For Immediate Release: October 4, 2006

New Millenium Catalog Goes “Live” on Halloween!

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(Oakland, CA)—Besides the usual ghosts and ghouls, this Halloween will be special for the Oakland Public Library and its users because it will inaugurate a brand-new Online Catalog System that is Web-based and will advance the Library’s technology into the 21st century. The Millennium system by Innovative Interfaces, Inc. of Emeryville, California, will go “live” on October 31 and will replace an obsolete system that is over sixteen years old with one that is more user-friendly, graphical, and accessible from all standard Web browsers. The new catalog comes with a host of additional benefits for customers, such as the ability to manage their own accounts, view the catalog in multiple languages, and eventually have access to over 5 million items from nearly 50 public and academic libraries that are part of Millennium’s LINK+ system.

“Thanks to the voters who passed Measure Q in 2004, we’re happy to be able to provide our community with this state-of-the-art technology,” remarks Gerry Garzon, the Library’s Deputy Director. “We think they’ll be pleased to see the changes and the new possibilities that the Millennium Catalog offers them.”

Some of the specific improvements for the public include the ability to sign up for e-mail alerts, set preferred searches, view hold items, have access to book reviews, publishers’ summaries, and the tables of content for books in the Oakland Public Library’s collections. The public will also be able to reserve computer time throughout the system (not just at the Main Library) and view catalog items in English, Spanish and Chinese. Once the LINK+ system is in place, users will be able to order and receive items from a variety of other public and academic libraries within a matter of days.

To make the new Online Catalog System less “frightful” this Halloween, Oakland Public Library staff will be joined by trained volunteers at some sites to help make the transition a smooth one. Users should not hesitate to ask staff for assistance while they get accustomed to the new Millennium Catalog and learn its new features.

The Millennium Online Catalog System is being funded by Measure Q, a parcel tax measure that received over 77% “yes” votes on the March 2004 ballot.

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