The Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) is a member-based consortium of academic libraries.
Established in 1967, OCUL has a long record of collaboration and cooperation, with a reputation for creating transformative services and initiatives that directly benefit students, faculty and researchers. OCUL is an Advisory Committee of the Council of Ontario Universities.
Key services and initiatives of OCUL include:
Today, OCUL membership comprises the libraries of the twenty Institutional Members and four Associated Universities of the Council of Ontario Universities.
Learn more about OCUL governance.
Mission
OCUL is a collective of Ontario academic libraries who together, contribute to the success of learners and researchers across Ontario through innovative and equitable library services.
OCUL advances research, teaching, and learning by collaborating at scale in the development and delivery of innovative and transformative services, resources, and digital research infrastructure for Ontario's universities.
OCUL is a key partner in a transforming teaching, learning, and research environment that surpasses the expectations of students, faculty, and staff across Ontario.
Core Principles
Six core principles guide OCUL’s actions and are woven through the consortium’s services and initiatives.
Advancing research
OCUL expands the breadth and depth of research resources and services available to member institutions. We seek out innovative strategies for preserving and curating research resources. We advance open access to scholarship.
Advancing teaching and learning
OCUL develops and delivers robust, user-centred and sustainable services to support the academic success of students and faculty at Ontario universities. By working together, we build capacity across member institutions.
Advancing academic libraries as leaders in social change and inclusivity
OCUL is dedicated to diversity and inclusion and values different ways of knowing. We respectfully build and deliver services, resources, spaces and research that support these intentions.
Advancing reconciliation with Indigenous communities
OCUL is committed to reciprocal, non-extractive relationship building and constructive action that centres reconciliation with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities. We aspire to transform library practices and experiences by being active in the work of truth and reconciliation.
Developing and supporting robust infrastructure
OCUL enhances the technological infrastructure and staff expertise required to support the evolution of teaching, research, and learning.
Demonstrating value
OCUL advances the efforts of Ontario’s academic libraries to transform scholarship and revolutionize the delivery of library services and resources by modeling both an evidence-based approach to its practices and a strong focus on communicating value.
Operating Principles
All OCUL initiatives and projects must align with the following operating principles.
- OCUL initiatives are developed and sustained in a climate that encourages new ideas, enables effective collaboration and builds consensus.
- Initiatives are proposed, considered and agreed upon according to OCUL’s governance practices and the rules of the OCUL bylaws.
- Initiatives must be congruent with the OCUL strategic plan.
- Initiatives must balance risk (financial, legal, reputational, etc.) with opportunity (new relationships, new revenue streams, etc.)
- Initiatives involving subsets of OCUL members are OCUL initiatives when they are enabled by OCUL (i.e., opt-in, cost recovery services).
- Initiatives involving subsets of OCUL members may be considered as OCUL initiatives when there is some likelihood of others joining at a later date, when information about the work is regularly shared with the membership as a whole, and when OCUL as a whole is expected to benefit from the experiences of the subgroup.
- Initiatives must respect (and not jeopardize) the Council of Ontario Universities’ status as an association of not-for-profit members.