| HLAS Online (via WWW) | HLAS/CD | HLAS via telnet to LOCIS | |
| Volumes included; # of records |
v. 1-59 (v. 56-59 unverified in process); approximately 290,000 records. | v. 1-53 (only verified records); approximately 250,000 records. | v. 50-59 (v. 56-59 unverified in process); 70,000 records. |
Updated |
Monthly or bimonthly. | Annually or biannually. | Instantaneously. |
| Price | Free, but requires WWW Internet access (or telnet access for LYNX). | $150. | Free, but requires telnet access. |
| Minimum requirements | Computer with graphical user interface (or telnet access for LYNX users). | 386 (486 recommended); Windows 3.1 or higher; CD-ROM drive. | Computer with telnet access. |
| # of simultaneous users/ # of ports |
Adequate for expected demand. | Networking permitted at no extra cost, but problematic if running other databases using BRS software. | HLAS users compete with all LOCIS users for 90 ports. |
| Speed | Generally fast; depends on your local resource use, ports available, and network traffic. | Very fast (Pentium w/6X CD drive) to barely acceptable (386 w/single speed CD drive). | Very fast even for large hits lists. |
| HLAS Online (via WWW) | HLAS/CD | HLAS via telnet to LOCIS | |
| Dependability | Erratic; usually excellent but depends on local resource use, ports available, and network traffic. | Very reliable for hits lists under 500 records; fairly reliable for larger groups of records. | Very reliable once you get connected to LOCIS. |
Overall user-friendliness |
Basic mode: very good. Expert mode: very good. | Beginner mode: excellent. Expert mode: fairly complicated. | Challenging; formidable for novices. |
| Search engine | Inquery, with LC-customized interface. Uses fielded searching, but only with "and/or(s)" ("not" is unavailable). | BRS, with MAPFRE-customized interface. Uses 8 Boolean and proximity operators. | MUMS. Allows use of nested Boolean and/or/not(s), with specific fields searchable. |
| Order of search results | Relevancy-ranked, based on # of occurrences, size of record, etc. | Chronological, in HLAS volume order (first to last, or last to first). | Chronological, by order records were input. |
| Maneuvering among hits list and documents | Good for small-sized hits list; average with larger lists. Lacks "go to" command. | Vertical scroll bar provides excellent maneuvering; "go to" command jumps directly to particular document. | Excellent, once you learn the MUMS scrolling commands. |
| HLAS Online (via WWW) | HLAS/CD | HLAS via telnet to LOCIS | |
| Saving/printing results | Tedious. Only one screen or document at a time. | Excellent. Allows for printing/saving entire hits lists, or brief or full display of tagged documents from list. (New release will print/save all full documents from hits list.) | Extremely tedious. Only one screen at a time. |
| Ability to save search history | Depends on caching capabilities of your browser. | Excellent. Allows user to save entire search history to hard drive or diskette for future uploading and use. | Not available. |
| Help documentation | Brief help file in English, with hypertext links to/from related screens. (Spanish and Portuguese help will be available soon.) | Extensive English/Spanish help file and integrated command-line help. | Only available as a separate document or file. Not integrated with HLAS on LOCIS. |
| Special/innovative features | Hypertext links to subject headings in database. Ability to regularly update data and enhance interface based on users' feedback. Most comprehensive coverage available (58 volumes). | Ability to save and combine different search sets. Ability to browse and search groups of words in database dictionary. | Updates records instantly as daily editorial work progresses. |