UPDATES

Are we there yet? Migration dates are set

It’s been a long trip, but many libraries planning their migration to Connexion and WorldCat Resource Sharing are almost there.

After consulting with librarians, Members Council delegates, advisory committees and regional service providers, OCLC has set dates for retirement of some cataloging, resource sharing and union list access points:

• May 1, 2005, OCLC will retire Passport for cataloging and resource sharing, ILL Web, ILL ME and ILLiad 6.x. Those who use Passport software for cataloging should be planning to move to the Connexion browser or client. Those who use Passport for ILL, ILL Web, ILL ME or ILLiad 6.x for resource sharing should be planning to migrate to WorldCat Resource Sharing, currently known as the FirstSearch staff view, or upgrade to ILLiad 7.0.

• June 2005, OCLC will retire Passport union listing functionality. No specific date is yet available for retirement. OCLC will release more details over the next few months. Those who use Passport for union list activities should be planning to migrate to Connexion.

• July 1, 2005, OCLC will retire CatME, CJK and Arabic systems. All users of these access points must migrate to the Connexion browser or client.

To learn more about migrating to Connexion, visit the Connexion migration Web site at www.oclc.org/connexion/ migrating/

QP + 24/7 Reference

OCLC and the Metropolitan Cooperative Library System (MCLS) will combine QuestionPoint and 24/7 Reference to create a more powerful suite of virtual reference tools that brings together the best features of both services. The agreement for OCLC to acquire the assets of the 24/7 Reference service was signed August 10.

QuestionPoint is the virtual reference service and knowledge resource supported by a global network of cooperating libraries and librarians, as well as an infrastructure of software and communications tools. Developed by the Metropolitan Cooperative Library System in Southern California, 24/7 Reference is a round-the-clock reference cooperative and service that allows library users to ask questions and get answers from qualified reference staff in real time on the Internet.

Both QuestionPoint and 24/7 Reference libraries will continue to receive service under terms of their current contracts.

An advisory committee is being formed to gather information and ideas from users of both services to help ensure a smooth transition. Nancy O’Neill, a 24/7 Reference user from Santa Monica Public Library, and Nancy Huling, a QuestionPoint user from the University of Washington, will co-chair the committee.

Content, not containers, focus of 2004 Information Format Trends report

A new report from OCLC, 2004 Information Format Trends: Content, Not Containers, picks up where the 2003 Five-Year Information Format Trends report left off in examining how information trends and format innovations have required libraries to manage a much more complex universe of resources.

The 2004 Information Format Trends report examines remarkable changes of the past 18 months, most significantly the unbundling of content from traditional containers, such as books and journals, as well as distribution methods.

The OCLC report lays out top trends in content and what they may mean for libraries in the next five years, such as:

• Legitimacy of open-source publishing, such as blogs

• Rapidly expanding economics of e-learning

• Repurposing of “old” content for new media

• Multimedia content as a service for an array of devices.

To download the 2004 Information Format Trends report, visit: www.oclc.org/reports/2004format.

Policy, social issues live on in PAIS Archive

PAIS Archive, the retrospective database chronicling global public policy and social issues from the early 20th century through the mid-1970s, remains on schedule for completion of the entire database by the end of 2004.

The first installment of the PAIS Archive is complete. Part II of the installment, which covers 1937 through 1956, and Part III, covering 1915 through 1936, will complete the PAIS Archive later this year.

PAIS Archive, now available on the OCLC FirstSearch reference service, currently provides online subject and bibliographic access to books, articles, gray literature and other resources published from 1957–1976.

The PAIS Archive is a companion database to the monthly updated PAIS International. Using the FirstSearch “Virtual Catalog” feature, both databases can be searched simultaneously.

For more information, visit the PAIS Web site, www.pais.org

Cataloging Partners deliver the goods

The OCLC Cataloging Partners Program lowers the cost of cataloging for libraries, enriches WorldCat with records and holdings information for resource sharing, and makes it possible for all libraries that get materials from participating cataloging partners to become part of the OCLC cooperative.

Participating materials vendors, who are designated as OCLC Cataloging Partners, collaborate with OCLC to provide highquality, customized cataloging records for evry item the library orders.

Physical processing is also available, so when library materials arrive from participating vendors, library staff need only pull the items from a box and place them on the shelves. Each item comes with a high-quality cataloging records with optional spine labels and bar codes attached.The OCLC Cataloging Partners Program not only benefits libraries that subscribe to the service through their materials vendors, but all libraries using WorldCat because they can use the cataloging information contributed by the partnering companies. Libraries can become part of the OCLC cooperative when they get materials from OCLC cataloging partners and their holdings are visible in WorldCat.

For information about the OCLC Cataloging Partners Program, visit www.oclc.org/catalogingpartners/

From Jay Jordan | E-learning and libraries