Ontario Council of University Libraries
AbbreviationOCUL
Established1967
Location
  • Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Region
Ontario, Canada
Executive Director
Amy Greenberg
AffiliationsCouncil of Ontario Universities
Websiteocul.on.ca

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]

OCUL is governed by the library directors of the member institutions and 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] The first chair of the council was Doris E Lewis.[9] OCUL changed its name to the Ontario Council of University Libraries in 1971.

Some of OCUL's initiatives have included:

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,[15] and software hosting services.[5][16][17] In 2012, Scholars Portal won the Ontario Library Association's OLITA Project Award for the Scholars GeoPortal.[18] In 2013, Scholars Portal was accredited as the first Trustworthy Repository in Canada.[19][20][21]

The service provider for Scholars Portal is the University of Toronto Libraries.[6]

Member Institutions

Partnerships and memberships

References

  1. ^ "Ontario Council of University Libraries". icolc.net. Archived from the original on 2019-05-23. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  2. ^ "Library Associations in Canada". Libraries and Archives Canada. 2001-04-01. Archived from the original on 2008-08-12. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "Ontario Council of University Libraries". ocul.on.ca. Archived from the original on 2019-05-22. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  5. ^ a b Collaboration in libraries and learning environments. Melling, Maxine,, Weaver, Margaret, 1952-. London: Facet Publishing. 2013. pp. 54–55. ISBN 9781856049511. OCLC 839805084.((cite book)): CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. ^ a b "Governance | Ontario Council of University Libraries". ocul.on.ca. Archived from the original on 2019-05-23. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  7. ^ "Affiliates | Council of Ontario Universities". Council of Ontario Universities. Archived from the original on 2019-06-21. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  8. ^ 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.((cite book)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "Doris Eileen Lewis (1911-1985)". Special Collections & Archives. 2014-07-30. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  10. ^ "Inter-University Transit System (IUTS)". Council of Ontario Universities. Archived from the original on 2019-07-02. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  11. ^ "Canadian University Reciprocal Borrowing Agreement". www.curba.ca. Archived from the original on 2019-01-28. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  12. ^ 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. hdl:10393/34244. ISSN 1542-0353. S2CID 130812191.
  13. ^ "OCUL Collaborative Futures Project Gaining Momentum – OPEN SHELF". Archived from the original on 2019-07-02. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  14. ^ "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.
  15. ^ "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.
  16. ^ "Scholars Portal". scholarsportal.info. Archived from the original on 2019-07-03. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
  17. ^ "Scholars Portal | York University Libraries". Archived from the original on 2019-06-26. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
  18. ^ "OLITA Project Award Recipients" (PDF). Ontario Library Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-08-29. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  19. ^ "Scholars Portal Audit Report 2013 | CRL". www.crl.edu. Archived from the original on 2019-06-26. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
  20. ^ "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.
  21. ^ "Canadiana.org certified as Trustworthy Repository - Canadiana". www.canadiana.ca. Archived from the original on 2019-06-26. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
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