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

The Future of OCLC Cataloging Interfaces

By Linda Gonzalez

With the recent introduction of OCLC Connexion, the browser-based interface to the OCLC cataloging service, and the announcement of OCLC Passport's upcoming demise, there has been quite a bit of confusion among OCLC full cataloging members over which interface can or should be used.

Support for OCLC Passport for Windows to access the cataloging service is scheduled to end on December 31, 2002. Should you continue to use Passport to catalog after that and experience any difficulties, OCLC will not be able to provide assistance. After December 31, 2003, Passport will not function as an interface to the OCLC cataloging system. However, support for Passport for interlibrary loan activity will continue; no end-of-life date has been announced for using Passport to access the interlibrary loan system.

Scheduled enhancements to OCLC Connexion will increase its functionality, so that by the end of 2003 it will have all the capabilities of Passport and the OCLC Cataloging Micro Enhancer software (CatME). OCLC will not remove a functionality you currently use before the same functionality is available from Connexion, either in the current browser interface or in the forthcoming Windows client. The client will operate with Connexion and offer many features with which CatME users are familiar. A timeline for the upcoming changes is available at www.oclc.org/connexion/migrate/.

By December 31, 2003, when Passport is no longer operational, Connexion will have been enhanced so that, together with the Windows client, all of Passport's functionality, as well as CatME's, will have been replicated. OCLC will not discontinue CatME until sometime after the Windows client to Connexion provides all CatME functionality and users have time to migrate, most likely sometime in 2004.

OCLC assures its libraries that at least one year advance notice of CatME's end of life will be provided. OCLC support for older versions of CatME (1.20, 1.21, 2.00) did end on October 31, but the current versions, 2.10 for English-speaking users and 2.11 for Spanish-speaking users, continue to be supported and will remain so until the time CatME is discontinued.

To assist in planning your migration to OCLC Connexion from Passport or CatME, the schedule for enhancements involving the Windows client follows:

Release 1, anticipated in the 2nd quarter of 2003, will include interactive online functionality, macros and labels (label printing in Connexion is currently available in conjunction with the OCLC Cataloging Label Program, version 1.22).
Release 2, anticipated in the 3rd quarter of 2003, will include additional online functionality for cataloging electronic resources and for performing Name Authority Control (NACO) project activities.
Release 3, expected by the end of 2003, will add offline and batch processing capabilities, including offline local files and other features CatME users will recognize.

Future releases should bring spell checking, the capability to assign common text strings to keystrokes, the ability to print labels in label formats other than the traditional OCLC formats (SL4, SL6, SLB, and SP1) and local accessions list creation.

If you do not see a feature you need, please suggest it. OCLC reviews all suggestions for possible inclusion in future enhancements. Many of the enhancements Connexion has experienced since its initial release were driven by user comments.

Visit www.oclc.org/connexion/features/client/ to stay up-to-date with OCLC's ongoing plans for Connexion's development.

Should you wish to move away from Passport before Connexion can fully meet your needs, please consider CatME. Many users appreciate its flexibility, the efficiencies of its batch processing and the cost-savings of its offline functionality. BCR offers workshops in using CatME, including an online workshop. Please see the description and schedule for the on-site workshop at www.bcr.org/workshop/oclcatme.html, or link to information concerning the online workshop at www.bcr.org/workshop/web-based.html#catme.

BCR staff would also be happy to assist in your decision making and answer any questions you may have. Please contact Linda Gonzalez (lgonzale@bcr.org), Regan Harper (rharper@bcr.org) or Ann Schwab (aschwab@bcr.org). You may also telephone us at (303) 751-6277 or (800) 397-1552.

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