Z39.50 and UK HE Digital/Electronic Libraries

1. Z39.50 and UK HE Digital/Electronic Libraries Matthew J. Dovey Oxford University ZIG – Washington December 2000

2. Digital\Electronic Library Activities in the UK (H.E.) • Primarily funded by the JISC • eLib Phases 1 & 2 • eLib Phase 3 • RDN • DNER

3. eLib Phases 1 & 2 • Mid 1990’s • Formation of information sources/services • MODELS workshops (UKOLN) began to consider integration issues

4. eLib Phase 3 • Consolidation effort • Hybrid Libraries • integrating heterogeneous electronic sources • integrating electronic and traditional resources • “Clumps” • Virtual Union Catalogues • ILL secondary • Long Term Preservation

5. Hybrid Libraries • Builder • Chose to work with library vendor to develop API rather than use Z39.50 • Existing Z39.50 interface poor • Needed to integrate library services into their other internet enable services so looking for components to drop into web server (IIS) • To high learning curve • Vendor more amenable to developing bespoke API than improving Z39.50

6. Hybrid Libraries • MALIBU • Heterogeneous search engine • Most information sources are available as web services, but not Z39.50 enabled • Commercial information providers -no interest in offering Z39.50 • Non-commercial – no resources for consultancy or high-powered programming, no wish to deploy a replacement or parallel system • Built on a stateless agent ontology model • Web “screen-scraping” agents • Z39.50 agents – primarily library catalogues only • Search base on common denominator (free text)

7. Hybrid Libraries • Generic Issues • Few Z39.50 sources (mainly just libraries) • Overhead not justified by benefits • Poor implementations • Some features not applicable to web gateway UI • State • Bib-1 abstraction (Web users used to free-text query) • Query whether users want to cross search • Rutger’s Study – ACM DL99 • Future DNER Evaluation work • Few Desktop tools • No browser incorporation • Now is in major bibliography packages

8. Clumps • Problems Encountered • Local IT ignorance • Library System Vendor Ignorance • Incorrect implementations • Limited implementations • Implementation variation (hence Bath Profile) • Unrealistic expectations

9. RDN • Resource Discovery Network • 6(?) Subject Oriented Gateways of quality internet resources • Central Searching - ROADS based on whois++ • Lightweight, easier to implement • Does the required job without other baggage • Offers mechanisms for forward knowledge

10. DNER • Distributed Network for Electronic Resources • Goal to provide an integrated environment for the UK HE Information services • Need a protocol for this brokering • Candidates: • Z39.50 • Whois++ • DASL • DIENST

11. DNER • Arguments for Z39.50 as backbone • No suitable alternatives yet • Arguments against • Few implementations amongst sources • Perceived broken (poor implementations) • Heavy weight and expensive (are its strength’s relevant) • Too heavily library as oppose to other communities or IR/free-text • Not easy to plug in (often need parallel system) • Perceived difficult to integrate with current/forthcoming internet/WWW technologies. • Maybe be replaced by such a internet/WWW technology