Infonautics Launches Redesign of Electric Library

Posted on October 22, 1997

Infonautics unveiled Electric Library '98, a newly revised version of the company's online and subscription based reference service.

Improved Search Capabilities: In addition to Electric Library's natural language searching, which allows members to pose queries in plain English, advanced researchers can now enter their queries using standard Boolean "and," "or," and "not" operators. Another new search option enables members to select from a list of more than 20 subjects, including business and finance, computers and current events, in order to narrow their search by subject matter, leading to faster, more precise search results. Finally, a "Recurring Themes" feature can enrich the research process by revealing recurring people, places and subjects that appear in a member's results list. Users can then click on one of these themes, and Electric Library will re-sort the results based on the highlighted theme.

Access to Internet Content: Electric Library is now bringing a "World Wide Web" of information to its members as a supplement to its own comprehensive database. When members conduct searches, they can elect to expand the search by clicking on a "Related Internet Sites" icon. This launches a customized search engine, which then finds quality information on the Internet.