CD-ROM Interface Activities Could Bring Important Changes to the Industry.

The article focuses on compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM) standards. As CD-ROM titles proliferated and more and more CD-ROM drives were installed, the issue of inconsistent retrieval interfaces loomed large. Libraries and other information-intensive organizations tend to be most affected by the wide variety of search and retrieval interfaces available today. Library patrons are faced with an increasing number of interfaces to learn and have to be concerned about different function keys and procedures for different CD-ROM applications. Some libraries are even making CD-ROM purchasing decisions based on the product's user interface. The standards issue reawakened as users found that there was little or no standardization of the retrieval software in CD-ROM products. Soon a number of government and industry groups began to seek solutions to the problem of inconsistent interfaces and lack of interoperability among CD-ROM products. A major force driving a CD-ROM retrieval protocol standard is the United States Patent and Trademark Office.