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Public-Access Computer Systems News
April 18, 1990 Volume 1, Number 3
Editors: Charles W. Bailey, Jr. (LIB3@UHUPVM1) and Dana Rooks.
Issued on an irregular basis by University Libraries, University
of Houston, Houston, TX 77204-2091.
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Albert R. Mann Library Announces Availability of MacPAC
The Albert R. Mann Library of Cornell University has developed a
HyperCard-based front-end to Cornell's NOTIS online catalog, which
it is making available at no charge to other institutions. This
copyrighted software, called MacPAC, simplifies the use of
Cornell's online catalog. MacPAC can be adapted for use with other
institutions' NOTIS online catalogs; however, the Mann library does
not provide any support for the use or modification of MacPAC.
Features in MacPAC which make the online catalog easier to use
include a print icon, a notepad feature to capture and edit
records, and a clear way to move among screens and records.
MacPAC includes a customized welcome screen; graphic displays of
command options; storage and editing of records within a notepad;
downloading or printing at the click of a button; scrolling; arrow
buttons to move backward and forward among different screens and
among records; a time-out function; clear search and error message
help; and the elimination of rekeying. The system supports either
keyboard or mouse input.
MacPAC is about 50% HyperCard scripts and 50% Lightspeed C XCMDs
and XFCNs. It requires a Macintosh Plus or better with at least
1 MB of RAM. A hard disk is recommended and highly desirable, but
MacPAC will work with a dual-floppy machine. MacPAC requires
Hypercard version 1.22 or later.
MacPAC research and development began in June 1988 and was
completed in February 1990. Wing Eng, Chris Pelkie, John Hood and
Bill Coons had primary responsibility for the design and
development work. Additional support was provided by Derek
Vandivere. The MacPAC project is described in: Bill Coons and Wing
Eng. "Macintoshes in University Libraries: Providing Macintosh
Access to Cornell Library's Online Catalog." Annual Macintosh
Special Issue Supplement to T.H.E. Journal (September 1989): 52-
55.
+ Page 2 +
Various options for distributing MacPAC are being investigated.
To obtain a copy now, send a formatted Macintosh disk to: Albert
R. Mann Library, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-4301.
INLEX Enhances Online Catalog
The Spring 1990 release of the INLEX system includes several new
capabilities: (1) Boolean searching; (2) diacritical support for
over 15 languages, including French and Spanish; and (3) a search
results display that indicates the number of postings for the
search term.
INLEX, Inc. also announces that Library of Congress Authority
Records on CD-ROM can be loaded into the INLEX System, utilizing
the system's recently released Authority Load software.
For further information contact: INLEX, Inc., P.O. Box 1349,
Monterey, CA 93942 (408) 646-9666.
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Copyright (C) 1990 by the University Libraries, University of
Houston. All Rights Reserved. Copying is permitted for
noncommercial use by computerized bulletin board/conference
systems, individual scholars, and libraries. This message must
appear on copied material. All commercial use requires
permission.
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