OLAC (Online Audiovisual Catalogers) was formed on 1980 to provide an organization through which catalogers of audiovisual materials could more effectively communicate and share information with each other, and with other organizations such as the Library of Congress and OCLC whose work affects the cataloging of audiovisual materials. Nancy Olson, then at the Memorial Library at Mankato State University in Mankato, Minnesota, provided the inspiration for the formation of this group, and was voted its first president at the organizational meeting on July 1, 1980, at the American Library Association conference in New York. By the end of that year, OLAC had just under 100 members. Its membership has since grown to over 700 members from across the United States, and 6 other countries.
