Selecting a Communications Program

After reading my April 1987 OCLC Micro article, several librarians have asked about ProComm and its selection as a communications package of choice and, in general, what principles to use in selecting communications packages for access to OCLC. The questions came about in part because ProComm was comparatively little‐known until recently. For example, a survey conducted by PC World found that the most commonly used packages were Crosstalk XVI and Smartcom II, followed by PC‐Talk, but no package dominated; ProComm was unmentioned. It also wasn't included in PC Magazine's otherwise comprehensive evaluation of communications programs nor was it listed in any of the standard guides, such as Bowker's, to PC software. But that was an oversight; it is a superb program.