Hackney Libraries and payments to the OCLC

The request was successful.

Dear Sir or Madam,

I recently contacted Hackney Libraries to enquire about obtaining library catalogue data for use in an online project to help those looking for books. I was informed that this information was held on a national basis by the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) and that Hackney Libraries paid a subscription to the OCLC to use the data.

Please could you inform me how much Hackney Libraries have paid over the last ten years to subscribe to the OCLC data, and, if possible, what proportion of this money is for membership of the OCLC, and what proportion for retrieving data.

Please could you also inform me what steps have been taken to investigate alternative partners for library data supply.

Yours faithfully,

James Bridle

James Bridle left an annotation ()

More background on this request can be found at:

http://booktwo.org/notebook/oclc-and-the...

Dear Sir or Madam,

This is a reminder that you're legally required to respond to this FOI request, which can be found at http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ha... ) by December 15th 2008.

Yours sincerely,

James Bridle

Zoe Rowland, Hackney Borough Council

Dear Mr Bridle,

Thank you for your email. Aysha Mukhtar left the Council and her
account was disabled on the 29 October. Your original request was not
received by us, I believe for this reason.

I will log your request and process it as quickly as possible, although
it may not be possible to obtain the information by the 15th.

Kind regards,

Zoe

Zoe Rowland
Corporate Information & Knowledge Manager
London Borough of Hackney
6-15 Florfield Road
E8 1DT
Tel: 0208 356 2683
[mobile number]
[email address]

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Dear Zoe Rowland,

Re: http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ha...

This is to remind you that the response to this FOI request is due no later than today and you will be in breach of the law if a response is not received promptly.

Yours sincerely,

James Bridle

Zoe Rowland, Hackney Borough Council

Dear Mr Bridle,

As explained in my previous response, your original request was not
received by the Council. Whilst we will endeavour to respond to your
request as quickly as possible, the response is not legally due until
the 9th January.

Kind regards,

Zoe

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Dear Zoe Rowland,

It is now the 9th of January, and I look forward to receiving your response today.

Yours sincerely,

James Bridle

Edward Rogers, Hackney Borough Council

Dear Mr Bridle

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 - INFORMATION REQUEST

Thank you for your recent Freedom of Information request received on 9^th
December 2008. You requested information on the subscription to OLCL data
by Hackney Libraries. Your request has now been considered and the
information requested is enclosed.

I only have detailed financial data for the last seven years. However,
during that time we have paid £21 438.98 to OCLC for access to online
data. I have no more detailed information about the proportion of this sum
was for membership or for data retrieval. I have no record of any attempt
being made to investigate an alternative partner for data supply.

Please note the information is still covered by copyright legislation. 
You are not authorised to re-use this information for commercial or
research purposes as defined by the Re-Use of Public Sector Regulations
2005.  If you do wish to re-use this information please contact the
Information Governance Team, 6-15 Florfield Road, Hackney London E8 1DT.

If you are dissatisfied with this response and wish to appeal, please
write to the Information Governance Team, Appeals, 6-15 Florfield Road,
Hackney London E8 1DT and your complaint will be dealt with through our
Internal Review procedure.

If you are still not satisfied following the Internal Review, you have a
right to appeal to the Information Commissioner. He can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 01625 545 700
[1]www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

Yours sincerely

Ted Rogers

Head of Libraries, Archives and Information
London Borough of Hackney

Maurice Bishop House
17 Reading Lane
London
E8 1HH

T: 020 8356 4782
F: 020 8356 7349
M: 07976 342241

[email address]
www.hackney.gov.uk

Hackney Council may exercise its right to intercept any communication with
any employee or agent of the Council using its telephony or data networks.
By using these networks you give your consent to Hackney Council
monitoring and recording your communication.

If you have received this e-mail in error please delete it immediately and
contact the sender.

For further information about Hackney Council policies please contact
Hackney Service Centre on: 020 8356 3000

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References

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