Jane Ciacci of U Chicago asked about searching LC authorities via
OCLC or a local resource file.

As with most things in cataloging these days, it is best to have
multiple paths. Most of my searching for authority and bibliographic
precedence is done in LOCIS via telnet. The greatest advantage over
either OCLC or RLIN is that the search can be done for both
authority and bibliographic records. In LOCIS, you can even
effectively and quickly search for John Smith using the ppnk search.
Corporate names with common words are the headings I search most
often in RLIN rather than LOCIS. We do have access to OCLC as well
but I have not used it. (At NYU, our reliance on OCLC or RLIN is
largely dependent on which system we feel more comfortable in
searching or on the materials we work with.)

Since LOCIS is available via telnet, it would not be necessary to
load a local resource file. Of course, there are slow times on the
web (like yesterday midday, when I just gave up after a while).
LOCIS is not available late in the evening and has shorter hours on
the weekend.

Searching LOCIS via MUMS may not be intuitive but I find it
incredibly effective in reviewing Art NACO contributions and in my
own record-building.

Sherman Clarke
NYU Libraries
Coordinator, Art NACO