INWOOD, WV (http://www.TLCdelivers.com), January 27, 1997 -- The Library Corporation (TLC), a major developer of library automation and information systems, today announced that libraries can now license the company's popular ITS for Windows software for as little as $395 per year. Normally bundled with TLC's BiblioFile databases, ITS for Windows can now be used by libraries of all types and sizes, regardless of the bibliographic utility used to access MARC resource records.

According to Doug Storer, ITS Product Manager for TLC, "We believe libraries that have large amounts of original cataloging to do will find ITS to be indispensable. By using this state-of-the-art tool, library staff can efficiently catalog locally significant material for which copy cataloging just doesn't exist." Mr. Storer also indicated that other groups that may benefit from ITS for Windows are libraries that need cutting edge software to improve the quality and productivity of their technical service departments.

ITS for Windows offers a wide array of cataloging tools and resources that give the user the power to complete in a few minutes what once took hours.

Through a single interface, ITS users have the ability to:

• Browse the more than 240 Z39.50 resources on the Internet
• Download records into a powerful MARC editor
• Analyze MARC files from book vendors
• Validate a record's compliance with MARC or OCLC rules
• Verify headings against a local authority file that the user can control
• Automate repetitive tasks through a powerful macro scripting language
• Copy and paste information from one record to another, be it a Web page or word processing document
• Enter and view non-standard diacritic characters
• Gain access to millions of MARC records through the Internet

Since its inception, ITS for Windows has continued to receive accolades both from reviewers and cataloging professionals. Harvard University's Michael Kaplan calls it "the workstation package that is most advanced," while Library Technology Reports calls ITS, "a real pleasure to use. . . makes cataloging almost fun!"

Another key attribute of ITS is its user-friendly nature. Explained Mr. Storer, "If users have a question about a MARC rule while cataloging, they can simply press the 'help' key and gain context-sensitive access to a whole shelf full of cataloger's reference data. In addition, records in a user's database can be reached by any of sixteen access points, including two that are user-definable."

TLC, developers of BiblioFile software, is a leading edge library automation company that has been serving the industry since 1975. In recent years, TLC has focused on delivering an expanded portfolio of solution-driven services to support a number of key market segments, including: the scholastic, public, municipal, university, consortium, corporate, medical, and legal library groupings. Recently, the company introduced library.net , a revolutionary Internet service specifically designed to help libraries establish and maintain a customized, up-to-date site on the World Wide Web at a small fraction of the cost of conventional start-up.