UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 					FORM 11-K [X] ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 15[D] OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 [FEE REQUIRED] For the fiscal year ended: September 30, 1996 OR [ ] TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 15[d] OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 [NO FEE REQUIRED] For transition period from __________ to ___________ Commission file number 0-20244 A. Full title of the plan and the address of the plan, if different from that of the issuer named below: DATA RESEARCH ASSOCIATES, INC. 401[K] PROFIT SHARING PLAN B. Name of the issuer of the securities held pursuant to the plan and the address of its principal executive office: DATA RESEARCH ASSOCIATES, INC. 1276 North Warson Rd. St. Louis, Missouri 63132 REQUIRED INFORMATION Financial Statements: 4. In lieu of requirements of Items 1-3, audited statements and schedules prepared in accordance with the requirements of ERISA for the plan's fiscal year ended September 30, 1996 are presented on pages 3 through 18. Exhibits: PAGE 1. Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, independent auditors 20 Financial Statements and Supplemental Schedules Data Research Associates, Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan Years ended September 30, 1996 and 1995 with Report of Independent Auditors Data Research Associates, Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan Financial Statements and Supplemental Schedules Years ended September 30, 1996 and 1995 Contents Report of Independent Auditors...............................................1 Financial Statements Statement of Net Assets Available for Plan Benefits -- 1996..................2 Statement of Net Assets Available for Plan Benefits -- 1995..................3 Statement of Changes in Net Assets Available for Plan Benefits -- 1996.......4 Statement of Changes in Net Assets Available for Plan Benefits -- 1995.......5 Notes to Financial Statements................................................6 Supplemental Schedules Assets Held for Investment..................................................10 Transactions or Series of Transactions in Excess of 5% of the Current Value of Plan Assets..............................................13 Report of Independent Auditors Plan Administrator Data Research Associates, Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan We have audited the accompanying statements of net assets available for plan benefits of Data Research Associates, Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan as of September 30, 1996 and 1995, and the related statements of changes in net assets available for plan benefits for the years then ended. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Plan's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits. We conducted our audits in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion. In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the net assets available for plan benefits of the Plan at September 30, 1996 and 1995, and the changes in its net assets available for plan benefits for the years then ended, in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. Our audits were made for the purpose of forming an opinion on the financial statements taken as a whole. The accompanying supplemental schedules of assets held for investment as of September 30, 1996, and transactions or series of transactions in excess of 5 percent of the current value of plan assets for the year then ended, are presented for purposes of complying with the Department of Labor's Rules and Regulations for Reporting and Disclosure under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and are not a required part of the financial statements. The fund information in the statement of net assets available for plan benefits and the statement of changes in net assets available for plan benefits is presented for purposes of additional analysis rather than to present the net assets available for plan benefits and changes in net assets available for plan benefits of each fund. The supplemental schedules and fund information have been subjected to the auditing procedures applied in our audits of the financial statements and, in our opinion, are fairly stated in all material respects in relation to the financial statements taken as a whole. December 6, 1996 Page 1 Data Research Associates, Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan Statement of Net Assets Available for Plan Benefits September 30, 1996 Large Small Guaranteed Capital Capital Basic International Income Balanced Growth Growth Value Equity DRA Stock Fund Fund Fund Fund Fund Fund Fund Loans Total ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Assets Investments at fair value: Money market funds $ 3,392 $ 29,670 $ 45,067 $ 5,002 $ 3,163 $ 3,154 $ 2,544 $ - $ 91,992 U.S. treasury notes - 131,510 - - - - - - 131,510 Corporate bonds - 51,698 - - - - - - 51,698 Mutual funds 244,661 - - 236,779 135,771 128,289 - - 745,500 Common stock - 529,839 832,472 - - - 42,495 - 1,404,806 Participant loans - - - - - - - 9,305 9,305 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 248,053 742,717 877,539 241,781 138,934 131,443 45,039 - 2,434,811 Receivables: Employer's contribution 15,303 35,037 21,363 11,912 8,970 7,979 2,389 - 102,953 Participants' contribution 2,199 3,969 3,961 3,164 1,748 1,864 643 - 17,548 Interfund receivables/ payables 14,735 (793) (6,590) (4,871) (2,609) 128 - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 32,237 38,213 18,734 10,205 8,109 9,971 3,032 - 120,501 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net assets available for plan benefits $280,290 $780,930 $896,273 $251,986 $147,043 $141,414 $48,071 $9,305 $2,555,312 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ See accompanying notes. Page 2 Data Research Associates, Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan Statement Net Assets Available for Plan Benefits September 30, 1995 Large Small Guaranteed Capital Capital Basic International Income Balanced Growth Growth Value Equity DRA Stock Fund Fund Fund Fund Fund Fund Fund Loans Total ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Assets Investments at fair value: Money market funds $ 21,481 $ 27,064 $ 71,605 $ 8,894 $ 27 $ 16 $ 1,347 $ - $ 130,434 U.S. treasury notes - 66,952 - - - - - - 66,952 Corporate bonds - 77,748 - - - - - - 77,748 Mutual funds 175,158 - - 117,422 90,760 64,709 - - 448,049 Common stock - 433,823 635,612 - - - 10,817 - 1,080,252 Participant loans - - - - - - - 8,286 8,286 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 196,639 605,587 707,217 126,316 90,787 64,725 12,164 - 1,811,721 Receivables Employer's contribution 23,374 31,803 20,223 13,961 12,749 12,303 1,665 - 116,078 Participants' contribution 1,629 2,357 2,405 1,085 624 776 87 - 8,963 Interfund receivables/ payables (22,197) 386 17,706 2,527 475 1,168 (65) - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2,806 34,546 40,334 17,573 13,848 14,247 1,687 - 125,041 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net assets available for plan benefits $199,445 $640,133 $747,551 $143,889 $104,635 $ 78,972 $13,851 $8,286 $1,936,762 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ See accompanying notes. Page 3 Data Research Associates, Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan Statement of Changes in Net Assets Available for Plan Benefits Year ended September 30, 1996 Large Small Guaranteed Capital Capital Basic International Income Balanced Growth Growth Value Equity DRA Stock Fund Fund Fund Fund Fund Fund Fund Loans Total ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Additions: Investment Income $ 12,426 $ 21,463 $ 11,468 $ 323 $ 2,536 $ 205 $ 149 $ 615 $ 49,185 Contributions: Participants 56 248 104,482 103,880 63,647 39,825 38,122 10,236 - 416,440 Employer 15,821 37,622 26,563 15,245 11,082 10,433 2,804 - 119,570 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 72,069 142,104 130,443 78,892 50,907 48,555 13,040 - 536,010 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 84,495 163,567 141,911 79,215 53,443 48,760 13,189 615 585,195 Deductions: Benefits paid to participants 8,675 91,975 151,836 17,714 9,245 5,211 2,408 - 287,064 Net appreciation (depreciation) in fair value of investments - 86,611 182,662 28,501 10,727 6,683 5,235 - 320,419 Interfund transfers 5,025 (17,406) (24,015) 18,095 (12,517) 12,210 18,204 404 - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net increase(decrease) in net assets available for plan participants 80,845 140,797 148,722 108,097 42,408 62,442 34,220 1,019 618,550 Net assets available for plan benefits at beginning of year 199,445 640,133 747,551 143,889 104,635 78,972 13,851 8,286 1,936,762 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net assets available for plan benefits at end of year $280,290 $780,930 $896,273 $251,986 $147,043 $141,414 $48,071 $9,305 $2,555,312 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ See accompanying notes. Page 4 Data Research Associates, Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan Statement Changes in Net Assets Available for Plan Benefits Year ended September 30, 1995 Large Small Guaranteed Capital Capital Basic International Income Balanced Growth Growth Value Equity DRA Stock Fund Fund Fund Fund Fund Fund Fund Loans Total ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Additions: Investment Income $ 8,140 $ 17,907 $ 10,420 $ 145 $ 2,943 $ 2,641 $ 43 $ 726 $ 42,965 Contributions: Participants 51,004 74,130 109,569 42,562 31,815 30,469 4,769 - 344,318 Employer 25,363 35,891 23,522 13,961 12,749 12,303 1,585 - 125,374 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 76,367 110,021 133,091 56,523 44,564 42,772 6,354 - 469,692 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 84,507 127,928 143,511 56,668 47,507 45,413 6,397 726 512,657 Deductions: Benefits paid to participants 8,625 25,098 30,119 10,860 3,439 11,104 1,180 - 90,425 Net appreciation (depreciation) in fair value of investments - 93,656 136,074 22,772 14,750 (951) 3,032 - 269,333 Interfund transfers (3,195) 24,643 14,429 7,370 (15,501) (17,593) (1,260) (8,893) - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net increase(decrease) in net assets available for plan participants 72,687 221,129 263,895 75,950 43,317 15,765 6,989 (8,167) 691,565 Net assets available for plan benefits at beginning of year 126,758 419,004 483,656 67,939 61,318 63,207 6,862 16,453 1,245,197 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net assets available for plan benefits at end of year $199,445 $640,133 $747,551 $143,889 $104,635 $ 78,972 $13,851 $8,286 $1,936,762 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ See accompanying notes. Page 5 Data Research Associates, Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan Notes to Financial Statements September 30, 1996 1. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES ACCOUNTING BASIS The financial statements of the Date Research Associates, Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan (the Plan) are presented on the accrual basis of accounting. INVESTMENTS Investments held in the Plan's funds are valued at the current fair market value determined by Merrill Lynch from publicly stated price information. Participant loans are valued at cost, which approximates fair market value. Purchases and sales of securities are recorded on a trade-date basis. Interest income is recorded on the accrual basis. Dividends are recorded on the ex-dividend date. USE OF ESTIMATES The preparation of the financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles requires the plan administrator to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates. 2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PLAN The following description of the Plan provides only general information. Participants should refer to the plan agreement for a more complete description of the Plan's provisions. GENERAL The Plan is a defined contribution plan covering all domestic full-time employees of Data Research Associates, Inc. (Company) who have one month of service and are 21 years of age or older. The Plan is subject to the provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Administrative fees for the Plan are paid by the Company. CONTRIBUTIONS Each year, participants may contribute up to 15 percent of pretax annual compensation which is limited by the maximum amounts allowed under IRS regulations. Participants may also contribute amounts representing distributions from other qualified defined benefit or defined contribution plans. The employer matching contributions equal 100 percent of each participant's elected contribution up to $1,500 and discretionary Company profit sharing contributions. There were no discretionary employer contributions during 1995 or 1996. Page 6 Data Research Associates, Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan Notes to Financial Statements (continued) 2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PLAN (CONTINUED) PARTICIPANT ACCOUNTS Each participant's account is credited with the participant's contribution and allocations of the Company's matching contributions and plan earnings. Allocations are based on participant account balances, as defined, Forfeited balances of terminated participants' nonvested accounts are used to reduce future Company contributions. VESTING Participants are immediately vested in their contributions plus actual earnings thereon. Vesting in the Company contribution portion of their accounts plus actual earnings thereon is based on years of continuous service. A participant is 100 percent vested after five years of credited service. INVESTMENT OPTIONS Upon enrollment in the Plan, a participant may direct employer and employee contributions in 10 percent increments in any of the following seven options: - Guaranteed Income Fund -- Funds are invested in the Merrill Lynch Retirement Preservation Trust. The Merrill Lynch Retirement Preservation Trust invests in U.S. treasury notes and corporate bonds. - Balanced Fund -- Funds are invested in common stocks, corporate bonds, and U.S. treasury notes selected by the fund manager at Rittenhouse Capital Management. - Large Capital Growth Fund -- Funds are invested in common stocks selected by the fund managers at Roger Engemann & Associates, Inc. Roger Engemann & Associates, Inc.'s managers select primarily U.S. common stocks with market capitalization of $2 billion to $3 billion. - Small Capital Growth Fund -- Funds are invested in Nicholas Applegate Core Growth Fund. The fund invests primarily in mid-sized U.S. common stocks. - Basic Value Fund -- Funds are invested in Fidelity Advisor Growth Opportunities Fund, which consists of growth, cyclical, and value U.S. common stocks and lower-quality high-yielding bonds. Page 7 Data Research Associates, Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan Notes to Financial Statements (continued) 2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PLAN (CONTINUED) INVESTMENT OPTIONS (CONTINUED) - International Equity Fund -- Funds are invested in Merrill Lynch International Equity Fund, which consists of common stocks of companies located in countries other than the U.S. - Data Research Associates, Inc. (DRA) Stock Fund -- Funds are invested in common stock of Data Research Associates, Inc. PARTICIPANT LOANS Participants may borrow from their fund accounts up to a maximum of $50,000 or 50 percent of their vested account balance. Loan terms extend up to five years or in excess of five years for the purchase of a primary residence. The loans are secured by the balance in the participant's account and bear interest at a reasonable rate determined by the administrator. Interest rates range from 5 percent to 7 percent. PAYMENT OF BENEFITS On termination of service, a participant may receive a lump-sum amount equal to the vested value of his or her account, or up to death, disability, or retirement, elect to receive annual installments over a period not to exceed the participant's lifetime, or the joint lifetime of the participant and the participant's spouse, or an annuity contract. PLAN TERMINATION Although it has not expressed any intent to do so, the Company has the right under the Plan to discontinue its contributions at any time and to terminate the Plan subject to the provisions of ERISA. In the event of plan termination, participants will become 100 percent vested in their accounts. Page 8 Data Research Associates, Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan Notes to Financial Statements (continued) 3. INVESTMENTS The fair values of individual investments that represent 5 percent or more of the Plan's net assets are as follows: September 30 1996 1995 ---------------------- Fidelity Advisor Growth Opportunities Fund $135,771 $ 90,760 Merrill Lynch International Equity Fund 128,289 64,709 Merrill Lynch Retirement Preservation Trust 244,661 175,158 Nicholas Applegate Core Growth Fund 236,779 117,422 4. TAX STATUS The Plan has received a favorable determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service ruling that it is a qualified plan pursuant to the appropriate section of the Internal Revenue Code and, accordingly, the earnings of the underlying trust of the Plan are not subject to tax under present tax law. The Plan's administrator believes that the Plan continues to qualify and to operate as designed. 5. BENEFIT PAYMENTS The Plan made distributions totaling $10,634 in fiscal 1997 to individuals who had withdrawn from participation in the earnings and operations of the Plan as of September 30, 1996. Page 9 Supplemental Schedules Data Research Associates, Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan Assets Held for Investment September 30, 1996 Number of Shares Description or Units Cost Market - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Money Market Funds: Cash 718 $ 718 $ 718 CMA Money Fund 91,274 91,274 91,274 ------------------- 91,992 91,992 U.S. Treasury Bills and Notes: Federal National Mortgage Association Global Bonds, interest 6.400%, matures May 2, 2001 10,000 9,986 9,925 U.S. Treasury Note, interest at 5.250% matures on July 31, 1998 5,000 5,067 4,932 U.S. Treasury Note, interest at 6.375% matures on August 15, 2002 25,000 25,329 24,855 U.S. Treasury Note, interest at 6.375% matures on July 15, 1999 55,000 55,431 55,257 U.S. Treasury Note, interest at 7.125% matures on October 15, 1998 20,000 19,965 20,400 U.S. Treasury Note, interest at 7.875% matures on November 15, 2004 15,000 15,075 16,141 ------------------- 130,853 131,510 Corporate Bonds: Norwest Financial, interest at 7.875%, matures on February 15, 2002 10,000 10,145 10,415 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Note, interest at 7.875% matures February 15, 2002 20,000 20,136 20,441 Wmx Technologies, interest at 8.25%, matures November 15, 1999 20,000 20,113 20,842 ------------------- 50,394 51,698 Mutual Funds: Fidelity Advisor Growth Opportunities Fund 3,966 115,742 135,771 Merrill Lynch International Equity Fund 11,040 124,266 128,289 ML RP Trust 244,661 244,661 244,661 Nicholas Applegate Core Growth Fund 11,630 190,511 236,779 ------------------- 675,180 745,500 Page 10 Data Research Associates, Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan Assets Held for Investment (continued) September 30, 1996 Number of Shares Description or Units Cost Market - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Common Stocks: Abbott Labs 240 9,903 11,817 American Express Company 400 17,503 18,500 American International Group Inc. 217 16,050 21,856 AMP Incorp Pennsylvania Delaware 240 10,028 9,298 Automatic Data Processing 530 17,760 23,113 Autozone Inc. Nevada 600 21,392 17,400 Boston Scientific Corp. 450 19,307 25,875 Carnival Corp. 760 11,124 23,560 Circus Circus Enterprises 550 18,343 19,456 Cisco Systems Inc. 410 10,108 25,444 Coca Cola 890 21,746 45,266 Colgate Palmolive 440 28,283 38,218 Columbia/HCA Healthcare 370 13,412 21,043 CPC International Inc. 185 13,153 13,851 Data Research Associates, Inc. 746 36,207 42,495 Duracell International Inc. 550 24,650 35,225 Emerson Electric Co. 105 7,043 9,458 Federal Home Loan Mortgage 394 18,653 38,460 Federal National Mortgage Association 1,500 30,913 52,307 First Data Corporation 435 33,678 35,506 General Electric 570 31,310 51,870 General RE Corp. 105 15,996 14,881 Gillette Co. 966 31,631 69,666 GTE Corp. 343 12,573 13,203 Hewlett Packard Co. 875 34,432 42,654 Home Depot Inc. 767 34,008 43,617 Informix Corp. 700 19,490 19,512 Intel Corp. 360 11,875 34,357 Interpuplic Group of Co. 400 18,734 18,900 J. P. Morgan & Co. Inc. 265 18,484 23,540 Johnson & Johnson 852 23,307 43,660 McDonalds Corp. 687 20,746 32,533 Medtronic Inc. 400 21,700 25,650 Merck & Co. Inc. 520 28,356 36,584 Microsoft 190 19,641 25,056 Mobil Corp. 135 12,460 15,620 Motorola 186 9,526 9,577 Nationsbank Corp. 214 12,396 18,585 News Corp. 850 16,960 17,743 Office Depot 900 18,379 21,037 Oracle 750 19,625 31,921 Pepsico Inc. 1,157 23,895 32,677 Page 11 Data Research Associates, Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan Assets Held for Investment (continued) September 30, 1996 Number of Shares Description or Units Cost Market - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Common Stocks (continued): Pfizer Inc. 570 20,733 45,093 Philip Morris Cos. Inc. 170 13,046 15,257 Proctor Gamble 210 13,614 20,468 Reuters Holding 330 9,721 22,852 Royal Dutch Petroleum 117 14,712 18,261 Schering Plough Corp. 240 10,016 14,718 Wal-Mark Stores, Inc. 900 24,920 23,737 Walt Disney Company 750 33,427 47,427 Wells Fargo & Co. 100 12,436 26,002 ------------------- 987,053 1,404,806 Participant Loans, Interest From 5% to 7% 9,503 9,503 --------------------- $1,944,777 $2,435,811 ===================== Page 12 Data Research Associates, Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan Transactions or Series of Transactions in Excess of 5% of the Current Value of Plan Assets Year ended September 30, 1996 Purchase Sales ------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------- Purchase Number of Selling Cost of Number of Net Gain Description Price Transactions Price Asset Transactions (Loss) - ---------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------- Category (iii) -- A series of securities transactions in excess of 5% of the current value of plan assets as the beginning of the year CMA Money Fund $1,406,861 345 $1,368,023 $1,368,023 401 $ - Note 1: There were no category (i), (ii), or (iv) reportable transactions during the year ended September 30, 1996. Note 2: Commissions and fees related to purchases and sales of investments are included in the cost of the investment or the proceeds from the sale and are not separately identified by the investment manager. SIGNATURES The plan. Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, the trustees (or other persons who administer the employee benefit plan) have duly caused this annual report to be signed on its behalf by undersigned hereunto duly authorized. DATA RESEARCH ASSOCIATES, INC. 401(K) PROFIT SHARING PLAN 12/20/96 /s/ Michael J. Mellinger _________________ _____________________________________ Date Michael J. Mellinger; as sole trustee