I am responding to the "MELVYL Fan" letter in your summer 1996 issue. I worked on the MELVYL On-Line Catalog System for almost 10 years (developed by the Division of Library Automation (DLA) in the UC Office of the President under the direction of Dr. Edwin Brownrigg). I worked at DLA in the beginning stages of MELVYL, in 1979, with the building of the computer center, the prototype database and the network. DLA installed the first statewide network in California for MELVYL to reach all of the UC campuses. Also MELVYL was the first information service provider that was available on the Internet--back when Internet was not a household word. We felt like pioneers at the time because it was a new frontier (in the late 1970s, early 1980s) but felt that it was such an important and worthwhile project and hoped that it would be used by faculty, students and staff for many years to come. I'm glad to see that has happened.
Donna Chan
Office of Curricular Support
UC Davis School of Medicine
