Introduction

Dialog is the most successful of all database utilities/publishers, which are companies that provide online access to multiple databases. I like the term "utilities" because Dialog is like a utility in that it funnels content from a variety of database vendors just like PG&E buys oil and electricity from a variety of producers.

The company is a subsidiary of the Thompson publishing conglomerate, one of the five largest publishers in the world. Thomson also owns the Gale Group, which produces the Infotrac and other databases; DataStar, Dialog's European-oriented sibling; and Thomson ISI, which was formerly the independent Institute for Scientific Information.

Most of the databases in Dialog are created and published by database vendors who license them to Dialog, other database utilities, and other organizations and companies.

Size

• About 500 databases available over the Internet.
• Over 1200 databases including the Euro-centric peer DataStar and Thomson's other related services.

Who Uses Dialog

• Used largely by businesses, government, organization, medical, legal, and academic communities because of the cost.
• Minimal use by public libraries.
• Substantial use by information brokers, who are essentially librarians for a fee.
• Negligible use by individuals in general.

A Very Brief History

• Dialog was originally developed at Lockheed Lockheed Missiles & Space Company in Sunnyvale, CA. The database utility was the result of the desire to access individual online databases via a single search (query) interface. Individual databases were converted to a single format to make unifed searching possible.
• The first databases in Dialog in 1972 were the government's ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center. File number 1) and NTIS (National Technical Information Service) databases.
• In 1981 Lockheed formed Dialog Information Services, Inc., as a wholly-owned subsidiary.
• In 1988 Knight-Ridder, which owns numerous newspapers, including the San Jose Mercury News), purchased Dialog from Lockheed.
• In 1998, Knight-Ridder sold Dialog to M.A.I.D., a United Kingdom vendor of online database services.
• In 2000, publishing giant Thompson acquired Dialog.