ATTN: Lex Users and Librarians
SUBJECT: Lex origins and philosophy

This email was received today:
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Hi,
I sent an email to you about an hour ago. It is because we have to log onto
a network to access our files that I got the message about not having a
registration number. LexWin is so quick to download that I don't see this as
a problem now.

I would like to find out more about the history of your system - how it
started, etc. Could you send us some info?
Thanking you in advance,
>Ann...
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LEX SYSTEMS owes its start to a decision that Tenho Tuomi (programmer) and I
(Jim Bruce) made back in about 1987. Tenho has a degree in Physics, and I
now have two education degrees and an MLS. We found that quality library
systems were not affordable for smaller and mid-sized libraries. We also
wanted a system based on MARC records rather than conventional database
records that houses a fixed number of fields with fixed lengths.

LEXIFILE was the result. The system basically stores MARC records in one
continuous file, and then indexes the fields according to how we configure
the sysetm. We build many safeguards in the system that handles these
records: backups are always maintained so that a program crash at any time
will lose only indexes, not the main data file. Lost data in LEX due to
system problems is rare.

Originally LEX was used by many to print library cards, which it will still
do, even sorting the cards in a preselected order. The search engine was
very fast and robust, allowing complex Boolean searches to be made extremely
fast.

We also wanted to enable INPUT or IMPORT of all forms of MARC records,
without having to run a utility and charge the customer more money. The
IMPORT feature allows data to be remapped.

Similarly we wanted to allow no-cost EXPORT of MARC records with ease. The
system had to be able to export records in the same quality as received from
book vendors, except for local editing. The EDIT screen was made to allow
for word-processor style changes, and adding of any MARC field or subfield
with comparative ease.

The final major addition was an inventory-control module, also included with
the basic package. We tend to dislike add-on utility programs, and this
feature like most others, is fully integrated.

LexWin was a comparatively recent addition to allow for a grahpical Windows
interface. It has proved most popular with patrons who find it easier to
learn.

There are major modules we do not have that large libraries prefer, such as
Acquisitions (ordering) and Serials control (tracking periodical
subscriptions). Small libraries tend to handle these with ease manually, if
they have budgets under $100,000, and not more than several hundred
periodicals.

Our Web-page was added to allow customers to download after paying an update
fee. Recently we started to give away the DOS program which DOES run under
Windows.

This winter we are working on LexWeb, a system for catloguing and
circulating items totally on the Web.

Hope this helps,

Jim Bruce
Lex Systems



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