the Regional Council, its Executive Committee, and how to contact your Delegates. Please take the time to find out who we are, and do contact us if you would like to talk about Regional matters or the OCLC cooperative more broadly!

—Robin Green, Chair, EMEA Regional Council

The Europe, Middle East and Africa Regional Council (EMEARC) is open to all OCLC Customers, Members, Partners and Distributors located in the geography. OCLC Members play a special role within EMEARC in that they are eligible to vote in elections for the EMEARC Committees and for Delegates to represent the region at Global Council.

There are two standing committees within EMEARC: the Executive Committee and the Nominating Committee.

The Executive Committee plans at least one face-to-face meeting of EMEARC annually. This meeting is held in a different country each year. The OCLC CEO and President and Members of the OCLC Strategic Leadership Team, EMEA Board of Directors and OCLC Trustees attend EMEARC meetings. EMEARC meetings are designed to provide a forum to discuss issues that are important within the region and themes that are on the agenda of Global Council. Above all EMEARC is a two way vehicle to provide advice to OCLC on its strategic direction; input to service developments and for sharing information on collaborative initiatives, best practice and the latest OCLC research and developments.

Individuals from OCLC customers in the region who are interested in serving on EMEARC committees or standing as a Delegate to Global Council are invited to send an Expression of Interest to Janet Lees, Community Liaison, OCLC EMEA.