The Information Access Company (IAC) will demonstrate a videodisc—based legal reference system at the American Library Association meeting this month. The LegalTrac reference system embodies the same concept as IAC's InfoTrac product (described in LSN Vol. V, No. 2, p.11).
The videodisc contains machine—readable author, title, and subject indexes to the 730 law journals, newspapers, and other legal publications covered by IAC's printed Legal Resource Index. It also contains tables of cases and statutes. Coverage is from January 1982 to date. A new videodisc containing an updated cumulation is distributed monthly.
The system uses the same hardware and software as InfoTrac, supporting menu based and keyword searching on an IBM PC. Citations that refer to items included in IAC's microfilm Magazine Collection or Business Collection contain an access number to permit rapid retrieval of the indexed article.
Systems may be configured with up to six terminals, each with a printer, accessing a single videodisc player. LegalTrac is marketed as a package of hardware software, and data base subscription. A configuration of four workstations, two printers, a videodisc player and the LegalTrac data base costs $16,000 per annum. At the end of five years, the subscriber owns the hardware.
[Contact: Information Access Company, 11 Davis Drive, Belmont, CA 94002, (800) 227—8431.]
