Action for Libraries

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ACTION FOR LIB
THE EPIC EPOCH HAS BEGUN!
OCLC's new reference service, EPIC, was intro­duced
to the public on January 6, 1990. EPIC
provides keyword and subject access to the
world's largest bibliographic database, the OCLC
Online Union Catalog, with over 21 million
records. Th!'re are 330 million location listings
for 10,000 libraries included in the database as
well. Over 34,000 records are added to the
database weekly.
Hours of operation for the service are Monday
through Friday, 6:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M. Eastern
Standard Time, and Saturday from 8:00 A.M. to
8:00 P.M. (also EST.) Sunday hours are not
available at this time.
EPIC technical support will be available through
BCR at 691-0550 local, or 800-777-7674
throughout the region. Connee Chandler is the
primary support person for the EPIC system.
Backup support will be provided by the OCLC
User Contact Desk at 800-848-5800.
If you are interested in adding EPIC to your
library's services, call Connee for an order form.
If you received an order form in the mail from
OCLC, remember to return it to BCR for pro­cessing.
DEMCO DISCOUNT
Your 1990 BCR Discount applies to 1,000 exciting
new products as well as 15,000 DEMCO reliables.
BCR members receive 13% off prices on supplies
and 7% off furniture and equipment. DEMCO's
regular prices are among the lowest in the library
market - with your discounts they are a real
value. Simply say, "BCR" when ordering and
DEMCO will honor the appropriate discount. To
learn more about your contract, call DEMCO's
toll free number, 800-462-8709 for direct service.
To request a catalog or place an order, contact
DEMCO's professional sales representatives toll
free at 800-356-1200.
EPIC Documentation and Training
Aids
by Connee Chandler
OCLC recently sent us the EPIC Documentation
and the CBT (Computer Based Training Pro­gram)
for EPIC. The documentation has been
considerably improved since the original mat-eri­als
were prepared for the field test. The Refer­ence
Cards are trifold on heavy stock and are
designed to sit by the terminal. There are sepa­rate
Reference Cards for dial access terminals,
for dedicated line access, and one for the first
database available, the Online Union Catalog
(file 23). Although the cards cannot be compre­hensive
on a single sheet, OCLC has done a good
job with the Reference Cards of providing basic
information about searching the system and the
database in a compact, easily referred to, format.
By putting subjects on the card folds, they have
made it simple to find the section you want to
read. The Reference Cards are included with
your initial $37.50 (for OCLC Full Members) or
$75.00 annual fee for EPIC.
Also included in the startup package is The EPIC
Service User Guide. A comprehensive manual on
using the system, the User Guide has a stark
black-and-white cover and title page, but includes
some color on the inside pages to relieve the eyes.
The indexing is adequate, and the Table of
Contents is also very· detailed, which makes it
possible to easily find information on the com­mand
yon want to use. The information presented
about each command usually includes clear ex­amples
of how to use that particular feature.
Additional User Guides are available from OCLC
for $30.00 each. I have been told that the User
Guide shipped to subscribers will have tabbed
chapters, although the review copy I received did
not yet have them. Additional Reference Cards,
which you are likely to want for each terminal,
and which are likely to get lost and need to be
replaced, are priced at $3.00 for a package of ten.
The documentation order form seems to imply
A NON-PROFIT, MULTI-STATE LIBRARYSERVICES COOPERATIVE