A c t i o n f o r L i b r a r i e s — O c t o b e r 2 0 0 3

OCLC Update

By Regan W. Harper

New Report Available Members Council delegates have requested that OCLC distribute a new report to the membership. The report, "Libraries: How they stack up," provides a snapshot of the economic impact of libraries and contains interesting comparisons of library economics and activities to other sectors, professions and destinations in the worldwide economy. The report is available on the OCLC Web site at www.oclc.org/index/compare/default.htm.

OCLC Redesigns Web Site
A newly redesigned OCLC Web site went live September 13-14. According to OCLC, the new home page provides a concise and more holistic introduction to OCLC. A new graphical emphasis of the four main sections of the site (Products and Services, Professional Development, Research, Community) better reflects the breadth of what OCLC offers. Frequently accessed resources, such as the Librarian's Toolbox, will continue to be available (prominently) from the home page. For further information contact Regan Harper (rharper@bcr.org).

Connexion Service Updates
The latest OCLC Connexion quarterly enhancement was installed August 24. Details are included in a System Update message in Connexion News. This installation includes the following enhancements:

A Search History button has been added to the Search WorldCat screen and the new Quick Search that allows you to view up to 10 of your previous WorldCat searches.
With the new Quick Search, you can perform a command line search in WorldCat while looking at search results or a record. You also can view the Search History from Quick Search.
Automatic logon options have been expanded. Connexion's local browser settings now allow you to save up to 10 authorizations/passwords for automatic logon. You also can now assign a name to each authorization/password combination.
Hotlinks in this project has three parts:

Show Institution Name: Allows you to mouse over an institution's symbol in the 040 field in bibliographic records and see the corresponding institution's name, reducing users' dependence on the Name Address Directory.

Navigate through Related Records via Hotlinks in Host Record: Allows you to view and use related OCLC records via hotlinked OCLC control number(s) in the host record. You can click the link to display the record, or you can choose to view, edit, export, etc.

Linking Fields: Allows you to direct the Connex- ion system to automatically supply data in a linking field (MARC tags 760-787) derived from another bibliographic record. This functionality is useful for catalogers creating records for serials and in-analytics.
In WebDewey/Abridged WebDewey, the retain search/browse feature is now available through the Browse function. The buttons have also been changed to correspond to the Quick Search or Quick Browse function. Details are available at www.oclc.org/dewey/.
Prior to the August enhancement, the 910 field was retained with master records created or replaced in Connexion, but is not retained with the master records in Passport and Cataloging Micro Enhancer. Connexion has now been changed to no longer retain this field with the master record.
The bibliographic save file no longer automatically deletes records when you do the Update Holdings, Produce and Update Holdings or Alternate Produce and Update actions on existing records.

For more information, contact Regan Harper at BCR.

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