Search Helper: An Online Service for Undergraduates Available to Purchase

Online databases have become increasingly accessible to end users through the use of microcomputers. The quickly expanding family of end‐user databases and software support services reflects the diverse needs of end users. Two popular databases, Compu‐Serve and The Source, appeal to home and business users with direct access to such data as financial information, airline schedules, restaurant guides, weather news, and consumer tips. A related approach has been taken by DIALOG'S Knowledge Index and BRS/After Dark. Directed toward the home information consumer, these vendor services provide access to some 12 to 23 of their most frequently consulted online databases. Using simplified DIALOG and BRS search protocol, the microcomputer operator is charged a reduced fee by searching during evening and weekend hours. A third variation on end‐user searching exists in front‐end software programs such as OL'SAM, CAST and Userkit. These products allow the user to gain access to a variety of database vendors using a single search protocol; the user learns one set of commands which, through the mediation of the software, will work on several database systems. ISI's Sci‐Mate provides similar features.