May 26, 2026
Library and Community Services
DATE: May 26, 2026
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
LaShonda White, Deputy City Manager of Community
Services
Kate Eppler, Deputy Director of Community Services –
Library
Yvette Williams-Barr, Senior Administrative Analyst
Subject:
Contract with OCLC, Inc., for Library Cataloging and
Metadata Subscription Services
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The proposed $150,000 expenditure is included within the proposed fiscal year 2026-2027 Library budget and
will be budgeted accordingly in subsequent fiscal year
budgets. There is no net additional impact to the General Fund (Account String: 01242255-400263).
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
None.
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
OCLC, Inc., is a non-profit consortium that provides the Richmond Public Library with cataloging services,
including access to software, computer codes, systems
and proprietary content used for the library’s cataloging of materials. To ensure that the library’s collections are searchable and accessible to users, the library uses
OCLC, a bibliographic utility that provides multiple access points, including subject headings, authors, publisher
information, and other relevant cataloging data. The
Library’s contract with OCLC is expiring and needs to be renewed.
AGENDA
REPORT
May 26, 2026
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
APPROVE a sole-source contract with OCLC, Inc., for
library cataloging and metadata subscription services, for a 3-year term beginning July 1, 2026, and ending June
30, 2029, for a total not-to-exceed contract amount of
$150,000 - Community Services Department (Yvette
Williams-Barr 510-307-8165/Kate Eppler 510-620-5452).
DISCUSSION:
OCLC is a non-profit cooperative organization committed to advancing public access to global information while reducing information management costs. OCLC and its member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat, the largest online public access cataloging in the world. OCLC is funded mainly by the fees libraries pay for the many different services it offers. OCLC is a bibliographic utility, which supports copy and original cataloging, enabling libraries to interactively create, retrieve, edit and share WorldCat bibliographic and authority records, and to maintain WorldCat holdings data. OCLC also serves as a resource-sharing database for libraries. OCLC database contains over 3.5 billion library holdings and over 600 million bibliographic records.
Sole-source procurement is appropriate here in compliance with the Richmond Municipal Code because OCLC maintains and is the sole provider of access to the WorldCat cooperative cataloging network and its associated cataloging services. No other vendor provides access to this database or the shared cataloging infrastructure used by libraries worldwide. Continued access is necessary to maintain efficient cataloging workflows and ensure consistent bibliographic and authority record standards.
OCLC is a member-based organization with more than 30,000 member libraries, archives, and museums in more than 100 countries. Many other major Bay Area library systems nearby use OCLC as their service provider for cataloging and metadata, including Oakland Public Library, Contra Costa County Library, San Francisco Public Library, and Alameda Free Library.
The benefits of utilizing OCLC services include: (a) saving staff time and reducing costs by providing cataloging support across all material formats and in more than 30 languages; (b) improving circulation and resource use by enabling users to access the Library’s bibliographic records online; (c) enabling vendors to update the Library’s holdings and provide files for upload into the integrated library system, Innovative Interfaces, Inc.’s Sierra platform; (d) increasing access points to the Library’s collection; (e) allowing library staff to focus on higher-priority service and operational tasks; and (f) improving search results through greater consistency and standardization in catalog records.
The Library’s current contract with OCLC will expire on June 30, 2026. Library staff recommend the proposed new contract be approved so that we can continue to access this important product and keep our catalog records up-to-date.
May 26, 2026
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Contract
Attachment 2 – Sole Source Authorization