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Public-Access Computer Systems News
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Volume 4, Number 3 (1993) ISSN 1050-6004
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Editors: Dana Rooks (LIBL@UHUPVM1) and Linda Thompson
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(LIB1J@UHUPVM1).
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Issued on an irregular basis by University Libraries, University
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of Houston, Houston, TX 77204-2091.
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CONTENTS
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OCLC REDUCES TELECOMMUNICATIONS CHARGES, 1
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OCLC ANNOUNCES INTENT TO ACQUIRE INFORMATION DIMENSIONS, INC., 2
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OCLC SITESEARCH SOFTWARE PROVIDES SEAMLESS INTERFACE TO REFERENCE
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DATABASES, 2
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DOCUMENT ORDERING DEBUTS ON FIRSTSEARCH, 3
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JUDGES NAMED FOR "OCLC ON THE FRONT LINE" AWARD, 3
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RLG'S NEW SEARCH SYSTEM DEBUTS AT DARTMOUTH, 4
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DRA TO ACQUIRE INLEX, 5
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DATABASE DIRECTORIES MERGE, 5
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DRA TO ACQUIRE AUSTRALIAN LIBRARY AUTOMATION SYSTEM, 6
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DRA ENTERS STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH TACOMA PUBLIC, 6
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OCLC REDUCES TELECOMMUNICATIONS CHARGES
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Effective January 1, 1993, OCLC has reduced its
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telecommunications charges by an average of nine percent. The
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reduction will save OCLC member libraries in the U.S. and Canada
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some $3 million over the next 18 months. The telecommunications
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charge reductions will appear as credits on members' monthly
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telecommunications bills, beginning with the March invoice. The
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individual decreases will range from five to 12 percent. OCLC
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estimates that users will save approximately $78 per dedicated-
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line workstation for the current fiscal year, and $156 in fiscal
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1993/94. Dial-access users will see similar reductions in their
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per-hour charges.
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For additional information contact Nita Dean, 614-761-5002
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OCLC ANNOUNCES INTENT TO ACQUIRE INFORMATION DIMENSIONS, INC.
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OCLC has announced that it and Battelle Memorial Institute have
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signed a letter of intent that, following the successful
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completion of a 90-day due diligence process, could lead to the
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acquisition by OCLC of Information Dimensions, Inc., a subsidiary
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of Battelle.
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Information Dimensions, Inc. (IDI) was founded in 1986 as a for-
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profit subsidiary of the not-for-profit Battelle Memorial
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Institute. It has offices throughout North America and Europe
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with its headquarters being located in Dublin, Ohio. IDI
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develops and markets computer software products for managing
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electronic documents and text on leading mainframe computers,
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microcomputers, and workstations. Its two major software
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products are BASISplus and ZyINDEX. IDI software enables
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individual electronic documents to be transformed into
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information databases that provide systematic access to large
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amounts of data. Coupled with OCLC's telecommunications network
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and electronic journal interface, IDI's software will provide
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OCLC with the capability of delivering all kinds of electronic
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information to users.
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For additional information contact Nita Dean, 614-761-5002.
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OCLC SITESEARCH SOFTWARE PROVIDES SEAMLESS INTERFACE TO REFERENCE
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DATABASES
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Libraries can now augment their own locally-mounted reference
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databases and consolidate them under a single user interface with
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the OCLC SiteSearch system, a site-mounted version of the OCLC
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FirstSearch Catalog. This flexible new system links a variety of
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user workstations to a library's unique offerings of
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bibliographic, citation, and full-text databases, as well as
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databases available on OCLC's FirstSearch Catalog.
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The OCLC SiteSearch software runs on UNIX systems, includes the
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FirstSearch user interface and database search engine, and uses
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the Z39.50 protocol. It enables libraries to build and maintain
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databases on their own computers and provides seamless
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connectivity to the FirstSearch Catalog for access to reference
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databases that are not held locally.
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Future SiteSearch enhancements will include increasing the number
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of information sources and services available, adding a graphical
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user interface, and augmenting the data capabilities of the
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system with respect to full-text and images.
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For additional information contact Taylor Surface, 614-761-5145,
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or Nita Dean, 614-761-5002.
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DOCUMENT ORDERING DEBUTS ON FIRSTSEARCH
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The first phase of the new OCLC Dispatch Service, which was
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implemented in January, is a document ordering option that gives
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library patrons using OCLC's FirstSearch Catalog the ability to
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order serial articles found in the ArticleFirst and Periodical
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Abstracts databases and receive them via fax, overnight mail, or
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regular mail. Initially, documents are being supplied by UMI
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Article Clearinghouse. Over the next few months, more suppliers
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will be added, allowing users to choose among several suppliers
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offering the same article. The document ordering option will
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later be expanded to include additional FirstSearch databases.
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FirstSearch document ordering will enable patrons to compare
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prices online for documents available from more than one supplier
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and make their selection based upon their needs. The price
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displayed in the online order form is set by the suppliers and
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includes processing, delivery, and copyright and royalty fees.
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To prevent patrons from unknowingly buying information housed in
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their libraries, FirstSearch displays a capitalized message, YOUR
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LIBRARY (ABC) OWNS THIS ITEM, at the top of the full record
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display. The message displays when a library has attached its
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holdings to the CONSER record in the OCLC Online Union Catalog.
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Later this year, OCLC plans to implement the second phase of its
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Dispatch Service, an optional link from FirstSearch to OCLC PRISM
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ILL with its Document Supplier/Resource Center Program. Patrons
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will be able to place online requests that are reviewed by
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library staff and then activated.
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For additional information contact Daviess Menefee, 614-764-4358,
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or Nita Dean, 614-761-5002.
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JUDGES NAMED FOR "OCLC ON THE FRONT LINE" AWARD
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Three prominent experts in reference services have been named
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judges for the third annual OCLC On the Front Line award: Michael
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Koenig, Nancy Melin Nelson, and Marydee Ojala. The award, to be
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presented at the National Online Conference in May, recognizes an
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outstanding librarian who makes effective use of electronic
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reference products in his or her daily work. The award recipient
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also must have demonstrated knowledge, creativity, and good humor
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to patrons while on the job. The winner will receive $1,000 and
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a memento of the achievement. Nominations for the 1993 award
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must be received by OCLC by March 15.
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+ Page 4 +
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Michael Koenig is dean and professor of the Graduate School of
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Library and Information Science at Rosary College in River
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Forest, Ill. Nancy Melin Nelson is vice president of Information
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and Technology and director of Electronic Publishing at Meckler
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Corporation of Westport, Conn. Marydee Ojala is an information
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consultant from Park City, Utah, providing business research,
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competitor intelligence, and other information consulting
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services.
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For more information on nominations, or to receive an application
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for the OCLC On the Front Line award, write to OCLC, Attn:
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Reference Services Division, MC 236, 6565 Frantz Road, Dublin OH
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43017-3395.
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RLG'S NEW SEARCH SYSTEM DEBUTS AT DARTMOUTH
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Eureka, the new patron-oriented search service from the Research
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Libraries Group (RLG), began its initial preview at Dartmouth
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College on January 15, and will be put through its paces by
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campus users for the next six months. Dartmouth users will have
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access to Eureka through the Dartmouth College Information System
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which is available campuswide on the campus network and over the
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Internet.
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Eureka is a new interface to the RLIN database and provides easy
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searching by author, title, and subject and by more specialized
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elements, like CODEN and ISBN and ISSN. Users can expand or
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narrow searches using Boolean operators and view search results
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in a choice of long or short formats. Online help guides users
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through searches step-by-step; no training or documentation is
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needed.
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Eureka has been designed for easy integration into existing local
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online library and campuswide information networks. It is
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accessible from any terminal or personal computer with VT100
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terminal emulation; telecommunications options include the
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Internet, SprintNet, and the RLIN X.25 network.
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Six-month previews of Eureka also are being conducted at Columbia
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University, Emory University, Rutgers University, and the
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University of Pennsylvania.
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By spring 1993, Eureka will also enable users to search CitaDel,
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RLG's article-citation and document-delivery service. Eureka
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will be available for general use in September 1993 at rates
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comparable to RLIN searching fees.
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For additional information contact Bruce Washburn, Research
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Libraries Group, 415-691-2272; email: bl.btw@rlg.bitnet or
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bl.btw@rlg.stanford.edu; fax: 415-964-0943.
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+ Page 5 +
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DRA TO ACQUIRE INLEX
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Data Research Associates, Inc. has announced that it has signed a
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Letter of Intent for the purchase of the library automation
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systems and other related assets of Inlex, Inc. DRA intends to
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purchase the assets for an undisclosed cash amount, subject to
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the execution of a definitive asset purchase agreement and other
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conditions.
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The proposed assets to be purchased include Inlex's automation
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systems software; all rights for the sales, licensing and
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distribution of Inlex's third-party products; all rights and
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obligations under each of Inlex's support agreements; and all
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intellectual property rights related to Inlex's automation
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system. Inlex's automation system is installed at more than 110
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customer sites.
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DATABASE DIRECTORIES MERGE
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Directory of Online Databases, Directory of Portable Databases,
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and Computer-Readable Databases have merged to form a
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comprehensive new source, Gale Directory of Databases. The new
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directory's two-volume format groups database products by media.
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Volume 1: Online Databases provides descriptions and contact
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information for more than 5,300 online databases. Volume 2: CD-
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ROM profiles some 3,000 database products offered in "portable"
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formats such as CD-ROM, diskette, magnetic tape, and handheld,
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and through batch processing services offered by the database
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producer. Each volume includes geographic and subject indexes,
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as well as a Master Index which organizes information by
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keywords, and product and organization names.
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The first issue of both volumes is available as of January 1993
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and will be updated in a replacement issue every six months.
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Each update will list new entries and completely revise entries
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that appeared in the previous issue. An annual subscription to
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both volumes is available for $280. The cost of an annual
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subscription to each volume is as follows: Volume 1: $199; Volume
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2: $119.
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The Gale Directory of Databases is published by Gale Research
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Inc. For additional information call 800-877-4253, or contact
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Jenny Sweetland, 313-961-2242.
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+ Page 6 +
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DRA TO ACQUIRE AUSTRALIAN LIBRARY AUTOMATION SYSTEM
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Data Research Associates, Inc. has announced that it has signed a
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Letter of Intent for the purchase of the Starlite Library
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Management System and certain related assets of Praxa Ltd by Data
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Research International (Australasia) Pty Ltd., a wholly-owned
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subsidiary of DRA. Data Research intends to purchase the assets
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for an undisclosed cash amount subject to the execution of a
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definitive asset purchase agreement and other conditions.
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Praxa is headquartered in South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
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The Starlite system is installed in 38 libraries in Australia and
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Indonesia.
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DRA ENTERS STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH TACOMA PUBLIC
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Data Research Associates, Inc. has announced that it has signed a
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strategic partnership agreement with the Tacoma Public Library
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(TPL) for the design and development of client/server workstation
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enhancements to the DRA software package. Tacoma Public Library
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has previously developed two software packages, Uniface and
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Alice-B, which were subsequently marketed and sold to the library
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marketplace. TPL and DRA expect development of a circulation
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workstation to be the first joint project of the partnership.
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For additional information contact Joe Bonwich, 800-325-0888 or
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314-432-1100.
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Public-Access Computer Systems News is an electronic newsletter
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that is distributed on BITNET, Internet, and other computer
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networks. There is no subscription fee.
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To subscribe, send an e-mail message to LISTSERV@UHUPVM1 (BITNET)
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or LISTSERV@UHUPVM1.UH.EDU (Internet) that says: SUBSCRIBE PACS-P
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First Name Last Name. PACS-P subscribers also receive two other
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electronic serials: Current Cites and The Public-Access Computer
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Systems Review.
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Public-Access Computer Systems News is Copyright (C) 1993 by the
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University Libraries, University of Houston. All Rights
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Reserved.
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Copying is permitted for noncommercial use by academic computer
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centers, computer conferences, individual scholars, and
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libraries. Libraries are authorized to add the journal to their
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collection, in electronic or printed form, at no charge. This
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message must appear on all copied material. All commercial use
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requires permission.
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