ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 394 / C &RL News NEW TECHNOLOGY •The A r e a B u s in e s s D a t a b a n k , I n c . , a new business reference service that pinpoints informa­ tion on closely held or private companies and their officers, began monthly service in July. The service scans over 80 local, state and regional business pub­ lications throughout the U.S. and Canada. Sub­ scribers receive the complete articles on microfiche accompanied by a fully cross-referenced printed index. ABD also concentrates on regional business statistics, local business trends, new technology, successful entrepreneurs, state tax policies, legisla­ tion and regulatory actions, market strategy, site selection, and emerging stocks. For further infor­ mation, contact Area Business Databank, P.O. Box 829, Louisville, KY 40201; (502) 589-9666. • B a k e r & T a y l o r ’s new BaTaPHONE elec­ tronic ordering system, which was previewed at ALA Annual Conference in Los Angeles, became operational on September 1. The system utilizes a hand-held data terminal that is used for ordering titles by keying in the ISBN and the quantity de­ sired. The order information is then transmitted to Baker & Taylor via toll-free telephone lines. A printed acknowledgment is automatically sent to the library and pre-printed multiple-copy order slips can also be provided. The system can be rented for $325 annually. For further information, contact Baker & Taylor Company, 6 Kirby Ave­ nue, Somerville, NJ 08876; (201) 526-8000. •N e w Y o r k U n i v e r s i t y ’s Bobst Library held a special ceremony on September 15 to introduce its online public catalog, BOBCAT. The system lists recent holdings of the Bobst Library, the Graduate School of Business Administration, and the Insti­ tute of Fine Arts. It also contains information on materials in the member libraries of the Research Library Association of South Manhattan. A total of 100 terminals will soon be installed throughout the system. A Geac 8000 minicomputer serves the BOBCAT system. Additional functions to be added later are a linked authority file, a high-speed print­ ing facility, and a Boolean search system. The sys­ tem was funded in part by grants from the Carne­ gie Corporation and the Mellon Foundation. •St a n d a r d D u p l i c a t i n g M a c h i n e s C o r p o r a ­ t io n has acquired the distribution rights for the T- Track System, an anti-theft device that protects general or technical office equipment. The system consists of matching steel post and maze plates that are securely bound to the base of the protected equipment and to the adjacent work surface. Once installed, the system is hidden from view and inac­ cessible. Installation requires no drilling or me­ chanical attachment. The equipment ranges in size to accomodate different types of equipment and in price from $28.50 to $92. For further information, contact Francis Kelly, Standard Duplicating Ma­ chines Corp., 10 Connector Road, Andover, MA 01810; (617) 470-1920. • The U n i v e r s i t y o f T e x a s H e a l t h S c i e n c e C e n t e r Library, San Antonio, has selected the L i­ brary Information System (LIS) developed by the John Vinton Dahlgren Memorial Library, George­ town University Medical Center, as its circulation and technical services system. LIS features a mini- MEDLINE system that provides quick access to biomedical journal citations and provides an inter­ face with the PHILSOM Serial Management Sys­ tem developed by the Washington University School of Medicine Library. The system became operational this August in the Center’s new library building, which contains 34 VT 100 series termi­ nals. ■ ■ Immroth Award ALA’s Intellectual Freedom Round Table (IFRT) has called for nominations for the 1984 John Phillip Immroth Memorial Award. The award, established in 1976 in memory of IF R T ’s founder, honors an individual who has made a notable contribution to intellectual freedom and who has demonstrated remark­ able personal courage in the support of intellec­ tual freedom and First Amendment rights. Past recipients have included Nat Hentoff, Village Voice columnist (1983), Stephen Pico, plaintiff in the Island Trees case, Levittown, New York (1982), and I.F . Stone (1976). The award, a citation and $500, will be presented at ALA Annual Conference. Nominations should be submitted by December 1, 1983, to David Cohen, Chair, John Phillip Immroth Memorial Award Committee, 68-71 Bell Boulevard, Bay- side, NY 11364.