ABSTRACT
The Community Information module was originally developed with the name ‘Local Information’ in the UK as a result of contracts being signed with several public libraries which had each independently indicated the need for a local information database. The first such contract was with Somerset County Libraries and the module was developed in consultation with them. In March 1984 the software was released to a second client, who took over development and debugging trials, while Somerset staff concentrated on other developments. Though this resulted in several improvements to the software, the module was seen to require considerable revision in order to make the fullest use of its potential. Accordingly, a working party, comprising representatives from most of the public libraries in the UK then using Geac, was set up in late 1984 to provide a mutually agreed specification for the future development of the module. This working party, chaired by Alison Hunter of Hillingdon, included representatives from Bexley, Islington, Redbridge, Sutton and Westminster, while Camden, Somerset and the few academic sites who were interested were also invited to comment. The result was a draft specification which was forwarded to Geac in March 1985. Based on the existing software module, this draft specification suggested a number of major enhancements for future development, including greater storage capacity, improved keyword searching facilities, bulk updating facilities, word processing and the introduction of a degree of Boolean searching.
