Unison, Search Plus for Windows
Joseph R. Matthews · Library Technology Reports · 1996
Vendor: Follett Software Company 1391 Corporate Drive McHenry, Illinois 60050-7041 (815) 344-8700; (800) 323-3397 Fax: (815) 344-8774 Demo Available: Yes Version: 1.01 No. of Customers: 250 Prices: $395 for unlimited workstations PRODUCT REQUIREMENTS Micro: 486+ PC with 8 MB of memory is recommended Operating System: Windows 3.1+ LANs Supported: NetWare, Windows NT, and LANtastic EASE OF USE Average 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Simple and Natural Dialog 5 Minimun User Memory Load 6 Consistency 6 Feedback 5 Shortcuts 5 Error Prevention 6 Overall Rating 5.6 FEATURES Search Plus provides PC connectivity for libraries that have the Follett Software Unison system running on a Novell network. With Search Plus, a patron can use an IBM PC or PC compatible as an online public access catalog or OPAC. A Macintosh version of the OPAC, MacSearch Plus Station, is also available. Both Macintosh and PC versions provide access to the same library database. The cataloging and circulation modules of the Unison system still rely on the MS DOS version of the software, but a Windows version of these modules is planned for a future release. Online Catalog The application software is initiated by double clicking the Search Plus icon, which opens up the Search Plus window. A tool bar at the top of the window displays eight oversized labeled icons: Subject, Title, Author, Series, Call Number, Keyword, Events, and Help. To conduct a search, the user clicks on an icon, e.g., the Subject icon, and the system responds with a Search dialog box. The user enters the search request and then clicks on the OK button to initiate the search as shown in Figure 1. The system responds with a Subject Search window, as seen in Figure 2, with the closest possible match highlighted. This window also shows the number of titles that are associated with a particular heading. A graphical icon indicates the type of material. Double clicking on the heading of interest or clicking on the Select button will display a list of titles. Clicking on the See Limiters button allows a user to restrict the results by publishing year, reading level, interest level, or material types. The resulting Record Display window, as seen in Figure 3, gives the bibliographic information in a labeled format. The labels are in upper case with the variable text appearing in upper and lower case. A separate area, resembling a book spine label, displays the call number of the title. A button immediately below the call number allows the user to request information about the number of copies. The user can also click on two radial buttons to change the view of the record from Full to Brief. Buttons at the bottom of the window allow a user to view the previous or next record, conduct a new search, and close the window. The user may double click the title, author, series, added entries, subject or added subject entries and the system will immediately perform a hypertext-like search. Alternatively, the user may highlight the entry of interest and choose Lookup in the menu bar. To perform a keyword search, the user clicks the Keyword icon and the system opens up a Keyword Search window, which allows the user to enter one or more keywords using a formatted form that makes the construction of a complicated Boolean search simple. The user may choose to indicate the Boolean connector to be used by clicking on the appropriate radial button. …