June, 1995 -- The State of Connecticut has adopted the latest technology has to offer by teaming with Auto-Graphics, Inc., a Pomona, California-based supplier of information and database resource systems.
The State of Connecticut has installed Auto-Graphics' Impact/ONLINE, a multi-type library union database which includes the bibliographic holdings of more than 200 Connecticut libraries. The State of Connecticut's library pilot project, named reQuest/Online, installed in 25 libraries in late 1994, will continue through September, 1995. "The pilot program results have been most favorable to date," said Patricia L. Owens, director of onnecticut State Library's Division of Library Development. "The patrons' response has been very positive to reQuest/Online, particularly to the interlibrary loan module."
Impact/ONLINE features a Public Access Catalog (PAC) module with the unique feature of patron-initiated Interlibrary Loan (ILL) requests, which allows patrons to request an item of information to be delivered to their local library branch. Additionally, users are able to track the progress of that request at their convenience using the computer at their local library.
The State of Connecticut has maintained an ongoing relationship with Auto-Graphics since 1989 when the CD-ROM version of the database resource sharing system was installed. The Impact CD-ROM database of library materials totaling more than 12 million holdings of 2.5 million titles in Connecticut is currently being utilized by 295 libraries statewide.
According to Owens, the state's General Assembly has recently passed an important piece of legislation which is currently awaiting the Governor's signature. The bill gives the Connecticut State Library a mandate to develop a telecommunications network to be known as the "Connecticut Library Network," which will expand the current reQuest/Online database.
Internet Provides Expanded Access to Database Information
Impact/ONLINE's library consortium resource sharing system offers patron access to holding information available in any of the libraries within the consortium as well as information on the Internet. It includes user-friendly functions such as dictionary term search, key word search and patron initiation of ILL requests. Auto-Graphics' Impact/NET, an Internet connectivity product, links the participating libraries to the Internet and to Impact/ONLINE.
"Internet access provides the consortium with additional resources beyond the reQuest database," said William Kliss, vice president sales and marketing, Auto-Graphics. "Users are able to transparently search and retrieve information from a wide range of databases and catalogs."
Due to the convenience of being able to make updates electronically in real time, information in the reQuest database is updated in a more timely manner than the CD-ROM version. This is critical for users who need timely access to information immediately.
Auto-Graphics maintains both the union database and a virtual Internet network connecting the libraries with the reQuest/Online, the Internet and each other.
Founded in 1950, Auto-Graphics, Inc. (OTC:AUGR) has capitalized on new technology as it becomes available, providing information publishing and database resource sharing systems to the publishing and library communities. Made up of two divisions, the Library Services Division and the Publishing Services Division, Auto-Graphics offers a wide range of products and services that are both cost-effective and innovative. The Library Services Division has been committed to providing libraries and their patrons with user-friendly resource tools for 25 years. Always on the leading edge of library automation, Auto-Graphics began by developing printed book catalogs of library inventory. As technology advanced, Auto-Graphics developed new products ranging from fiche and film catalogs to, in recent years, CD-ROM catalogs. Today, Auto-Graphics is providing the latest in information access technology to libraries throughout the nation by offering access to online catalogs and databases. Over one million people per day use Auto-Graphics' software to access library information.
