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Public-Access Computer Systems News Volume 4 Number 14
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Public-Access Computer Systems News
Volume 4, Number 14 (1993) ISSN 1050-6004
Editors: Dana Rooks (LIBL@UHUPVM1) and Linda Thompson
(LIB1J@UHUPVM1).
Issued on an irregular basis by University Libraries, University of
Houston, Houston, TX 77204-2091.
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CONTENTS
Dialog Acquires Interest in Personal Library Software, 1
UMI & Federal News Service to Create New CD-ROM Database, 2
SRI International Selects Cuadra/STAR, 3
Dialog Announces Migration to Distributed System Architecture, 3
Lane Medical and UCLA Join UnCover, 4
National Library of Australia & UnCover to Develop Document
Delivery, 5
Bowker Biographical Databases Available Online, 5
DIALOG ACQUIRES INTEREST IN PERSONAL LIBRARY SOFTWARE
Dialog Information Services, Inc., a Knight-Ridder company, and
Personal Library Software (PLS) have announced completion of an
agreement for Dialog to invest in PLS. The significant minority
investment of Dialog in PLS allows the two companies to share
technology and explore product and market synergies.
PLS is best known for its innovative information retrieval
products, pioneering the application of advanced search tools such
as concept searching and relevance ranking. These products
complement Dialog's own development in online and CD-ROM search and
retrieval systems, document management and delivery, and
integration of external and internal databases. One of the first
areas targeted for joint development will be in Dialog's fast-
growing CD-ROM business.
For additional information on Dialog, contact Dialog Marketing,
3460 Hillview Ave., Palo Alto CA 94304; 800-334-2564 or 415-858-
3785; fax: 415-858-7069. For additional information on Personal
Library Software, contact PLS Marketing, 2400 Research Blvd.,
Rockville MD 20850; 301-990-1155; fax: 301-963-9738.
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UMI & FEDERAL NEWS SERVICE TO CREATE NEW CD-ROM DATABASE
University Microfilms International and the Federal News Service
(FNS) have signed an exclusive contract to create a new CD-ROM
product making use of the FNS Transcript Service. This service
provides a verbatim account of what is said at every U.S.
government event.
It is expected the new CD-ROM database will have wide audience of
users, from corporations wanting to track regulatory hearings that
affect their industry to secondary school students doing political
science and civics projects. Presently, some of the most frequent
users of FNS are embassies, foreign governments, news wires,
newspapers, broadcast media, and lobbyists.
The CD-ROM database will be ready for release in early 1994. It
will cover the current year of data plus two years of retrospective
coverage. The format is full-text (ASCII) and the annual
subscription price will be approximately $1,600 or $1,200 for
secondary school libraries.
The agreement between UMI and FNS offers the opportunity to create
CD-ROM databases utilizing the other services FNS provides. A
decision on additional CD products will be made in the future. In
addition to the FNS Transcript Service, FNS also offers:
* FNS Russian Service. Verbatim transcripts in English of
press briefings, speeches, and statements by major
Russian leaders;
* FNS Spanish Service. This Spanish language service
provides business, political, and social news from all
over Latin America;
* United States Supreme Court. FNS is one of a small,
select group chosen by the Supreme Court to receive its
online transmission of the Court's opinions and orders;
* FNS Daybook. Provides listings of government actions and
private events;
* United Nations Services. Provides coverage of Security
Council resolutions, General Assembly actions, as well as
the activities of various U.N. groups like UNICEF.
For additional information, contact Jonathan K. James, UMI, 800-
521-0600, ext. 2210 or 313-761-4700.
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SRI INTERNATIONAL SELECTS CUADRA/STAR
SRI International, a leading technology research firm, has chosen
Cuadra/STAR software to automate its extensive and diverse library
collection. SRI, a non-profit organization founded 50 years ago,
provides leading-edge technology and consulting assistance to
international governments and corporations. The library at SRI's
Research Information Service (RIS) serves more than 2,800 SRI
employees around the world as well as researchers from outside
organizations. Materials include technical reports, serials, CD-
ROMs, microforms, and monographs.
STAR, which has been in the marketplace since 1982, runs under UNIX
on a wide variety of high-performance Intel-based and RISC hardware
platforms. STAR servers can be linked with all of the popular
LANs, as well as with mainframes and minis. STAR is designed
specifically to provide fast, sophisticated multi-user access to
descriptive information of all kinds. Its flexibility and
versatility allow it to be used effectively not only by libraries
and technical information centers, but also by corporate and
government records centers; film, photo, and document archives;
museums; law offices; and publishers.
For additional information, contact Carlos A. Cuadra or Judith
Wanger, Cuadra Associates, Inc., 11835 W. Olympic Blvd. Suite 855,
Los Angeles CA 90064; 310-478-0066; fax: 310-477-1078.
DIALOG ANNOUNCES MIGRATION TO DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE
Dialog Information Services, Inc. has announced an agreement with
Sun Microsystems Computer Corp. (SMCC) to assist in the initial
phases of transforming Dialog's massive centralized computing
environment into a networked, client-server system that will enable
Dialog to quickly, flexibly, and cost-effectively create products
that better serve the changing needs of it customers.
An open system will provide substantial benefits for Dialog
searchers and the clientele they serve, making possible:
* Custom corporate information systems that meet specific
requirements of individual departments and markets;
* Display of integrated documents, including both text and
graphics;
* International offerings of local data;
* Delivery of data to customers' desktop computing
environments of choice;
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* Published Application Programming Interface (API),
allowing aggressive third party reseller development.
Conversion to the new system will take place over the next several
years. Dialog undertook this partnership with SMCC as part of its
initiative to develop strategic alliances within the high
technology marketplace to craft customer-driven information
solutions.
For additional information, contact Dialog Marketing, 3460 Hillview
Ave., Palo Alto CA 94304; 800-334-2564 or 415-858-3785; fax: 415-
858-7069.
LANE MEDICAL AND UCLA JOIN UNCOVER
The UnCover Company has announced that the University of California
at Los Angeles Biomedical and Physical Science and Technology
libraries and Lane Medical Library at Stanford University have
contracted with the company to provide table of contents
information to the UnCover database. The libraries also will serve
as supply sites for the UnCover article delivery service. The
addition of these collections will increase UnCover's periodical
title holdings to close to 20,000 within the next six months. The
database currently contains just over 14,000 titles.
The UnCover database was created in 1988 to provide a multi-
disciplinary index to English language periodical literature. The
database can be searched by topical keyword or by periodical title.
Users can re-create issue tables of contents online. The database
is updated daily as issues are received by contributor libraries.
Since 1991, almost every article cited in UnCover can be ordered
and delivered to the requestor's fax machine within 24 hours.
The UnCover Company is a joint venture partnership of CARL Systems,
Inc., and two Blackwell Group companies, BH Blackwell and Readmore,
Inc. For additional information, contact Martha Whittaker,
UnCover, 3801 East Florida, Denver CO 80210; 303-758-3030; fax:
303-758-5946; e-mail: mwhittaker@carl.org.
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NATIONAL LIBRARY OF AUSTRALIA & UNCOVER TO DEVELOP DOCUMENT
DELIVERY
The National Library of Australia and The UnCover Company have
signed a letter of intent to expand and market the UnCover
periodical index and article delivery service in Australia and New
Zealand. The National Library will provide UnCover with table of
contents information and copies of articles from a range of
Australian, New Zealand, and Pacific periodicals. UnCover will be
made available to individuals and libraries in Australia over the
Australian Bibliographic Network, and other appropriate public and
private networks, including AARNet.
For additional information, contact Martha Whittaker, UnCover, 3801
East Florida, Denver CO 80210; 303-758-3030; fax: 303-758-5946; e-
mail: mwhittaker@carl.org.
BOWKER BIOGRAPHICAL DATABASES AVAILABLE ONLINE
Reed Reference Publishing announces the availability of two R.R.
Bowker biographical directories online. The most recent editions
of Who's Who in American Art and Who's Who in American Politics can
now be accessed as part of file 236 on Dialog Information Services,
in addition to the previously available American Men and Women of
Science.
Known together on Dialog as the Bowker Biographical Directory, the
three subfiles can be accessed individually or in combination, for
information including:
* professional experience
* educational background
* professional affiliations
* honors and awards
* areas of interest
* personal data
* mailing address
Who's Who in American Art is a comprehensive publication which
profiles artists, critics, curators, administrators, librarians,
historians, collectors, and dealers. It includes over 11,500
entries, with detailed information about museum holdings,
publications, media, and professional representation.
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Who's Who in American Politics provides access to records on 26,000
politicians, from local town officials to the President. This
authoritative reference provides party affiliation, birth date and
place, names of family members, voting residence, and more.
American Men and Women of Science identifies more than 122,000
leading U.S. and Canadian scientists and engineers working in 10
major disciplines and 171 National Science Foundation
subdisciplines.
Dialog subscribers can request an abbreviation list for the Bowker
Biographical Directory, free of charge, by writing Bowker
Electronic Publishing, Attn: W. Lyons, Reed Reference Publishing,
121 Chanlon Rd., New Providence NJ 07974.
For information about online access, contact Dialog Information
Services, 800-334-2564; or Bowker Electronic Publishing, 800-323-
3288.
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