PSI: a portable self‐contained intermediary for access to bibliographic database systems

A portable self‐contained intermediary which provides the non‐expert user a single command language for access to multiple bibliographic database systems is under development at the Technical University of Nova Scotia. The intermediary, currently resident on a microcomputer, is intended to be self‐contained on a specially designed single board computer which fits conveniently under a desktop telephone. The system requires no external media such as disk or tape. The command language consists of a set of menus from which the user selects the various functions available. The video screen is formatted into windows of information which allows the user to view citations in one window while keeping a history of the search strategy in a second window.