Library Technology Guides

St. Louis, Missouri, USA -- October 12, 1994: Data Research Associates, Inc. (DRA) today announced that we have increased the flexibility and accessibility of one of our most popular resources -- our LC MARC database -- when we added the ability to search by subject or by keyword. These searches are in addition to past search capabilities, including author, title and various identification numbers. Keyword searching provides, among other functions, the ability to perform a search for a series title and the ability to search for current popular topics ("Information Superhighway," for example).

Adding to the database's value, DRA's Z39.50-compliant server (on which LC MARC resides) is one of the most flexible and powerful server in the marketplace today. Via Z39.50-compliant server, the database can be accessed from any Z39.50-compliant client, whether or not that client is a DRA product. Our server supports all Z39.50 Version 2 facilities, allowing for a wider range of search capabilities, including:

• search qualifiers (such as author, title, subject, call number, LCCN, ISBN, etc.)
• truncation in search terms
• named result sets (enabling the combination of previous search result sets with new search terms)

Available for more than a decade, the LC MARC database consists of more than four million records representing bibliographic, serial, map and other items cataloged by the Library of Congress. Hundreds of libraries across the globe use this database daily -- via either the Internet or Open DRANET -- to serve as a reference tool. Or, if they are using the DRA cataloging module, they use the database to copy bibliographic records to their own system. Recent average use included more than 5,200 connections per day, with more than 1,200 records copied.

DRA, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, is a leading provider of library client/server based automation systems, networking services and other related services for libraries. The Data Research System is adaptable for use in academic, public, school and special libraries ranging from single libraries to large, multi-branch systems and consortia. DRA currently has a customer base of more than 400 systems representing 1,300 individual libraries