# Presentation: 045956

## Z39.50 and UK HE Digital/Electronic Libraries

- Matthew J. Dovey
- Oxford University
*ZIG – Washington December 2000*

## Digital\Electronic Library Activities in the UK (H.E.)

- Primarily funded by the JISC
- eLib Phases 1 & 2
- eLib Phase 3
- RDN
- DNER

## eLib Phases 1 & 2

- Mid 1990’s
- Formation of information sources/services
- MODELS workshops (UKOLN) began to consider integration issues

## 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

## 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

## 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)

## 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

## Clumps

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

## 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

## 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

## 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