OCLC Reference Services availability expanded
The purpose of this section is to alert readers of Asian Libraries to new products, services and resources that may be of professional value or interest. Information is taken from publicity provided by the producers and is not evaluated or assessed for accuracy. Inclusion in this section does not mean the Editors of Asian Libraries or MCB University Press in any way endorse a particular product, service or resource. An item listed here subsequently may, if appropriate, also be reviewed in a relevant section of Asian Libraries (a new journal, for example, in the Reviews section).
OCLC Reference Services availability expanded
The OCLC FirstSearch service and OCLC FirstSearch Electronic Collections Online, which provides Web access to a growing collection of more than 1,200 electronic journals, are now available 24 hours a day, Monday through Saturday, US time. Both services will continue to be available 20 hours on Sundays, cutting weekly downtime to four hours. "Since FirstSearch's 1991 introduction, we have been extending its accessibility to meet the needs of remote-access users who often access the service long after their libraries close as well as libraries and their users in different time zones around the world", said John Sullivan, Director of OCLC Online Reference Services. "With distance and lifelong learning initiatives on the rise, and more and more use of FirstSearch by libraries all over the world,we are now working toward the next step providing round-the-clock availability seven days a week."
More information about FirstSearch,including a guided tour, can be found at <http://www.oclc.org/oclc/menu/fs.htm>More information about Electronic Collections Online, including a list of available journals, can be found at http://www.oclc.org/oclc/menu/eco.htm
