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

OCLC Update

By Regan W. Harper

New Orders No Longer Accepted for ACAS
As of April 12, OCLC is no longer providing price quotes for the Automated Collection Analysis services (ACAS). OCLC will, however, fulfill all orders received prior to this date.

The ACAS has been used by more than 500 libraries since OCLC acquired it in 1998. Now OCLC has decided to turn its resources toward developing a more cost-effective WorldCat-based online collection management service for individual libraries and groups. The new service will offer collection analysis, comparisons based on WorldCat holdings and comparisons with recommended lists including Books for College Libraries, Outstanding Academic Titles and Booklist, empowering library collection development staff to manage their collections more efficiently. The 2003 OCLC Environmental Scan indicated that the self-service model is an important component of information services today. The new service will complement a package of components that includes WorldCat and group catalogs and enhanced capabilities for WorldCat on FirstSearch.

For inquiries concerning ACAS, contact Glenda Lins at linsg@oclc.org or (800) 342- 5956, ext. 4056. For inquiries concerning the new WorldCat-based online collection management service, contact Rosario Garza (rgarza@bcr.org) at the BCR offices.

Connexion Client 1.10 Released
Version 1.10 of the OCLC Connexion client software was made available in late March. This latest version of the client includes enhancements to macro functionality, record editing capabilities and online error reporting. For more information and a link to download the software, go to www.oclc.org/connexion/interface/client/.

OCLC ILL Celebrates 25 Years
The OCLC Interlibrary Loan service was launched on April 1, 1979 25 years ago. More than 134 million requests have been made using the system. OCLC is looking forward to transitioning the service into the future with its next-generation ILL system, currently in development. More information can be found at www.oclc.org/info/ill/default.htm. Congratulations to all OCLC ILL libraries, and thank you for making OCLC ILL the world's most comprehensive and widely-used resource sharing system.

Quarterly Update to WebDewey/Abridged WebDewey Released
WebDewey and Abridged WebDewey are updated quarterly with the latest version of the schedules, tables, manual and relative index entries from their respective enhanced DDC databases. The hierarchical displays in WebDewey and Abridged WebDewey feature updated main class and division captions (e.g., 700 Arts & recreation; 790 Sports, games & entertainment). A detailed list of enhancements to WebDewey, the Web-based version of the enhanced DDC 22 database, is found at www.oclc.org/dewey/updates/enhancements/default.htm.

Enhancements to Abridged WebDewey, the Web-based version of the Abridged 14 databases, include all content from the new Abridged Edition 14 through March 2004, Library of Congress subject headings (LCSH) that have been intellectually mapped to Dewey headings by DDC editors and links from mapped LCSH to the LCSH authority records mappings between abridged Dewey numbers and subject headings from the 18th edition of H.W. Wilson's Sears List of Subject Headings.

The next Dewey services quarterly release is scheduled for August 2004.

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