FAIRHOPE, Ala. — The difference is like night and day.

Until Wednesday, the general public did not have Web-based electronic access to court records made available without charge at Baldwin County courthouses as required by a state contract with the private company providing the service.

Instead, the general public faced a DOS-based system navigated by function keys reminiscent of the early days of personal computers and before “point-and-click” and “hyperlink” had entered the vocabulary.

But after inquiries this week by the Fairhope Courier and an article in Wednesday’s newspaper, the more user-friendly AlaCourt system had been installed at the main courthouse in Bay Minette and satellite courthouses in Fairhope and Foley, said Baldwin County Circuit Clerk Jody Campbell.

“Barring any technical problems or unforeseen problems,” Campbell said Tuesday, the system will be available by the time the Wednesday paper hits the stands.

A visit Wednesday afternoon to the Fairhope Satellite Courthouse confirmed that Campbell delivered on that commitment. Now, the more user-friendly service is available in Fairhope and at the other county courthouses.

And the public printer that had been out of commission for more than a year, according to court employees, had also been connected. Copies do cost 50 cents a page but a trial run to print a document pulled up on a recent case showed that system is now working.

So, instead of having to follow 11 steps on a typewritten page taped to the shelf next to the public computer just to log in to the DOS-based State Judicial Information System, it now it takes just two right clicks to access a much easier system to use.

Electronic access to trial court records began as a pilot project in approximately 50 Alabama counties launched by the Alabama Supreme Court in July 2005.

That initial project followed a 2004 contract between the Alabama Administrative Office of Courts and a private company in Mobile, On Line Information Services, to upgrade the state’s DOS-based system to a Web-based one. A revenue-sharing agreement between AOC and OLIS has earned the state and that company millions of dollars since that time.

The state is currently negotiating a renewal contract with OLIS, which ended Dec. 31. The contract is a “sole source” contract exempt from state bid requirement based on the vendor providing unique services to the state.

“OLIS will provide access to its “enhanced access” service, without charge, … for courthouse-based public access system, which may be provided for lawyers and the general public who come to the clerks’ offices,” a provision of the 2004 contract between AOC and OLIS states.

OLIS representatives referred inquiries about its services and the status of contract negotiations to AOC. As of Tuesday, an AOC representative said a new contract had not been signed.

The revenue earned by AOC and OLIS by providing public court records in electronic form is generated by fees paid by subscribers. Some states and jurisdictions, such as in Pensacola, Fla., provide electronic access to court information without charge.

Alabama differs from many states, however, in that its entire state trial court database is searchable, not just county by county as in Florida.

In the last page of a 2005 document published by the Alabama Administrative Director of Courts to implement the state Supreme Court’s pilot project, the issue of access is addressed as follows: “Electronic access to the electronic docket and documents filed in the system is available for viewing to the public at no charge at the clerk’s office during regular business hours. A copy fee for an electronic reproduction is required.”

The Baldwin County Strategic Plan 2006-2016 also makes several statements regarding issues of accessibility of court services:

“Court services should be accessible and convenient to the public and provided in a high quality manner for all citizens. Locating more services in satellite court house(s) will be necessary. … Enhance web-based user-friendly dissemination of information.”

Although the public has improved access to a user-friendly system in Fairhope, the physical layout of accessing the single public computer terminal is awkward, being located on a chest-high shelf next to the line where people form to conduct business with the court clerk.

Campbell cited space problems at the courthouse as reasons for the current location of the public computer but that she would examine whether a more convenient location for the computer could be found.

“My understanding is it’s not for the court system,” said Campbell this week, referring to the proposed expansion of the Fairhope Satellite Courthouse. “I don’t think it’s going to expand the space for the court system. I hope I’m wrong.”

County Commission Chairman David Ed Bishop said that a new design for the courthouse expansion would include additional space for court offices.

“In the past few weeks we’ve gone back to the architect and said we need to create some additional space for the circuit clerk,” Bishop said.

In the Escambia County court system in Florida, one satellite courthouse has a room dedicated for the public to search court records at more than one public computer terminal.