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

In Reference...

OCLC New FirstSearch Update
The start of migration from the current OCLC FirstSearch service to the New FirstSearch service began in late June. Access to the current versions of OCLC FirstSearch and OCLC FirstSearch Electronic Collections Online is expected to end on August 20. At the end of the migration period, all FirstSearch users will be redirected to the new service regardless of their method of access.

However, users of some versions of WebScript will need to make several changes in order to access the New FirstSearch service. Versions 1.95 and 1.96 will not work with the New FirstSearch service. Users of these versions must download the latest version (2.00) of the WebScript application and script template from the OCLC Web site. Instructions and links to Version 2.00 are available at purl.org/oclc/fs-ws.

Users of OCLC WebScript script versions 1.97 and 1.98 need to edit their scripts. Call Jim Hensinger at (800) 397-1552 or contact him by e-mail (jhensin@bcr.org) for more information or subscribe to the WEBSCRIPT-L discussion list at www.oclc.org/oclc/forms/listserv.htm to receive updated information about WebScript.

Britannica Online Permits Remote Access
Britannica is now allowing remote access without any surcharge for subscribing public libraries. If the surcharge was keeping you from signing up, this change may well help you revise that decision.

Britannica's enrollment is currently more than 180,000 adjusted FTEs. You can still enroll your library or renew your subscription at the rate of $0.345 per FTE student or patron. New subscribers will receive a prorated rate through June 1, 2001. Please visit www.bcr.org/ and click on Reference Databases for more information or to order.

Ongoing Subscriptions Available
Prorated subscriptions are still available for a number of other online reference services through BCR, including Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, New Book of Knowledge, Encyclopedia Americana, Cumbre en Linea and Popular Science. Contact Jim Hensinger (jhensin@bcr.org) for more information.

BCR Publications | Table of Contents