Prize for CELEX on the Web, April 1998

The Mistral command language version of CELEX has long caused anguish amongst information professionals so CELEX's availability on the web from August 1997 was widely welcomed. At the annual conference of the European Information Association held at the Storey's Gate Office of the European Commission Representation in the UK on 18 March, CELEX on the Web was presented with the EIA's annual award in the database category in recognition of the transformation that it has undergone. Its new interface offers simple, clear and well-presented access to complex data. It is good to know however that developments do not stop here. Speaking on behalf of the CELEX team, Margarethe Braune, database manager of ECLAS, presented a range of enhancements under development, many of which should be introduced by summer 1998. Promptitude of the database has improved greatly in recent times but the aim is to move from once weekly updates to three times a week, with the goal of daily updates by the end of 1999. In trying to develop an interface that is simple and efficient both for the information professional and the end user, expert search screens allowing the use of Boolean operators will be introduced. The highlighting of search terms will allow in-context displays and easy navigation to the next occurrence of a term. Simultaneous display of two language versions of a document is also planned, and seamless access to EUDOR for document delivery will come into effect in 1998.