The Central Michigan University Off-Campus Libraries Services (OCLS) Organizational Records, 1981-2018, and undated includes mostly OCLS but also some Institute for Personal Career Development (IPCD), and College of Extended Learning (CEL) reports, goals, promotional, educational and informational materials, including posters and U-Matic and VHS videotape recordings, budgets, photographs, student satisfaction surveys. The Annual reports, Goals folder includes some individual reports and goals of OCLS staff. A 2021 addition (Box 3) includes planning documents, with some lists of conference attendees and evaluations for the 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018 conferences.
Researchers may also be interested in additional OCLS, IPCD or CEL information found in numerous other collections in the Clarke Historical Library.
The Archivist would like to acknowledge that identifying CMU Library staff member in older photographs would not have been possible without the help of current Park Library staff member Vicki Swarthout, who once worked in OCLS.
Processing Note: During processing approximately .5 cubic foot of duplicates and miscellaneous materials were withdrawn from the collection.
Organizational History:
The Institute for Personal Career Development (IPCD) was established at Central Michigan University (CMU) in 1971. Its purpose was to allow students to take CMU classes at local colleges near military bases or through programs at the bases for transfer college credits. Part of the IPCD was the IPCD Library Program, later called the IPCD Library, and finally Off-Campus Library Services in 1982. The IPCD eventually became the College of Extended Learning (CEL).
Off Campus Library Services (OCLS) staff helped students find sources for their research and papers and copy and mail desired material to the students. As digitization became commonplace, staff either scanned and emailed or helped students navigate digital resources to find the materials needed for class assignments. For several decades OCLS also held an annual conference in many locations throughout the United States. The conferences were discontinued after 2018 due to the changing nature of distance learning, budgets, and COVID-19. (This information is from this and collections with OCLS information in them.)
