St. Louis, Missouri, USA -- May 15, 1995: One of approximately 110 North American libraries to be named an Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member, the University of Manitoba recently selected Data Research Associates, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRAI) to provide its libraries with automation, networking and other services.

"DRA's vision of the future coincides with the direction we are going," says Carolynne Presser, Director of Libraries. "We like the idea of a system that lets us take care of all our in-house needs, but leaves us hooks to add other types of networking services, ultimately allowing communication with all types of libraries -- whether or not those libraries are using the same system."

As an ARL member, the University of Manitoba has met a variety of stringent criteria, proving itself committed to maintaining a diverse and sizable collection available to other sites for their research needs. Some of the libraries' special collections include an archive on the area's agricultural experiences, one of the largest Icelandic collections in North America and a large Slavic collection. It also houses collections on dentistry, the history of medicine, business, architecture, education and many other areas. Not only are the libraries' collections available to students and researchers, but any resident of Manitoba is entitled to a library card with which to borrow materials.

Converting from a PALS system, the university is looking forward to expanding its resource-sharing capabilities with its Data Research System. By taking advantage of Open DRANET to supplement a large, networked CD-ROM collection, the U of M hopes to make additional databases available to its community. And, while converting to its new system, the university is planning to replace all of its dumb terminals with intelligent workstations from which it can run DRA Find (DRA's first module in its new distributed-processing-based system, capable of PAC and other functions), providing more consistent interfaces to its large collection of resources. At the same time, improved networking will enable the libraries to provide enhanced access from academic offices and dial-in services from users' home PCs.

Another project to which the university is looking forward is developing stronger databases on Canadian-related topics, working in conjunction with fellow Canadian ARL libraries -- including DRA customers the universities of Alberta, Toronto, Northern British Columbia and Prince Edward Island. "While DRA's open-ended architecture does not require us to have the same system in order to share resources with other Canadian ARL libraries, these libraries' satisfaction with their systems has played an important role in our decision," says Presser. "We wanted a system that we could see was already working in a multi-site configuration such as ours."

DRA, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, is a leading provider of client/server based library automation systems, Internet 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 500 systems representing 1,700 individual libraries worldwide.