Hi All,

I'm sure that most people know about Info Trac, which is an assortment of
databases made available in many libraries.  I've recently been using the
web-based interface to Info Trac and would really like to locate a good
contact within IAC (Information Access Company), the developer of the product.

The heart of Info Trac is the actual articles or references to articles
that your search locates.  The current web interface presents these 20 at a
time with a checkbox for each article (used to create a list of references)
plus a link below each article that allows you to retrieve either the
reference or full text without generating a list.  When you access this
with a screen reader and web browser, the problem comes in because every
link on the page is the word view.  So as you tab through the links you end
up hearing, "view, view, view."  If there was an option to have the article
headlines act as the links, it would be a much more effective system for
those of us who use screen readers.

Regretably it is hard for me to give a pointer for others to try the
system.  That's why I'm wondering if anyone happens to have a good contact
within the company that might be willing to listen to an explanation.

It is quite possible that your library is now offering access to Info Trac
via the web.  The Multnomah County Library, here in Portland, starting
point for Info Trac is:

http://www.searchbank.com/searchbank/multnomah_main/

You will find an edit box where you must enter your library card number.
You should enter the standard last eight digits you might be familiar with
if you've ordered books online.  In addition you need to include the
numbers 211680, which are the starting numbers for all library cards in the
system.

You might check the web page for the library you typically use to see if
they are making the web version of Info Trac available.

The bulk of the Info Trac system seems to work quite well with screen
readers but this view situation is a big drawback.  Aside from that, the
web pages are not filled with a lot of extra links, and I didn't encounter
any other difficulty using the system.  Searches are straight forward with
one edit box to type your search phrase, one radio button to indicate
whether you are searching key words or subject headings and a submit
button.  Reading the actual articles is easier than many newspaper sites
and in general I found the site to make sense.  That's why I'd like to talk
to the company about the one glaring glitch for people who use screen readers.

Below is a very brief example of one citation listing as presented in the
Lynx web browser.  The word or phrase immediately after the number in
brackets is what a screen reader is going to read as a person tabs from
link to link.

   Citations 1 to 2
   Key Words: blind computer

_________________________________________________________________


IBM Creates New Java Technology to Help Blind Computer Users Access
   the
'Net.
      Business Wire Oct 23, 1997 p10231187
      [1]View text and
retrieval choices

   New Computer has workers talking: A voice
activated computer helps
   blind employees receive and ship light bulbs at
a Greensboro warehouse
   (Company profile)
      Greensboro News & Record
(NC) Dec 2, 1995 pB2
      [2]View abstract and retrieval choices

_________________________________________________________________


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