Since it was founded in 1972 by Dr. Roger K. Summit, Dialog has been a pioneer in developing technology for the retrieval of electronic information. Today, Dialog is the world leader in providing online-based information services to organizations. Throughout Dialog's 30-year history, Summit's original vision has been a guiding principal for the organization. From the original Dialog charter, that vision is: "[to] bring together the full range of the world's knowledge, making it available to all searchers, everywhere."

In keeping with that founding vision, Dialog is committed to making its products and services available to as many users a possible and, thus, in keeping with the accessibility standards of Section 508 (Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards, 36 C.F.R. § 1194). These regulations implement Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C.A. § 794d) and draw upon the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (WCAG 1.0) published by the Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

About Dialog

Dialog, headquartered in Cary, North Carolina, USA, is a Thomson (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC) business and a worldwide leader in providing online-based information services to organizations seeking competitive advantages in such fields as business, science, engineering, finance and law. Our products and services, including Dialog® and Dialog DataStar®, offer organizations the ability to precisely retrieve data from more than 1.4 billion unique records of key information, accessible via the Internet or through delivery to enterprise intranets.

As part of the Deep Web, which is estimated to be 500 times larger than the content accessible via Web search engines, Dialog products offer unparalleled depth and breadth of content coupled with the ability to search with precision and speed. Our collection of over 900 databases handles more than 700,000 searches and delivers over 17 million document page views per month.

Accessibility Efforts: Overview

Within Dialog, products and services are under continuing review to meet the terms — and the spirit — of Section 508. Outlined below are a few of the primary areas where Dialog has taken the initiative to address the needs of our customers with disabilities.

• Industry Involvement — As a member organization of the Software Information Industry Association (SIIA), Dialog has long been involved in reviewing and promoting standards for accessibility. As we pursue best efforts for disability access, we have further consulted government sources and guidance, accessibility experts, and government contracts counsel and experts. As well, we have called upon the example of fellow Thomson companies that have been leaders in accessibility, such as West Group.
• Accessibility Review — In 2001 following issuance of the final regulations and standards from the Access Board, Dialog contracted with CIA Corporation (www.section508corp.com) to conduct an initial, rigorous review of our primary products and services for accessibility.
• Planning, Assessment and Remediation — Following that review, Dialog continues to examine products, interfaces, training opportunities and documentation for ways in which our services can be made more accessible for those visually, hearing- or dexterity-impaired. Products and services are undergoing review and redesign, as necessary and appropriate, to address the requirements of Section 508. Evolving product technologies will more fully incorporate access and interfacing with assistive technologies.
• Future Products — We will work to include the accessibility that informs Section 508 as part of the basic planning and requirements for all future Dialog development. For example, guidelines set forth in the Software Applications and Operating Systems Section (§1194.31) were integral in the development of Dialog's latest telecommunications software DialogLink 3.0, which was released in May 2002. Further, as products are migrated to Dialog's new environment, the Web-based Intranet and Internet Information Applications guidelines will be incorporated as practicable as well as text-only alternatives.
• Accessibility Training — Section 508 has become a point-of-focus for our product development group. Our Technology unit is aware of the standards and the need to make products as accessible as possible. With training provided by industry experts, evolving technology will help Dialog build the best products possible.
• Training & Support — Dialog makes training and support available in a number of different ways in order to make access available to customers when and how it works best for them. To accommodate the individual training needs of a customer, Dialog provides training at its facilities country-wide, on-site, via telephone and self-study manuals and aids. Telephone support for technical and product issues is available from Dialog's U.S.-based Knowledge Center from 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. EDT, Monday through Friday. Customers may also request support via email at: .
• Documentation — Dialog provides product support documentation in a variety of formats on our Web site at www.dialog.com. We try, of course, to accommodate all reasonable requests. All documentation will generally be provided to customers at no charge. Upon request, we can make documentation available in electronic format (Microsoft® WORD). Delivery time for these special-order materials is two to three weeks, depending upon the length of the piece. These documents can be sent to the customer via e-mail or on disc. Customers will have the ability to change the font and convert the documents into large-print documents.

Performance Criteria

In accordance with Section 508, Dialog's products and services are designed to comply with applicable accessibility standards including, as appropriate, providing equivalent facilitation. Consistent with the government's goal of using evolving technology to provide equivalent facilitation, the following checklist explains current compliance to the standards promulgated by the Access Board.

While Dialog's Web interfaces can provide a certain scope of accessibility pursuant to Section 508 guidelines, we stress that alternative access to Dialog is available via DialogLink in conjunction with assistive technology as described below.

Section 1194.31 Functional Performance Criteria

This template is based upon the Voluntary Product Assessment Template developed by the Information Technology Industry Council (www.itic.org).

At Dialog, we have a continued dedication to improving the accessibility of our products and services and creating new and better products that everyone can use. We look forward to further enhancing access to our products and services for all users in the future through Section 508 compliance and, in some cases, providing alternatives that provide greater or equal access. Specific questions or suggestions about Dialog offerings are welcome and can be sent to: .

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