Michigan Library Consortium . 311186 0016 33439 ( 6810 South Cedar Street, Suite 8, Lansing, Michigan 48910 . __ • r ee ~AUTOMATION HIGHLIGHTS OCTOBER 30, 1989 MAXWELL ONLINE THE BRS MOVE During the week of October 6, BRS began moving its computer facility from Latham, NY (near Albany) to Oak Park, IL (near Chicago). The move was intended to increase and improve their computer power on the same computer used by the Offlcal Airlines Guide (OAG). OAG and BRS are now part of Maxwell Online, Inc. along with ORBIT. For a few days over the Columbus Day weekend, only a core set of 40 databases were available. A list of these databases were sent out to all BRS users in advance of the move. All databases are once again availahle. Have you noticed a difference in the response time? MLC would like to know what your experiences have been so give us a call. All training and customer service (including billing) personnel also moved about the same time, but from Latham to McLean, VA where ORBIT has been based. Billing from BRS to MLC IIlay be delayed a bit so be patient while we scramble to get them out the door as soon as possible. NEW BROCHURE C Maxwell Online, Inc. (the parent of BRS and ORBIT) has produced a new brochure that describes each of their services. This includes the ORBIT Search Service which specializes in patents, chemistry, engineering, and other types of technology. BRS Information Technologies, which IIlost MLC members are familiar with, is especially strong in the health and social sciences as well as a good balance of business databases. Copies of original patents can be obtained through the Pergmnon Search Center based in the U.S. P&TO. Many international business databases are available on the Pergamon Financial Data Services which was previously know as Infoline before many of the science & technology databases were moved over to ORBIT a few years ago. To request a copy of this brochure, call 800456-7248 and ask for the publication that says "Bringing Together The World's Information Resources." MLC continues to support BRS through all levels of training and discounted access and ORBIT through discounted access. If you are interested in ORBIT training, please give MLC a call to let us know. BUREAU OF THE CENSUS NEW COUNTY AND CITY DATA BOOK ON CD-ROM The 1988 edition of the County and City Data Book (CCDB) on CD-ROM has recently been released by the Bureau of the Census. The files are in dBase III format. It includes over 200 subjects for every county and state. A few of the subjects are area & population, crime, education, housing, building permits, banking, and electioIlS. City data is provided for areas with populations of 25,000 - 1 - or more in 1980 and includes all of the county data plus climate and residential electric bills. Population and income infol1nation is also described for areas of 2,500 or more. In terms of equipment, CCDB on CD-ROM requires an IBM or compatible (ine.luding PS/2s), DOS 3.1 or higher, at least 640K RAM, CD-ROM drive, and MS-DOS Extensions 2.0 or higher. So what is the price for all of this wonderful information? $125 including shipping. For more information, call 301-763-4100 or write to: Data User Services Division, Customer Services, Bureau of the Census, Washington, DC 20233. CD-ROM II TELECONFERENCE HOST SITES IN MICmGAN The second CD-ROM Teleconference from the College of DuPage will be uplinked/downlinked on November 15 from Noon to 2:30 p.m. CD-ROM II is free to all participants. Registration is encouraged since packets must be ordered ahead of time fOl' each participant. ( ) Tentatively, from Noon to 1:30 p.m. there will be four modules: Practitioners' Forum, Networking News, Future Developments, and a Vendor Forum. The Practitioners' Forum will include first-hand experiences from librarians in the field. One of those will be Elaine Didier from U-M, Kresge Business Administration Library. Various experts will discuss CD-ROM OPACs, licensing agreements, training & technical support, LANs, and WANs (Wide Area Network) during the Networking News portion. Industry consultants and experts will discuss where the technology is headed and what it will be like for information providers. Representatives from EBSCO, H.W. Wilson, ON-UNE, UMI, and Disclosure will discuss CD-ROM software and technology. A phone line will be provided at each host site for any participant to call with questions. Finally, a CD-ROM Showcase will be presented from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. featuring various vendors. Many MLC members are once again hosting the conference via satellite. Here are a list of locations, contact persons, and telephone numbers for you to contact about attending: Bay de Noc Community College (Escanaba) - Chris Holmes, 906-786-5802 Central Michigan University (Mt. Pleasant) - David Ginsburg, 517-774-6428 Eastern Michigan University (Ypsilanti) - George Grimes, 313-487-2220 Jackson Community College (Jackson) - Cliff Taylor, 517-787-0800 X312 Kellogg Community College (Battle Creek) - Fran Marz, 616-965-3931 X2248 Lansing Community College (Lansing) - Terri Westmoreland, 517-483-1659 Macomb Community College (Warren) - Dr. Kul Gauri, 313-445-7418 Michigan State University (East Lansing) - Marty Com·tois, 517-355-8494 l Northwestern Michigan College (Traverse City) - Ronda Edwards, 616-922-1076 . Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo) - Annette LaVier, 616-387-5001 - 2 - Michigan Library Consortium (, For those who aren't able to make it, MLC will have a videotape ropy of the conference for loan. We also have a copy of the first conference that was transmitted April 27, 1988 for anyone who wants to borrow it. DIALOG NEWSPAPERS ADDED As a result of the closer connection between DIALOG and VUffEXT" five newspapers have been (or soon will be) added to DIALOG, enhancing their full text database offerings. This includes the Los Ange[es Times, Philadelphia Enquirer, San Jose Mercury News, Detroit Free Press, and the Miami Hera[d. As of this writing, the first two are up on DIAWG. Each of these provide strong regional coverage of their respective areas. They all continue to be available on VUrrEXT as well. THREE NEW ONDISC DATABASES CD-ROM editions of three popular online databases will be available soon. Considered one of the preeminent sources for all areas of engineering and technical literature, Engineering Information's (Ei) COMPENDEX database can be ordered now. A workstation and a stand-alone version will be available. The Ei workstation will ( include document ordering and a "fu[fillment system" using document images and FAX transmission direct form Ei in New York. The familiar Thomas Register of American Manufacturers will debut as the "Thomas Register." Comprehensive company descriptions & profiles plus product indexing will be included on the disc. Information on mergers & acquisitions (M&As) will be available on CD through the 100 M&A Transactions database. These databa~es will use the same software that is used by other OnDisc databases. An "e."pert mode" similar to the DIALOG commands used online (you even type "[ogoft" to exit out of this mode on the COl) and a menu-driven "Easy Search" mode for novice users is available. An online interface is useful for searching for the latest information between disc updates. An annual subscription to COMPENDEX with quarterly updates for the current year plus 1 back year is listed at $3450 (MLC members - $3278) and $4920 (MLC members - $4674) with 4 back years. An annual subscription for Thomas Register with two updates/year is $1495 (MLC members - $(420). Update frequency and pricing for 100 M&A Trausactions has not been announced. For more information on these databases (including demonstration diskettes and 30-day evaluations of the real disc) or any other DIALOG OnDisc product, contact the MLC office. - 3 - H.W. WILSON NEW WILSONDISC SOFTWARE SHIPPED During the week of October 23, Wilson began shipping Version 2.2 of the· WILSONDISC software to all current users. This version replaces the current version in use, 2.11. The new software includes a number of enhancements. WILSONLINE and Expert WILSONLINE search modes have been combined into one. Display screens of citations are uniform across the BROWSE, WILSEARCH, and WILSONLINE modes. Each mode has also been stremlliined and simplified to eliminate steps necessary in doing a search. In addition to printing, citations may be downloaded to floppy disk. Users running other RAM-resident progrmns on their WILSONDISC workstation will appreciale WILSONDlSC's 30K decrease in RAM required. Exiting from WILSONDISC to other applications has also been made easier. When upgrading to 2.2, all setup data files, saved search strategies, and saved references used in 2.11 will be retained. After each use of a disc, usage statistics are written 10 a file which can be displayed or printed out. Each current WILSONDISC user should receive the following items: 2 5.25" floppy diskettes & I 3.5" diskette (for users of either media format), letter {mm Steve Force (new Director of Library Relations - the area that supports WILSONDlSC), New Features of '¥lLSONDlSC Version 2.2, Attention! All Users of IBM Personal Syslem/2 Model 30/286, WILSONDISC Version 2.2 Installation Guide, How to Use the New WILSONLINE mode, and WILSONDISC Version 2.2 Troubleshooting Notes. Additional information on the new WILSONDISC software and any discounted WILSONDISC database is available from MLC. RELIGION INDEXES DISC DELAYED MLC has received word that the first WILSONDISC Religion Indexes (REL) originally to be shipped in September will be out by December 1st. We hope this doesn't inconvenience any member who has ordered REL.· All subscriptions will be started when the first disc is shipped so the renewals will be December or January of each year.