ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 7, 1996--Two winners of the 1996 Information Industry Association (IIA) HotShots Award rely on information retrieval technology from Personal Library Software Inc. (PLS), the company announced Monday.
The IIA HotShots Awards, announced yesterday at the 1996 IIA Annual Convention and Exhibition being held in Washington, D.C., honor the industry's best new online and Internet products and services.
The award for Best Web Site/Consumer went to Congressional Quarterly's American Voter '96 (http://voter96.cqalert.com). Questel-Orbit's QPAT-US (http://www.qpat.com) won the HotShots Award for Best Legal Service. Both sites use the PLWeb Internet publishing system from PLS.
"The IIA HotShots Awards recognize excellence in information quality, presentation and delivery," said Dr. Matthew Koll, president of PLS. "These criteria are what differentiate merely `cool' Web sites from cool sites that are, in addition, truly meaningful and useful.
"PLS is honored to have supported the efforts of two such sites and would like to extend its congratulations to both Congressional Quarterly and Questel-Orbit."
Congressional Quarterly's American Voter '96 site was launched in December 1995 as an interactive tool that continues CQ's tradition of keeping voters informed about their elected officials. Users can find a wealth of information about their representatives and senators, as well as the candidates running against them, simply by entering their zip code.
One of the mainstay features of American Voter '96 is "Rate Your Rep," which allows voters to compare their views on key political issues with the stated positions of their House and Senate members.
"On the Job," another notable feature, allows users to create customized reports to see how their representatives are voting by receiving information on each member's key committee votes, speeches, bill sponsorships and profiles. American Voter '96 also enables users to review the positions of congressional, gubernatorial and presidential candidates on a range of hot-button issues.
"Congressional Quarterly and PLS introduced advanced searching to the on-line world in 1989," said Neil Skene, president and publisher of Congressional Quarterly. "We're proud that this partnership is still bringing innovations to the marketplace."
Launched in April 1996, QPAT-US is a comprehensive full-text database containing over 20 years of U.S. patent data, much of which has never been readily accessible to the public.
The system features an intuitive "point and click" interface that allows professional patent searchers, as well as infrequent users such as attorneys or scientists, to conduct sophisticated searches more efficiently. QPAT-US also offers access to patent abstract and other bibliographic data at no charge to registered users.
"Questel-Orbit needed to bring a database containing almost two million patent records to the Internet," said Michael Wilkes, vice president of Questel-Orbit Inc. "PLS provided a product with the scalability we needed to get the job done."
PLWeb is an Internet publishing system that incorporates the same search technology that has made PLS the choice of many of the world's leading information providers. Introduced in 1994, PLWeb was the first information retrieval product designed to address the problem of accessing and navigating large databases on the World Wide Web.
PLS's advanced search technologies are highly scalable, enabling developers to incorporate virtually any amount of information into a Web site. All versions of PLWeb, including the recently announced PLWeb Turbo 2.6, feature natural language searching as well as a full complement of Boolean, proximity and field-based searches.
Version 2.6 also incorporates a number of features that make it easier to go live with a site and respond to users' needs, including template-based customization, multiple database views, and open platform support.
The American Voter '96 and QPAT-US sites were both designed and implemented by Electronic Press (Services) Inc. of Cambridge, Mass. Electronic Press offers a wide range of electronic publishing services, including programming, data conversion, editorial, production, technical support and consulting.
About PLS
PLS is a leading developer of information search and agent technology. PLS software is well known for its power and speed, automatic concept searching, ease of use, robustness, dynamic updating, and scalability. The PLS family of products, introduced in 1983, is used by several thousand organizations and several million individuals in electronic publishing as well as in workgroup and enterprise applications.
PLS technology is at the core of products and services from leading information companies, including America Online, AT&T, Dow Jones, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Knight-Ridder and The Washington Post Company.
PLS can be reached at its headquarters at 2400 Research Blvd., Rockville, MD 20850, 301/990-1155. PLS can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.pls.com. E-mail can be sent to info@pls.com.
About Congressional Quarterly
Congressional Quarterly has reported on Congress and national affairs since 1945, when it started as an independent company in Washington, D.C. A recognized leader in print journalism, CQ has forged new ground online with its legislative tracking service, Washington Alert, and the newly launched CQ NewsAlert, a Web site that provides continuous coverage fo breaking news from Congress.
Plus, with its consumer online ventures, including American Voter '96, CQ's Vote Watch on Time Warner's Pathfinder Web service, the CQ Forum on America Online (keyword: CQ) and major components of AllPolitics, the Time-CNN joint venture on the Web.
About Questel-Orbit
Questel-Orbit Inc., a part of France Telecom Multimedia, is a global leader in the electronic delivery of patent, trademark, chemical, business and general news information.
For information on QPAT-US or any other Questel-Orbit product, contact the company's customer service department at 800/326-1710 or send an e-mail message to info@questel.orbit.com. Additional product information is also available on the Questel-Orbit home page at http://questel.orbit.com.
About IIA
Founded in 1968, the IIA represents more than 550 companies involved in the creation, dissemination and use of information in print and digital formats.
IIA's members look to the Association to represent their interests in government policy and regulatory matters, to promote the industry and provide early awareness about new developments and emerging technologies, and to provide a business development forum for interaction among executives in the industry.
IIA members range from entrepreneurial enterprises to Fortune 500 firms and include database publishers, online services, Internet service providers, software publishers, telecommunications companies and financial information services.
IIA's members are the leaders who have helped shape the industry as it exists today and are at the forefront of developing the new business environment of tomorrow. More information about the IIA can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.infoindustry.org. -0- PLWeb is a trademark of Personal Library Software Inc. All other product and company names may be trademarks of their respective companies.
CONTACT: Personal Library Software
Joe Haley, 301/990-1155
joeh@pls.com
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