----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Dear Mr. Heagy,

We sympathize with your disappointment over the current Z39.50
limitations of Voyager. We ourselves are anxious to see these
capabilities improved as soon as possible, and the vendor,  Endeavor
Information Systems, is very interested in working with us to address
these issues.  As yet, however,  there is no specific timetable for
either the access to authority records or the complete treatment of
diacritics and special characters.  We have tried to lessen the
immediate impact of Voyager's Z39.50 shortcomings by continuing to
offer Z39.50 access to MUMS for the next few months.  RLIN and OCLC
also remain sources of access to full MARC authority records,
including Z39.50 access.

While our previous system MUMS had many excellent features that had
been developed over several decades, it was not well integrated with
our other systems that supported circulation and acquisitions.  Moving
to a single library system that integrated all components was long
overdue.  The Library feels that it made the best possible choice of
commercially available integrated library systems out of those
companies that responded to the Library's Request for Proposals.
Z39.50 is just one capability out of nearly nine hundred that the
Library specified.  Although the Voyager system does not support every
capability that we would eventually like to see,  it does offer many
excellent features that were not available in MUMS or its other
systems.  We ask for your patience and that of other Library users as
we make this very necessary transition to a system that will support
us well into the future.

Beth Dulabahn
ILS Implementation Coordinator
ILS Program Office
Library of Congress

>>> Phil Heagy <<a href="/scripts/wa.exe?LOGON=A3%3Dind9909%26L%3DARLIS-L%26E%3D7BIT%26P%3D213478%26B%3D--%26T%3Dtext%252FplainTEXT%252FPLAIN%3B%2520charset%3DUS-ASCII%26pending%3D" target="_parent" >[log in to unmask]</a>> 09/15 3:58 PM >>>
----------------------------Original
message----------------------------
Searching the LC catalogs using their new LC Z39.50 gateway,
"Voyager", I
noticed two disappointing features, and I'll quote from LC's
"limitations"
statement:

1) "Diacritics and many special characters are not encoded
correctly".

2) "It is not possible to search the LC authority files".

Am I missing something here, or have they taken two giant steps
backward
for mankind (taking our tax money with them) -- the gateway
previously
supported (MUMS, which apparently will disappear in December),
supported
both these features.

If I haven't somehow missed discussion on this previously, is this
something the Cataloging Advisory Committee of ARLIS would be
interested in
pursuing?

Phil Heagy
Menil Collection Library
1511 Branard St. Houston, TX 77006
PH: (713) 525-9426
FAX:  (713) 525-9444
e-mail:  <a href="/scripts/wa.exe?LOGON=A3%3Dind9909%26L%3DARLIS-L%26E%3D7BIT%26P%3D213478%26B%3D--%26T%3Dtext%252FplainTEXT%252FPLAIN%3B%2520charset%3DUS-ASCII%26pending%3D" target="_parent" >[log in to unmask]</a>