UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 6, Page 7
October 10, 1991
One-stop, electronic campus information center

     All systems are go for the new campus connection, UDInfo,
according to Carl Jacobson, director of Management Information
Services (MIS).
     User-friendly and free of charge, UDInfo is designed to become
a one-stop information center about the University for students,
faculty and staff. All kinds of information from handbooks, to
events, to publications, including The Review, The Messenger and
UpDate, will soon be at the fingertips of computer users, from on
or off the campus.
     UDInfo can be accessed on the campus network through Telnet or
by anyone with a terminal and modem through a telephone call.
     At the present time, the University Policy and Procedures
Manual has been loaded into the system. When someone needs
information from the manual, instead of tracking down an
out-of-date volume buried in someone's drawer, an individual can
access the manual in UDInfo, Jacobson said. By using key words, the
user can find references related to the topic of interest, or can
review the table of contents or subject index.
     The Faculty Handbook will soon be loaded on-line, followed by
the Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual.
     There are countless ways that UDInfo can be used to keep the
faculty, staff and students informed and in touch, Jacobson said.
Basically, they now fall into four categories: campus handbooks,
newsletters, a calendar of events and minutes of public meetings.
     Users will soon be able to find out about cultural events,
plays, exhibits, athletic schedules, job openings and employee
training opportunities, or access course catalogs and directories
through UDInfo.
     Currently, The Review is being loaded for those who miss
picking up a copy, and it will be kept on file.
     Anyone wishing to be kept informed about what's happening at
Professional Advisory Committee, Salaried Staff Advisory Committee
and the Faculty Senate meetings will soon be able to access the
minutes.
     Working with Jacobson on the Computing and Network Services
(CNS)/ Library joint project are Mary McMahon, head of library data
base services, and Carol Falgiano, MIS project leader.
     UDInfo uses the same search software as DELCAT Plus, McMahon
said. DELCAT Plus is the library service which provides keyword
searching of abstracts of journal articles in engineering, business
and education and which can be accessed at the library, from campus
computing centers or by privately owned computers. For DELCAT Plus,
the library pays a licensing fee, but since UDInfo contains
in-house information from units within the University, there is no
fee.
     The search software which runs UDInfo and DELCAT Plus is BRS
SEARCH, a product of BRS Information Technologies Inc.
     "This is a dynamic, fluid system that should streamline the
dissemination of information at the University and reduce the flow
of paper memos and notices. In time, we also hope to have kiosks on
campus where anyone can access UDInfo and receive other vital
information about the University of Delaware," Jacobson said.
                                        - Sue Swyers Moncure