Personal Library Software and Illustra Announce Agreement to Provide
Integrated Database-Controlled Text Search Capabilities

Rockville Md.--July 11, 1995 --An agreement announced today between
Personal Library Software (PLS) and Illustra Information Technologies,
Inc. will provide major publishing houses and other corporate customers
with the ability to search and manage vast numbers of documents along with
complex, alphanumeric data in a single, integrated repository -- all using
industry-standard structured query language (SQL) language. PLS, the
leading text search tool company, and Illustra, the leader in
object-relational database management systems, will jointly develop and
market the industry's most advanced system for managing information of any
kind on public and proprietary networks, including the Internet and World
Wide Web.

A Solution To One Of The Long-Standing Challenges In Information
Management: "The successful integration of text and database management
capabilities has been one of computing's holy grails for over 30 years,"
said Matt Koll, president of PLS. "We believe this new partnership will
finally attain this goal."

Up until now the task of accessing stored documents has been unwieldy or
impossible because the technology to access them once they are stored has
been limited and clumsy -- often requiring the use of multiple databases.
The marriage of Illustra's integrated database engine to manage the whole
process and PLS's fully intelligent text search capabilities will allow
users to conduct completely integrated and databased text searches.

"Illustra's expertise is in databases -- not text search," said Dick
Williams, president and chief executive officer of Illustra. "Our
agreement with PLS is an ideal example of how Illustra's flexible
architecture lets us partner with 'best-of-breed' solutions providers to
benefit customers by helping them run their businesses more efficiently
and effectively."

Illustra's unique object-relational database management system (ORDBMS)
architecture brings together the best of both relational and object
database technology. It extends the widely accepted relational database
model, enabling users to store, manage and analyze advanced information
types such as audio, video, and images in a single database with text and
numbers, using industry-standard SQL. This integration is made possible by
the addition of DataBlades (tm) modules that "plug-in" to the Illustra
Server(tm) extending the database's ability to handle and integrate ANY
data type in one complete system. The Illustra suite of software is
commercially available to license. It is ideally suited for business
applications involving the management of multiple kinds of complex and
alphanumeric -- e.g., financial services, multimedia asset management,
digital media distribution, earth sciences and government/intelligence
markets. For example, NaviSoft, a subsidiary of America Online, embeds
Illustra's technology in the NaviServer portion of its on-line publishing
products.

Intelligent Search Capabilities:

PLS is the leading supplier of search software to the on-line and World
Wide Web publishing community, including such customers as America Online,
Prodigy, Dow Jones, Time Inc. and Apple Computer. PLS is known for its
powerful yet easy-to-use features that help users find relevant
information quickly. For example, with the natural language capabilities
of the system, users can search with phrases or words they use in everyday
conversation rather than having to adhere to a proscribed list of key
words. Built-in relevance ranking allows all results from a distributed
search to be merged and displayed according to their likely relevance,
precluding a need to "second-guess" the system.

With the dynamic concept searching feature, the system compensates for
omissions and lapses in human memory. It takes a word, phrase or query and
automatically finds words that are conceptually related, thereby calling
up related information that is highly relevant but that the user didn't
know to ask about.

Fully Integrated Information Management:

The combination of SQL and full-text search capability opens up a whole new
way of looking at document management. Now full text data can be combined
with transactional data to allow the creation of internal or external
document distribution systems. Because Illustra supports rules and
alerters, users can now add intelligent workflow to their systems. For
example, with PLS and Illustra's combined expertise, a company can
automate the creation of new "standard operating procedures" as well as
automate the distribution of those procedures by developing rules for who
supplies, who edits, who approves and who is notified of new or changing
content. Illustra's support for "versioning" adds the ability to search
the same document over time and follow how it has changed. This feature is
especially in applications such as product specification documents. Now
product developers (or support or repair personnel) can track the changes
a product makes throughout its lifecycle without any extra coding. By
adding Illustra's Web DataBlade these documents can readily be accessed
across most networks around the world, including secured private networks
or the Internet. Example applications might include a catalog of products
tied directly to internal inventory systems, allowing that catalog to
change "dynamically" with the actual product lines.

Headquartered in Rockville, Md., Personal Library Software
(http://www.pls.com) provides a suite of intelligent text-retrieval
products and services for on-line, CD-ROM and Internet publishing
applications. The PLS search engine is at the core of products and
services from leading information companies such as Prodigy, Financial
Times Information Services, Grolier, NewsNet, and Congressional
Quarterly.

Headquartered in Oakland, Calif., Illustra Information Technologies, Inc.,
the Database for Cyberspace (http://www.illustra.com), is the leading
worldwide supplier of media asset management systems and tools for
applications in multimedia and entertainment, digital media distribution
and financial services. The company's flagship product, the Illustra
Server allows users to store, manage, and analyze complex multimedia data
such as audio, video and images in a single database, along with
traditional text and numbers using industry-standard SQL. The company was
founded in 1992.
 
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