OCLC was created in Dublin, Ohio by the presidents of the colleges and universities of the state. It has since become a major resource-sharing tool used by 53, 548 libraries and 96 countries and territories throughout the world. The idea behind OCLC is to use computerized resources so that libraries could share resources and thus reduce costs. Although it started as a regional operation, in 1977 changes were made in the governance structure to allow membership outside of Ohio. WorldCat-the OCLC online catalog is cooperatively produced and maintained by OCLC and its members. Initially,OCLC enabled collective cataloging, one trend during a growing transition toward the networking of libraries occurring during this time. Currently, WorldCat is a major factor in facilitating Inter Library Loans.