A c t i o n f o r L i b r a r i e s — D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 2

OCLC Update

By Regan W. Harper

Access Suite Applications in Windows 2000/XP Users Group
OCLC Access Suite applications require Windows 2000 and Windows XP users to be in the Power Users group to run the applications due to the way these applications write to the Windows registry. But many system administrators are concerned about the security issues with users working in the Power Users group.

OCLC has created a new program that resolves this problem, allowing users to run the applications at lower levels. The new OCLC Permissions program, free to any OCLC user, adjusts the permissions on the local machine for OCLC Access Suite applications only, allowing them to run in the lower level users group. OCLC Permissions must be run by someone in the administrators group. OCLC Permissions works seamlessly with both English and Spanish Windows platforms.

OCLC Permissions is available from the OCLC Access Suite download site. Log in at psw.oclc.org/psw/, and click on the Software and Documentation link to download the software. OCLC applications affected include:

Arabic Cataloging software
Cataloging Label Program
Cataloging Micro Enhancer for Windows software
CatME para Windows - Edición Español
CJK software
Dewey Cutter Macro, for use with Passport
ILL Micro Enhancer for Windows software
Multiscripts Z39.50 Client
Passport software
Searching WorldCat: An OCLC Tutorial
Using Interlibrary Loan: An OCLC Tutorial

For more information, contact Regan Harper (rharper@bcr.org) at BCR.

Support Ends for Early Versions of CatME
On October 31, OCLC ended support of the Cataloging Micro Enhancer software for all versions except 2.10 (English) and 2.11 (Spanish). If you still use an older version of CatME, please upgrade to Cataloging Micro Enhancer version 2.10 or 2.11 as soon as possible. The software is available for download from the OCLC Web site and is included on the OCLC Access Suite compact disc. Consult the CatME home page at www.oclc.org/catme/ for more information on downloading the software or ordering the OCLC Access Suite CD.

CatME versions 2.10 and 2.11 are the final releases of the Cataloging Micro Enhancer. The CatME team is focusing on developing the new Windows client for OCLC Connexion. The first version of the client is scheduled for release in the second quarter of 2003. For more information, please visit the OCLC Connexion home page at www.oclc.org/connexion/.

Eventually Connexion will replace all other OCLC cataloging interfaces. However, OCLC has not said when Cataloging Micro Enhancer 2.10 and 2.11 support will end. It will be sometime after 2004, when all CatME functionality has been added to Connexion and when CatME users have had time to migrate to the new interface. OCLC will notify users at least one year in advance of discontinuing CatME.

Online Tutorial for OCLC Connexion Available Using OCLC Connexion: An OCLC Tutorial (www.oclc.org/connexion/support/training/connexiontutorial/ovuefnl/) is now available. The tutorial provides both an introduction to Connexion and a workflow-oriented approach to searching and cataloging. Within the tutorial, you can print review pages and use them for online practice or as job aids.

The tutorial is suitable for existing and new OCLC cataloging users as well as cataloging users migrating from Passport. It is Web-based and best viewed with Internet Explorer version 4.01 or higher. For more information, contact Regan Harper (rharper@bcr.org) at BCR.

Lender's LDR Info Added to ILL Requests In response to user requests and feedback, OCLC is adding local data record information from the OCLC Union List service to the lender screen of ILL requests in the OCLC ILL service. The lender's local holdings information will appear in ILL requests in the Web interface to the OCLC ILL service, as well as in Passport and ILL Micro Enhancer.

Adding local holdings information to the lender screen will allow lending librarians to quickly and efficiently identify requests that can be immediately declined. This enhancement will support quicker processing of new lending requests and improve turnaround time.

How it will work in ILL:

ILL lenders will see their own institution's union list information with all lending requests.
If a lender does not have local data information available, the field will be left blank.
When the request is forwarded to the next lender in the string, the holdings shown will be that lender's LDR.
Local Data Record information for each lender will be added to the Request History.

Recognizing that this enhancement will give greater visibility to libraries' local data records, OCLC is encouraging librarians to update their institution's local data records. For available options, which include batchloading holdings from a library catalog as well as direct input mechanisms, contact Ann Schwab (aschwab@bcr.org) at BCR.

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