BiblioLine is the web‐based search interface to numerous bibliographic and full‐text databases provided by NISC, National Information Services Corporation. As of March 1998, BiblioLine provides access to 36 databases, ranging from the fairly common (ERIC and RILM) to the more unusual (African Studies Database, Entomology Abstracts). Several databases, such as Gay and Lesbian Abstracts and Black Studies Database, are unique to BiblioLine. Special strengths in database coverage include the life, earth, and social sciences, particularly issues involving minority groups. Of special note is Child Abuse and Neglect Abstracts, for which BiblioLine provides free access. Though this database is available elsewhere on the Web at no charge (http:// caliber3.calib.com/nccanch/database/index.htm), users may prefer the speed and flexibility of BiblioLine’s search engine. Subscribers to BiblioLine may access the databases either via password or through IP filtering.
The initial page provides a pull‐down menu to log on to BiblioLine in addition to background information on the available databases and on NISC itself. “Products and Publishing Partners” provides a fact sheet on each database, with coverage information, pricing, update frequency, and links to products on similar topics. Similar links include details on newly available databases and free trial schedules, NISC CD‐ROM products, company news and announcements, and a tool that searches all NISC web pages.
ROMWright, BiblioLine’s search engine, offers four different search modes. BiblioLine Lite is the simplest but offers the fewest search options, typically Subject and Author; the search fields available here depend on the database chosen. However, the difference between Broad Topic and Subject searches, both of which can appear as options in BiblioLine Lite, is not immediately clear. Fortunately, help files are plentiful, but users should not have to rely on them to use this simplest of search modes.
BiblioLine Professional has separate screens for Novice, Advanced, and Expert searchers. All modes in BiblioLine Professional, unlike the Lite version, permit saving and retrieving searches as well as showing a search total without displaying results. The more advanced the search mode, naturally, the more search options there are. Novice mode adds a journal title field; Advanced mode permits searches by title, year, and publication type, among others;and Expert mode, like a traditional online search tool, allows set numbers and search prefixes.
The “I” following each search field lets you access an alphabetical index of possible terms, and the “?” brings up a help screen. Selected fields also have thesauri, accessible by clicking on “T.” Boolean, wildcard, and adjacency operators are all permitted, as are parentheses; options are well‐detailed in the help screens. After doing a search, you can mark citations, view them in full format with abstracts, print, save to disk, or e‐mail the citations.
Help files within BiblioLine are plentiful, although the language used is not always clear, and the formatting is uneven. An HTML re‐design of all help screens would make them much more usable. The frequently‐mentioned “BiblioLine User’s Guide” is still under construction; it should be a useful tool, provided it does more than link to previously existing help files.
While search speed is fast at almost any time of day, BiblioLine Professional could use significant improvement in its screen design. The Novice mode search page is a classic example: the tan background clashes with the bright red, gold, and yellow colors of the search boxes, not to mention the light blue navigation buttons and the bright blue (unvisited) and green (visited) text links. In addition, though buttons are small to minimize loading time, their design lacks consistency. Navigation buttons, for example, are small icons labeled below by text which changes depending on your location within the database. The 3D‐style red search buttons include the text for the commands they perform, while yet other buttons use Netscape’s default black‐on‐gray format.
Unfortunately, the design does not improve as the search process continues. The layout of the Search Results page is cluttered with so many buttons, colors, pull‐down menus, and fonts that the eye does not know where to look next. The citations themselves, supposedly the page’s focus, are displayed in a very small font, nearly buried amongst everything else. Finally, depending on your monitor’s setup, you may be forced to use the horizontal scroll bar to see the rightmost part of the screen. In all, the site would benefit from a complete redesign of its interface, including new buttons, a different color scheme, and increased use of white space.
Other web‐based bibliographic database providers are plentiful, all with different interfaces, costs, and database choices. For a comprehensive guide to which vendors offer which databases online, consult the semiannual_Gale Directory of Databases (Detroit: Gale Research). SilverPlatter (http://www.silverplatter.com), for example, offers WebSPIRS, a subscription‐based search service, and “Search by Search,” a system using the same interface in which you pay as you go. OCLCs FirstSearch service (http://www.oclc.org/oclc/menu/fs.htm) offers 60 online databases, either via subscription or on a per‐search basis. EBSCO Publishing (http://www.epnet.com), UMI’s ProQuest Direct (http://www.umi.com/ proquest/), and Information Access Company’s SearchBank (http://www.iacnet.com/ library/ html/searchbank.html) also offer online access to databases via a web interface. Finally, several databases available through BiblioLine are available as freebies elsewhere, namely ERIC http://ericae.net/ search.htm) and AGRICOLA (telnet to opac.nal.usda.gov, log in as ISIS; 1989‐). Among the fee‐based vendors, BiblioLine fares well in terms of subscription cost and speed; but users will likely prefer the search interface of its competitors.
BiblioLine does have numerous strong points: unique databases, fast processing speed, flexibility of its search engine, and relatively low cost compared to other vendors. However, the poorly‐designed search interface and screen layout cannot be disguised, particularly if users find them distracting. For librarians wishing access to the unique databases offered here, BiblioLine is recommended with reservations. However, if a library can afford a competing product with a clearer screen layout that offers the desired database(s), one may wish to look at alternatives.
