OCLC: The Original Idea

Traces the early years of OCLC and shows what it was originally intended to be. Discusses the plan for library cooperation in Ohio, the formation of a project committee, the debate about how to mechanise the union catalog, interlending, and the proposals for a shared cataloguing program based on a centralised computer database. Surmises that the perseverance of a few librarians is responsible for the formation of OCLC, which otherwise would have become an Ohio bibliographical centre with resources on microprint.