A c t i o n f o r L i b r a r i e s — J u n e 2 0 0 4

OCLC Update

By Regan W. Harper

New Cataloging and ILL Pricing Options
In July, OCLC will make subscription pricing for OCLC Cataloging and Interlibrary Loan services available to member libraries. The new options may enable librarians to better control costs for their OCLC services. Possible benefits are:

Subscription pricing encourages full participation and may improve the efficiency of library workflow.
Subscription pricing allows libraries to perform all their cataloging using OCLC WorldCat.
Subscription pricing enables libraries to expand the type and direction of resource sharing services.
Libraries can expedite their document fulfillment services to end-users if they offer unmediated inter- library loan.
Annual increases for subscription pricing are based on a set percentage, not on a library's previous year's usage.

Qualifying libraries received subscription pricing quotes via e-mail during May. If your library did not receive a quote, or you want further information, contact Regan Harper (rharper@bcr.org) at BCR.

In FY 2004-2005, OCLC will continue to offer the Cataloging Fixed-Fee option. For more information, contact Regan Harper or Rosario Garza at BCR.

Client Macros Presentation Recording Available
On May 4, OCLC provided an online training session on creating and using macros with the OCLC Connexion client. Macro gurus Harvey Hahn, Arlington Heights (Illinois) Memorial Library, and Joel Hahn, Niles (Illinois) Public Library District, conducted the session and passed on to viewers their own experiences in converting Passport macros and creating new macros for the Connexion client.

For those who were unable to attend, a copy of the Microsoft PowerPoint presentation is now available on the OCLC Web site at: www5.oclc.org/downloads/presentations/connexion.ppt. (Please give your computer a minute or so to open the presentation. Also, to save the presentation to your computer, simply click on File - Save As in your Web browser.)

Now a recorded version of the presentation, including audio, is available. Anyone wishing to view the recorded macros session should have some knowledge of Passport macros. In addition, before viewing the recorded session, it is recommended you look over Lessons #1, 5 and 6 of Joel Hahn's Connexion macro lessons found at users.rcn.com/aardy/oml/lessons/index.html.

To access the OCLC Client Macro Session recording:

Ensure that your desktop PC has a sound card so you can hear the audio recording.
Set your screen resolution to 1024 x 768 for optimal viewing.
Set your Web browser to www108.placeware.com/cc/oclc/view?id=Macros.
Enter your name. (No password is required.)
Select Submit.
Select the view you want to use to access the recording.

For more information, go to the OCLC Connexion client macros site at: www.oclc.org/connexion/support/macros.htm.

Z39.50 Cataloging Service Has New WorldCat Indexing
OCLC has moved the OCLC WorldCat database (OCLC Online Union Catalog) to a new technology platform (Oracle). This means that OCLC will be enhancing and modifying some of the indexes that the OCLC Z39.50 Cataloging service currently uses for search and retrieval. Some results sets will be slightly larger, but most users will notice few changes. The searching tips Web site was scheduled to be revised on May 23 to reflect the changes: www.oclc.org/support/documentation/z3950/searchtips/.

OCLC also has updated the Z39.50 Cataloging service test database with the new WorldCat indexing. Access will continue to be free of charge to the test database. Please see this Web site for additional information about the test database: www.oclc.org/support/documentation/z3950/config_guide/.

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

Double-clicking Anomaly in Connexion Browser
Users of the browser version of OCLC Connexion who double-click on any button or command, will find that Connexion registers the action twice. Technically, the second click should cancel out the first click, and you should not notice any difference. However, in almost all cases, Connexion currently tries to complete both requests, causing a delay of more than a minute in responding to you, and, in some cases, causing the record to be invalidated and the system to return error messages that are not useful.

When using the OCLC Connexion browser, it is best to avoid double-clicking and to wait for a system response before sending the next command.

OCLC will be resolving this problem in the future, but for the time being, please avoid double-clicking in the OCLC Connexion browser.

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