CAPT OF AN MLG COMPLAINED THAT THE LOC BACK COURSE APCH NOT NOTAMED OTS EVEN THOUGH THE FRONT COURSE WAS!

Narrative

AS OF TODAY; MAR/XX/96; MSY HAS NO NOTAM THAT THE BACK COURSE (RWY 19) LOC APCH IS OTS AND IS UNAVAILABLE. THE APCH HAS BEEN UNAVAILABLE FOR 6 MONTHS NOW. IN CONSULTING THE CLASS II NOTAMS; ONLY THE ILS RWY 01 IS NOTAMED OTS! TODAY; WE THOUGHT THAT WE WERE ON A VECTOR TO INTERCEPT THE BACK COURSE LOC RWY 19 APCH AT MSY. WE WERE ISSUED A 200 DEG HDG FOR VECTORS. I TUNED AND RECEIVED AN IDENT. THE FO WAS FLYING 'RAW DATA' AND I BACKED HIM UP WITH FMC/FMS LNAV COURSE GUIDANCE. AS WE APCHED THE INBOUND COURSE; I ASKED THE CTLR IF HE WANTED US TO INTERCEPT THE INBOUND COURSE. HE REPLIED; 'NEGATIVE; FLY PRESENT HDG' (NO MENTION THAT BACK COURSE LOC WAS OTS). SHORTLY; HE ASKED IF WE HAD THE ARPT IN SIGHT? WE SAID YES AND WERE CLRED FOR THE VISUAL APCH. AFTER ATTEMPTING TO 'BACKUP' ELECTRONICALLY WHAT WE SAW VISUALLY; I ASKED THE CTLR IF THE LOC BACK COURSE RWY 19 WAS 'UP' AND 'AVAILABLE.' HE THEN TOLD US 'IT' WAS RADIATING INTERMITTENTLY ON A TEST BASIS; BUT HAD BEEN OTS FOR 6 MONTHS NOW! I ASKED HIM WHY THE BACK COURSE LOC RWY 19 APCH WAS NOT NOTAMED OTS? HE REPLIED THE RWY 01 LOC WAS NOTAMED OTS; AND THAT THEY SHARED THE SAME FREQ. I REPLIED THAT RWY 01 MAY HAVE BEEN UNUSABLE FOR ANY NUMBER OF REASONS; BUT THAT MAY NOT HAVE NECESSARILY AFFECTED RWY 19! HOW WERE WE TO KNOW? THE NOTAMS SHOULD PLAINLY REFER TO THE SPECIFIC INST APCH IN QUESTION; AND NOT RELY ON ANY 'IMPLIED' DIFFICULTY ASSOCIATED WITH ANOTHER PROC! THIS IS A POTENTIAL ACCIDENT/INCIDENT 'WAITING TO HAPPEN!' PLEASE HELP FIX THIS PROB. WE LANDED SAFELY; WITHOUT INCIDENT.