Thanks to everyone who responded to my original plea for
information about this public records service. In case
anyone else is interested, I've summarized the pros and
cons, and the comparisons with other services. The
comments were overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic.
PRO:
* easy to use, menu-driven interface
* very good customer and tech support; good training
classes and written documentation
* inexpensive/affordable (most searches under $20)
* pay as you go for searching and printing
* company is willing to "forgive" charges when users make
mistakes and search improperly
* one-stop shopping for public records
* coverage in many states and jurisdictions
* strong on California records
* has records not available on LEXIS/WESTLAW
* ability to track costs incurred at any time
* ability to print out a list of databases where no hits were
found
CON:
* advanced users found the menu-driven interface to be
awkward, but noted a new Windows version is coming out
now and this problem may be moot
* some lag time in updating records
* coverage is better for some states than for others; this is
partly due to a lack of information from the states
* some databases have a delayed turn-around time; i.e.,
you do a search and get your results 2-48 hours later
* you must be aware that some of the databases are
traditional on-line searches, and some of them trigger a
document-delivery request instead. This is noted in the
database, but users tend to forget.
COMPARISONS TO OTHER SERVICES:
* one user said Pacer is better for bankruptcy info
* one user said Dialog is better for corporate info
* several users clearly preferred CDB over Information
America (cost was a big factor)
* one user preferred Autotrack over CDB, saying the former
is more up-to-date
Christine Chapdelaine
Legislative Librarian
Crowell & Moring LLP
Washington, DC
(202) 624-2921
cchapdelaine@cromor.com
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