From your 1998-99 OCLC Users' Council Delegates:
   Arlene Luster                   Marcia Talley
   [log in to unmask]          [log in to unmask]
   ph: 808-449-2209                ph:  410-293-6905

> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>
> FOR MORE INFORMATION:
> Nita Dean +1-614-761-5002
> [log in to unmask]
>
> FRENCH AND SPANISH INTERFACES ARE NEW FIRSTSEARCH OPTIONS
>
> DUBLIN, Ohio, Sept. 14, 1998--OCLC has released French and Spanish
> language interfaces for the OCLC FirstSearch service.  The new
> interfaces are the first non-English interfaces offered for FirstSearch.
>
> "OCLC is committed to helping libraries better serve their users," said
> Phyllis B. Spies, vice president, OCLC Worldwide Sales.  "By providing
> the interface in additional languages, OCLC hopes to make FirstSearch
> even easier to use for non-English speakers and those for whom English
> is a second language."
>
> Users now choose an English, French or Spanish interface, and all
> screens, including Help, appear in the language selected.  The content
> of the French and Spanish screens is identical to the English version.
> The databases are not translated, however.
>
> The French interface will benefit French-speaking FirstSearch users in
> France, Canada and Francophone countries, while the Spanish interface is
> intended for users in Spain, Spanish-speaking Latin America, and
> Hispanic communities in the United States.
>
> "Libraries have asked OCLC for multilingual interfaces to help them
> manage information flows that are increasingly global," said John
> Sullivan, director, OCLC Online Reference Services.  "The new French and
> Spanish interfaces are just the first steps in OCLC's efforts to make
> FirstSearch better serve libraries and their users worldwide."
>
> The OCLC FirstSearch service is designed for people who use libraries
> and requires no training or online search experience.  FirstSearch
> provides access to more than 75 databases, including OCLC FirstSearch
> Electronic Collections Online and more than a dozen full-text databases.
> FirstSearch also links to OCLC's Interlibrary Loan service and can be
> used via the World Wide Web or a text-based interface.  More information
> about FirstSearch, including a guided tour, can be found at
> <http://www.oclc.org/oclc/menu/fs.htm>.
>
> OCLC Online Computer Library Center is a nonprofit, membership, computer
> library service and research organization whose computer network and
> services link more than 27,000 libraries in 64 countries and territories
> <http://www.oclc.org/>.      (JI/JH/ND/GP)
>
> -0-