September/October 2004 Page 2 

OCLC PRODUCT OF THE MONTH : CONTENTdm
 
SHOWCASE AND MANAGE YOUR DIGITAL COLLECTIONS

Building an online digital collection once required specialized software skills, expert hardware support and expensive software solutions. Now, with CONTENTdm, it's easy to build digital collections without investing a lot of time and money.

CONTENTdm is a digital collection software suite that allows you to create, organize, search, access and manage your digital collections. This system lets you systematically organize and showcase a wide range of media types, from photographs and maps to multimedia clips, postcards, documents, manuscripts, books, newspapers, cartoons and periodicals. And you can add your CONTENTdm collection metadata to WorldCat, providing global access to your rich resources.

With CONTENTdm, you can:

• Import any digitized materials - including historic photos, maps, letters, journals and other handwritten documents, as well as printed materials such as newspapers. CONTENTdm also accepts sound and video files, and multiple views of three-dimensional artifacts.
  
• Build collaborative collections - built-in workflow tools and a simple interface make collaborating with other departments or organizations easy.
  
• Create metadata - CONTENTdm uses structured metadata fields and offers the flexibility to add descriptive, structural and administrative metadata to meet local needs.

• Easy access to administrative features - use your web browser to manage and edit your collections.
  
• Global and batch editing - perform global search and replace operations on metadata, edit subsets of collections or update individual items within a collection.
  
• Interoperability with existing systems - CONTENTdm supports Open Archives Initiative (OAI) Protocol for Metadata Harvesting, Dublin Core for metadata, XML and HTML for export, and is also Z39.50 compatible.

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RAVE REVIEWS FOR NEBASE AND NETWORK SERVICES ONLINE SESSIONS

Have you attended one of NEBASE and Network Services Online Sessions? Since April, over 65 of your colleagues have. Attendees have participated in sessions on netLibrary, FirstSearch, OCLC ILL, OCLC Cataloging, WebDewey, and CatExpress.

When asked why they found the online sessions helpful, librarians who have attended the online sessions said:

"Training on new enhancements without leaving the office. Would probably not been able to travel for training."

"This felt more like a one on one workshop."

"Give us a chance to network with other ILL staff."

"This is great. We don't have to travel to attend sessions."

"It is time saving and more than one person can view the online sessions."

"Very useful technology (web conferencing) allows us to ask questions as you go."

"Networked with others, provided an opportunity to share ideas and concerns."

NEBASE & Network Services Online Sessions are live presentations that you access from your own computer via the internet, with audio available via a toll-free conference call. To participate, all you need is your telephone and your web browser. Any number of staff can watch the presentation on the same computer at your library and listen in on the same conference call.

For more information and to see what sessions are currently scheduled, please go to our NEBASE Online Sessions web site at </netserv/training/onlinesessions/index.html>.

Please contact Jeannette Powell if you have questions or comments about the Online Sessions at 402-471-7740, 800-307-2665 or email: Jeannette Powell.

Christa Burns
OCLC Member Services Coordinator
Nebraska Library Commission

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LISTEN TO ARCHIVED ONLINE SESSIONS IN THE COMFORT OF YOUR LIBRARY

Earlier this year, NEBASE and Network Services began offering instruction and demonstrations in live online sessions. These sessions allow participants to gain training and information through a web conference conducted via the Internet and a toll-free telephone conference call.

If you missed one of the sessions, or if you would just like to see it again, these online sessions have been recorded and are available online for you to view at your leisure. Each recorded session is viewable from a web browser. You will need a sound card and either earphones or speakers. There is no cost to view these recorded sessions.

The following archived sessions are currently available:

• OCLC ILL Policies Directory
  
• Introduction to WebDewey
  
• OCLC ILL Custom Holdings & Direct Request
  
• FirstSearch Staff View for ILL - June Enhancements
  
• CatExpress Training
  
• WorldCat Resource Sharing - August Enhancements

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OCLC SOFTWARE RETIREMENT DATES ANNOUNCED

Here are the dates you've all been waiting for!

OCLC has consulted with librarians as well as its own Members Council, advisory committees and regional service providers, and is announcing software retirement dates for its current cataloging, resource sharing and union list services.

RETIREMENT DATES

May 1, 2005

OCLC will retire:

• Passport for Cataloging
  • You must migrate before May 1st to Connexion - either the Browser and/or the Client.
• Passport for Interlibrary Loan
  
• ILL Web
  
• ILL ME
• ILLiad 6.x

• November/December 2004: Connexion client version 1.20 will be released and will contain most CatME functionality including NACO, authority searching enhancements, local files and batch processing.
  
• 1st quarter 2005: Connexion client version 1.30 will be released including the remainder of CatME functionality, WorldCat true keyword searching, truncated lists, and CJK support.
  
• 2nd quarter 2005: Connexion client version 1.40 will be released including support for Arabic cataloging.

• December 2004: Version 7.0 of ILLiad will be released and will ensure ongoing interoperability with the OCLC interlibrary loan service. ILLiad users will see a new search form for sending requests. All updating and downloading will happen automatically and in real time. All libraries currently using OCLC resource sharing that do not have access to FirstSearch can log on to WorldCat Resource Sharing.
  
• December 2004-April 2005: WorldCat Resource Sharing will gain additional high-productivity features and functionality. The improved workflow enables users of Passport for ILL, ILL Web, and ILL ME to migrate to WorldCat Resource Sharing.
  
• December 2004: Users of Passport for ILL and ILL ME can migrate their workflow to WorldCat Resource Sharing thanks to several new features:
  • Custom holdings will create lender strings for serial requests based on year(s) of holdings information in local data records. This will allow you to request photocopies from only those institutions that own the volume and issue that you need.
    
  • Integration with Policies Directory data will deflect requests based on group membership, geographic region, fees, formats, non-circulating policies, etc. As a lender you will receive only those requests that you can fill.
    
  • Local holdings information from your web-based OPAC will be added to Pending requests paving the way for a later enhancement to create picklists.
• Second quarter 2005: WorldCat Resource Sharing will experience downtime during migration to a new technology platform. OCLC will provide advance notice of the time and duration, and work to minimize the impact on libraries.
  
• May 1, 2005: OCLC will retire Passport for ILL, ILL Web, ILL ME and ILLiad 6.x. All users of these interfaces must migrate to WorldCat Resource Sharing or upgrade to OCLC ILLiad 7.0.

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EXTENDED AVAILABILITY OF UNION LISTS OF PERIODICALS IN FIRSTSEARCH

OCLC will continue to make available the Union Lists of Periodicals database on the OCLC FirstSearch service until further notice.

Earlier this year, we had informed you that OCLC would be discontinuing per-search and subscription access to the Union Lists of Periodicals database on Tuesday, August 31. OCLC has now decided to extend the availability of this database until its unique indexing and functionality is incorporated into WorldCat, a process that they anticipate completing by the end of 2004. OCLC will keep you updated on its status and provide advance notice of the eventual discontinuation of the Union Lists of Periodicals database on FirstSearch. In the meantime, the database will be updated in September.

Please note that the eventual discontinuation of the Union Lists of Periodicals database on FirstSearch will not impact the Union List service in any manner. OCLC is committed to continuing the Union List service and will provide you with additional information on its migration by the end of August. (See: OCLC Software Retirement Dates Announced)

For additional information, please contact a Network Services staff member at  800-307-2665, e-mail: Nebraskaccess or OCLC Support 800-848-5800, e-mail <support@oclc.org>.

Christa Burns
OCLC Member Services Coordinator
Nebraska Library Commission
 

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H.W. WILSON INDEXES RE-IMPLEMENTED IN OCLC FIRSTSEARCH

OCLC is pleased to announce that it has re-implemented index-only versions of several H.W. Wilson databases that were discontinued recently on the OCLC FirstSearch service. Because of contractual obligations, these databases will be available via subscription only. This decision has been made in response to requests from numerous libraries to provide a lower-cost alternative to the "abstracts" versions of these databases that are also available by subscription on FirstSearch.

The following six H.W. Wilson databases are now available in index versions, i.e. without abstracts in the records:

• Applied Science and Technology Index
  
• Art Index
• Education Index
  
• General Science Index
  
• Humanities Index
  
• Social Sciences Index

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OCLC AND MCLS TO COMBINE QUESTIONPOINT, 24/7 REFERENCE SERVICES

Combined strengths of virtual reference services will broaden membership and deepen knowledge resources for users.

OCLC and the Metropolitan Cooperative Library System have agreed to 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.

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

"We are very excited about this opportunity to consolidate two leading virtual reference services in the library community," said George Needham, Vice President, OCLC Member Services. "The integration of the QuestionPoint and 24/7 Reference cooperatives will enable us to offer a fuller suite of virtual reference services, adding value for all cooperative members."

Read the entire story here - <http://www.oclc.org/news/releases/20048.htm>.

Christa Burns
OCLC Member Services Coordinator
Nebraska Library Commission

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• Display all holdings; not just holdings for groups such as NE$A and LVIS.
• Send requests to any lender regardless of whether or not the lenders are in your group.
• See full bibliographic records in WorldCat.

• Check lenders' ILL policies before you send the request to a non-Nebraska library. Do they lend the material type you are requesting for free? If not, do they lend at a price you are willing to pay?
• Only send requests to libraries that will lend for the maxcost listed in your request.
  
• Be aware that some out-of-state and non-LVIS libraries charge for photocopies and may charge for other material types. In addition, these lenders often use IFM for billing instead of sending paper invoices.

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OCLC ILL POLICIES DIRECTORY: ENTER YOUR LENDING RULES NOW

The ILL Policies Directory includes functionality that allows libraries to change their own supplier status. Now is the perfect time to update your policy information so you'll be ready for staff vacations or any other schedule changes. Instructions for changing your supplier status can be found at </netserv/nebase/illnonsupplier.html>.

Upcoming enhancements include using libraries policy data to automatically route or deflect requests from the Message File (now known as the "Request Manager" in the ILL staff view on the FirstSearch platform). Learn more about why entering your lending rules matters, how to help speed the ILL system now and in the future, and view the ILL Policies Tutorial at <http://www.oclc.org/ill/migration/policies.htm>.

To access the ILL Policies Directory go to <http://illpolicies.oclc.org>. Log on using your ILL Authorization number and Password. Once you are in the Policies Directory, click "My Units" at the top of the screen to view and edit your own library's records.

Instructions for entering your information into the ILL Policies Directory can be found in the reference card, Getting Started with the OCLC ILL Policies Directory, which is available from the Directory web site at <http://www.oclc.org/support/documentation/ill/libpolicies/getstart/>.

In addition, Technical Bulletin 248: OCLC ILL Policies Directory, available at <http://www.oclc.org/support/documentation/ill/tb/248/>, provides detailed information about the OCLC ILL Policies Directory, including instructions on using the Directory and screen shots.

For assistance with other changes to your Policies Directory record, please contact NEBASE, 402-471-3107, 800-307-2665 or email: Christa Burns or OCLC Customer Support Department, 800-848-5800, <support@oclc.org> with questions.

Christa Burns
OCLC Member Services Coordinator
Nebraska Library Commission
 

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OCLC RESOURCE SHARING MIGRATION UPDATE

On August 15, 2004, OCLC completed all basic borrowing and lending in the WorldCat Resource Sharing (formerly referred to as the FirstSearch staff view). Libraries that currently use OCLC's ILL Web and have FirstSearch access will be able to switch their workflow to the WorldCat Resource Sharing.

Now is the time to migrate!

In addition to the completion of borrowing and lending, the FirstSearch staff view will also include:

• Multiple holdings display options, including custom holdings (persistence between holdings screens is expected to be fully implemented by August 20)
• Batch printing of Request Manager categories
• Setup and use of saved conditional notes
• Improved brief results display in Request Manager
• Limit resource sharing based on WorldCat holdings

• Save the searches they've conducted in FirstSearch databases (a precursor to CDI-type functionality!)
• Place a resource sharing request through ILL Direct Request and track the status of their request, if registered when the request is placed

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CHECK YOUR CATEXPRESS MONTHLY TRANSACTION REPORTS

Are you wondering how many titles you have left in your CatExpress subscription? Do you need accurate statistics on your cataloging activity? The OCLC CatExpress Monthly Transaction Reports have what you need.

Every month OCLC mounts Monthly Transaction Reports detailing your library's CatExpress cataloging activity on the Product Services Web. The Reports list transactions for the Current Month's activity and Year to Date activity. Year to Date activity is for the current subscription year July 1, 2004-June 30, 2005. Reports remain available for 90 days. There is no extra cost to access the Reports. They are included as part of your CatExpress subscription.

Why do you need to know how much of your CatExpress subscription you have used? Libraries who exceed their subscription limit may be charged 84¢ for each record over the limit. If you monitor your usage and don't go over your subscription limit, you can avoid having to pay any extra charges at the end of the subscription year.

For detailed information about the Monthly Transaction Reports and instructions on how to use them, see the NEBASE CatExpress web site at </netserv/nebase/catxreports.html>.

Christa Burns
OCLC Member Services Coordinator
Nebraska Library Commission

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OCLC CONNEXION BROWSER ENHANCEMENTS

JULY ENHANCEMENT
The OCLC Connexion browser enhancement and maintenance installation for July was successfully installed on July 18. Please see Connexion News for more details about these changes.

These changes will be available to Connexion browser users only; they will be added to the Connexion client when version 1.20 is released later this year.

• Root and Expanded Displays in Connexion Authority File (originally planned for May 23, 2004)
  • Similar to the Authority File scans currently available in Passport or CatME. These enhancements add more of the functionality of the older cataloging systems into the Connexion environment
• Linking Name Headings Containing $4, $e or $u
  • You are no longer required to delete the $4, $e or $u, match the heading, then modify and insert the heading into the bibliographic record.

• Record Display Delays because of Bad URLs Corrected
  
• Clearing Your Browser Cache After a Connexion Browser Install
  
• Double-clicking and Second Clicking
  
• Browser Export and Label Enhancements
  
• WebDewey/Abridged WebDewey August 2004 Quarterly Update

See section 4, under "Troubleshooting Checklist". You should only need to clear your cache once to resolve any issues caused by old files in cache.

Sometimes a quicker solution is to simply refresh the page you are trying to display. This forces the browser to update any files needed for that particular page, but you might have to refresh a number of pages using this approach. However, it should only be necessary to refresh any given type of page (such as a brief list or search screen) once.

Double-clicking and Second Clicking
With this install, we have corrected problems with double clicking and second clicking in WorldCat, Save File, and Resource Catalog. In the past, we advised you not to click more than once until you got a system response as this caused performance issues. We have given the Connexion browser the ability to ignore the second click on group and brief lists, and on most edit/action/view operations. This change helps speed up Connexion browser response times.

Browser Export and Label Enhancements
The following changes do not affect Export from the Express tab (CatExpress) or the Connexion client.

You no longer have to download a file immediately after choosing the Export Records in MARC, Export or Flagged Records, command. The bibliographic or authority records move to an appendable file in Connexion when the Export to file option is selected in Export Options. The files continue to append until you download them. The files are stored in Connexion for 90 days. TCP/IP export is still available when the TCP/IP option is selected in Export options.

The Create Labels for Flagged Records command moves labels to an appendable file in Connexion. The files continue to append until you download them. Label files are stored in Connexion for 7 days. You can print labels one by one from a displayed bibliographic record as well.

• You can choose to collect export and label files by institution or by individual authorization.
  
• You can set your own default file name and extension for export and label files.
  
• You can download more than one bibliographic record file at a time as long as the records are in the same format, MARC, Dublin Core HTML, or Dublin Core RDF.
  
• You can choose to save a record automatically with the Mark for Export or Mark for Label command. When this option is on, the Mark for Export or Mark for Label command will mark the record and automatically start the dialog to save records to the save file.

• Improved downward display of DDC hierarchies throughout schedule and table records, particularly the display of records that fall within a particular record's immediate downward hierarchy.
  
• Double and triple zero subdivisions now appear in the downward hierarchies for schedule and table records. Additionally, when you click on the standard subdivision link in a record's hierarchy, you are no longer routed to the browse view. Instead, the applicable schedule record is displayed. (Note that the Browse button located in schedule and table records continues to offer you the option to browse the Dewey numbers with Captions index at any time.)
  
• Improved display of upward DDC hierarchies throughout schedule and table records, particularly upward hierarchies that include centered entries, or spans. Please refer to <http://www.oclc.org/dewey/enhancements/enhancement200408.htm> for specific examples.

• all updates to Dewey Decimal Classification, Edition 22, through July 2004 (corrections, new developments, new built numbers, and additional electronic index terms)
  
• thousands of Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) that have been statistically mapped to Dewey numbers from records in WorldCat (the OCLC Online Union Catalog) and intellectually mapped by DDC editors (through LCSH Weekly List no. 36, 2003)
  
• thousands of Relative Index terms and built numbers not available in print
  
• links from mapped LCSH to the LCSH authority records
  
• selected mappings from Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)

• All content from Abridged Edition 14, through July 2004
  
• LCSH that have been intellectually mapped to Dewey headings by DDC editors, including mappings to Abridged Edition 13 numbers from the OCLC publication, Subject Headings for Children
  
• 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

• Links to Related Topics (listed at the end of each Help topic)
  
• Search Help function (above the title of each Help topic)
  
• Contents tab (top of each Help window)

1. Go to the Doc Finder page on the OCLC Web site: <https://www3.oclc.org/documentation/>.
   
2. Click "Recent updates" (navigation area, left side of page).
   
3. Look for titles that begin with "Connexion Browser - ". From a listed title, you can view the guide in either HTML or PDF format.

• To view a guide in HTML format, click the title.
  
• From the title page, use the links in the left-side navigation area:
  • PDF - View and/or print the guide in PDF format.
    
  • Abstract & revision notes - View a list that describes recent changes to the document. The Revision history is also on page 2 of the PDF).

• On the Connexion browser login screen, under Related Links, click Connexion Documentation.
  
• After logging on to Connexion browser:
  • On the General tab, click the Documentation button.
    Or
    
  • On the home screen (screen displayed after logon), under Topics, click OCLC Connexion Documentation.

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CONNEXION BROWSER TUTORIAL UPDATE

OCLC Training Development staff recently completed revisions to Using OCLC Connexion Browser: An OCLC Tutorial.

The tutorial can be viewed on the OCLC Training page: <http://www.oclc.org/support/training/>, or from the Connexion Browser documentation page at <http://www.oclc.org/support/documentation/connexion/browser/default.htm>.

The revisions to the tutorial incorporate the most recent enhancement, improvements to exporting bibliographic records to a file.

Go to the Main Menu; select Taking Final Actions; select Exporting Records.

Please see Connexion News for more details about this change.

Christa Burns
OCLC Member Services Coordinator
Nebraska Library Commission
 

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CONNEXION CLIENT VERSION 1.20 UPDATE

Connexion client version 1.20 is coming later this year!

The next release of the Windows-based interface to OCLC Connexion will include batch functionality, local files, offline cataloging, Authority File searching enhancements, NACO functionality, plus more.

See the Connexion Web site at <http://www.oclc.org/connexion/interface/client/enhancements/future.htm>
for more information about what is coming in the next release of the client.

David Whitehair
Connexion client product manager
OCLC Cataloging and Metadata Services
 

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CONNEXION CLIENT 1.20 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS - ADDITION OF MDAC

Beginning with version 1.20, the Connexion client will require Microsoft Data Access Component (MDAC) to be installed on workstations. MDAC is included with the Connexion client "complete" installation program along with the .NET Framework. Or, you can install MDAC in advance and then use the "client only" installation program to upgrade your workstation when version 1.20 is released.

The Connexion client system requirements at
<http://www.oclc.org/support/documentation/connexion/client/gettingstarted/#bas_hardsoftware_reqs.fm> have been updated to include the following information:

Microsoft Data Access Component (MDAC): Starting with Version 1.20, the client requires that you have Microsoft Data Access Component (MDAC) Version 2.7 or higher installed on your workstation.

If MDAC is not already installed, the complete client installation program automatically installs it before installing the client.

If installing MDAC, you must log on to Windows with local administrator privileges.

If MDAC is already installed, you may be able to install the client-only software with lower level privileges, depending on your particular work setup. However, OCLC recommends that you install the software with local administrative privileges, whether you install with or without MDAC. Local administrator privileges are not required to run the client.

If you are unsure whether you have MDAC installed, OCLC recommends using the complete client installation program, which checks to see if MDAC is needed.

You may want to consider installing MDAC before installing version 1.20 of the client to make the client installation faster. Go to <http://msdn.microsoft.com/downloads/>.

David Whitehair
Connexion Client Product Manager
OCLC Cataloging and Metadata Services
 

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LIBRARY SCHOOL TEACHES CONTENTdm

Queens College is the first library school in the country to teach CONTENTdm.

"I wanted to make my students more employable," explains Claudia Perry, an Associate Professor at the Queens College Graduate School of Library and Information Studies.

So last fall, Professor Perry did something unprecedented. She taught her students how to use CONTENTdm digital collection management software. Her lucky students are the first library school students in the country to learn about CONTENTdm.

View the full story at <http://www5.oclc.org/downloads/design/abstracts/07262004/contentdm.htm>.

Visit the Queens College Graduate School of Library and Information Science at <http://qcpages.qc.edu/GSLIS/index.html>.

Learn more about CONTENTdm digital collection management software at </netserv/nebase/digpres.html#CONTENTdm>.

Christa Burns
OCLC Member Services Coordinator
Nebraska Library Commission
 

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N³ (Ncubed) Newsletter is published bimonthly by the Nebraska Library Commission Network Services team. It is the intent of Network Services to promote and support libraries in their cooperative efforts to share resources and information. Circulation: 600. Published on PC software. Editor: Shannon Behrhorst. Word Processing: Jeannette Powell. ISSN 1082-4383 Send mail to: N³ Editor Nebraska Library Commission, The Atrium, 1200 N St., Suite 120, Lincoln, NE, 68508 Phone: 402-471-4031 or 800-307-2665 Fax: 402-471-2083 E-mail: Shannon Behrhorst Home Page: </netserv/netserv.html>