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:
Chris Mottayaw +1-614-764-6476
[log in to unmask]
Nita Dean +1-614-761-5002
[log in to unmask]

OCLC AUTHORITY CONTROL COMBINED UNDER
ONE SUITE OF SERVICES

DUBLIN, Ohio, May 28, 1999--OCLC is combining the OCLC Authority Control
service and the WLN MARC Record Service (MARS) as two separate options under
the OCLC Authority Control suite.

"OCLC and OCLC/WLN have been meeting and working together to solve
libraries' authorities challenges," said Paul McCarthy, executive director,
OCLC/WLN Pacific Northwest Service Center.  "The Authority Control suite
will offer libraries the unique strengths of both services."

"OCLC is committed to offering quality authority control services," said
Gary Houk, vice president, OCLC Services.  "This new suite of services will
expand options from OCLC for libraries and allow us to look to the future of
authority control."

An OCLC Authority Control Update Session will be held at the ALA Annual
Conference in New Orleans from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 26, at
the Four Points Hotel, in the Mississippi B meeting room.  A team of
authority control experts--from OCLC, OCLC/WLN and Syndetic Solutions--will
discuss what's new in authority control and answer questions.  The update
session will be open, and a reservation is not required.

OCLC/WLN has been providing quality authority control and database
preparation services to all types of libraries for nearly 10 years.  In
addition to its highly customized authority control services, MARS may be
used to upgrade, deduplicate, merge and correct libraries' bibliographic
records.  Item field creation, holdings conversions and smart barcoding
services are also available, as is access to the National Library of Canada
Canadiana authority files and Library of Congress Children's authority
files.

OCLC's Authority Control services provide a sophisticated method of
correcting bibliographic records in addition to supplying associated
authority records.  Developed in 1996 to reduce manual review, and
incorporating improved functionality within the past year, OCLC's second
option provides an automated alternative to the customized automated MARS
service.

Both options provide libraries with the opportunity to obtain updated
Library of Congress and National Library of Medicine Medical Subject
Headings authority records following the initial process and may be used in
conjunction with other OCLC services such as RetroCon, TechPro and PromptCat
in addition to online cataloging.

More information about the OCLC Authority Control suite is available from
Chris Mottayaw, OCLC Conversion and Authority Control Service marketing
manager, at +1-614-764-6476 or [log in to unmask], or from Sally Smith,
manager, MARC Record Services, at +1-360-923-4000, ext. 4056, or
[log in to unmask]  Information may also be found at
<http://www.oclc.org/oclc/menu/auth.htm>.

OCLC and WLN merged on Jan. 1, 1999, and WLN became the OCLC/WLN Pacific
Northwest Service Center.  More information about the service center,
located in Lacey, Washington, is available at <http://www.wln.org/>.

Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, OCLC Online Computer Library Center is a
nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization
whose computer network and services link more than 34,000 libraries in 67
countries and territories.  OCLC is dedicated to the public purposes of
furthering access to the world's information and reducing information costs.

In the United States, more information is available (via telephone:
+1-614-764-6000 or 1-800-848-5878; fax:  +1-614-764-6096; or e-mail:
[log in to unmask]).  In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, contact the OCLC
Europe office, located in Birmingham, United Kingdom (phone:  +44 121 456
4656; fax:  +44 121 456 4680; or e-mail:  [log in to unmask]).  In Asia and the
Pacific region, contact the OCLC Asia Pacific office in Dublin, Ohio (phone:
+1-614-764-6189; fax:  +1-614-764-4331; or e-mail:
[log in to unmask]).  In Canada, contact the OCLC Canada office
in Montreal, Quebec (phone:  +1-450-658-6583 or 1-888-658-6583; fax:  +1-450
658-6231; or e-mail:  [log in to unmask]).  In Latin America and the Caribbean,
contact the OCLC Latin America and the Caribbean office in Dublin, Ohio
(phone:  +1-614-761-5196; fax:  +1-614-718-1026; or e-mail:
[log in to unmask]).

More information about OCLC, its affiliated U.S. regional networks,
international divisions and distributors is available on the OCLC Web site
<http://www.oclc.org/>.    (ND)

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