DUBLIN, Ohio, June 9, 1994--BusinessNews, a database that provides access to recent news stories and press releases, is now available on The FirstSearch Catalog and the EPIC service, OCLC online reference services.
BusinessNews contains brief summaries of news stories drawn from over 350 sources updated daily by the HeadsUp service of INDIVIDUAL, Inc. The database contains one to two weeks' worth of summaries dealing with subjects such as information technology, telecommunications, health care and defense.
The summaries appear in The FirstSearch Catalog and the EPIC service the day after they are released by the various news services. From FirstSearch, users are able to order online the full text of the news items, receiving them by fax in about 30 minutes for $4.95 worldwide. EPIC users can set up Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI) profiles to automatically search and retrieve news capsules in a particular field of interest as often as daily. EPIC users will be charged $1 each time their SDI profile is run.
BusinessNews is available in the United States and internationally per-search and by subscription on FirstSearch. Connect-time price for the database on EPIC is $70 per hour, and the cost to view a summary record on EPIC is 40 cents.
"Reading BusinessNews is an excellent way to keep pace with new products and services, to monitor competitors, and to do research on the latest developments in a particular industry," said Tam Dalrymple, OCLC reference services.
INDIVIDUAL, Inc., is a Cambridge, Mass., company founded in 1989 to filter and customize information from a wide range of electronic information sources.
The FirstSearch Catalog is designed for library patrons, with an end-user interface that allows patrons to move easily through the online search process in just a few simple steps, without training or online searching experience.
EPIC, a full-featured online reference system that provides subject access, and keyword and Boolean searching to a variety of databases, is used mostly by librarians and experienced searchers.
OCLC is a nonprofit computer library service and research organization whose computer network and services link more than 18,000 libraries in 52 countries and territories.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL: Nita Dean (614) 761-5002
