Displaying portions of text from multiple documents over multiple database related to a search query in a computer network

A system for displaying text from a database related to a query, comprising:

• a computer coupled to an input/output device for generating a query;
• said computer coupled to a disk storage unit, prior to communicating with a database, said computer automatically selects at least one of a plurality of databases related to said query from a list stored in computer memory, wherein said list includes a list of a plurality of databases, corresponding addresses for said databases, and a description of said databases;
• said computer automatically searches said selected database(s) for documents related to said query;
• said computer organizes documents returned from said search in a relevance order corresponding to the relevance of said returned documents to said query;
• and
• said computer coupled to a display unit for displaying portions of text related to said query from a plurality of said returned documents in said relevance order.

A computer readable medium bearing sequences of instructions for searching database, said sequences of instructions comprising:

• generating a query;
• prior to communicating with a database, automatically selecting at least one of a plurality of databases related to said query from a list stored in computer memory, wherein said list includes a list of a plurality of databases, corresponding addresses for said databases, and a description of said databases;
• automatically searching the selected database(s) for documents related to said query;
• organizing documents returned from said search in a relevance order corresponding to the relevance of said returned documents to said query;
• and
• displaying portions of text related to said query from a plurality of said returned documents in said relevance order.