Interoperability Focus Paul Miller Interoperability Focus UK Office
Interoperability Focus Paul Miller Interoperability Focus UK Office for Library & Information Networking (UKOLN) P. Miller@ukoln. ac. uk http: //www. ukoln. ac. uk/ UKOLN is funded by the Library and Information Commission, the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) of the Higher Education Funding Councils, as well as by project funding from the JISC and the European Union. UKOLN also receives support from the Universities of Bath and Hull where staff are 1 based.
Background • BLRIC Report 58, Towards a National Agency for Resource Discovery (1997) • JISC and BLRIC (now LIC) agreed to jointly fund a single post at UKOLN for three years • Work commenced January 1999, attached to Academic Services at the University of Hull. 2 See http: //www. ukoln. ac. uk/interop–focus/
Introducing Interoperability Focus • Focus upon enabling interoperability between resources in: libraries archives the cultural heritage sector etc. 3 See http: //www. ukoln. ac. uk/interop–focus/
Some Representation • International DOI Foundation • Consortium for the Computer Interchange of Museum Information (CIMI) • Dublin Core Metadata Initiative • Z 39. 50 Implementer’s Group • Book Industry Communication • mda Board • Cabinet Office metadata taskforce 4 See http: //www. ukoln. ac. uk/interop–focus/
International DOI Foundation • JCEI agreed to join late last year • Represented by Interoperability Focus • Plan to raise community awareness by Summer • Working to extend value of the DOI • Appropriate copy resolution • Annual member’s meeting in Seattle this year • Possibility for JISC to buy right to assign DOIs and to experiment with some of our content • e. Lib e–journals, Ariadne, Exploit, and Cultivate, maybe? 5 See http: //www. doi. org/
CIMI • AHDS originally joined • Represented by me at ADS • Continued as members last year, with IF budget covering my travel • Membership up for renewal now • $5, 000 pa, plus cost of 3– 4 meetings • $25, 000 pa for Executive Membership – Alongside RLG, CNI, Smithsonian, Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) and the Getty. 6 See http: //www. cimi. org/
Dublin Core • Still the best hope for resource discovery • Strong UK involvement since the beginning – MODELS Workshop • • 7 Before CEN and NISO now UKOLN staff on Advisory Committee IF on Executive Committee Exploring possibilities formalisation and incorporation as a membership body. See http: //purl. org/dc/
BIC • Publishers, distributors, etc. • New ‘Product Metadata’ group • Maintaining current BIC standards • Managing convergence with BASIC and other bodies – e. g. ONIX • Keen to explore value of Z 39. 50, unique identifiers (BSI), etc. 8 See http: //www. bic. org. uk/
mda • Cultural Heritage body, largely funded by MGC • Some overlap with UKOLN activity • Mostly involved in administration and support, though • IF sits on mda Board, as the MGC’s nominee • What happens next month? 9 See http: //www. mda. org. uk/
Joined–up Government • Increasing emphasis upon joined– up government, with CITU tasked to make it reality • • Government portal me. gov Information Asset Register Metadata task force – First meeting next week – Early deliverables by the end of March! 10 See http: //www. citu. gov. uk/
Some Issues • Access, Access • Why should users be constrained by institutional and geographic history…? • Terminology control • e. g. MODELS 11 • Joined–up thinking • Library, Museum and Archive convergence • International representation • JISC is not an island, but it costs money • CIMI, DOI, ZIG, DC, etc. 11 See http: //www. ukoln. ac. uk/interop–focus/
Some Joined up working: The Bath Profile • Vendors and systems implement areas of the Z 39. 50 standard differently • Regional, National, and disciplinary Profiles have appeared over previous years, many of which have basic functions in common • Users wish to search across national/regional boundaries, and between vendors. 12 See http: //www. ukoln. ac. uk/interop–focus/ activities/z 3950/int_profile/bath/
Doing the work • ZIP–PIZ–L mailing list, hosted by National Library of Canada • Meeting face–to–face • JISC supported a face–to–face meeting in Bath (UK) over the summer of 1999 • • 13 A draft was widely circulated for comment Profile presented at DC 7 in Frankfurt Open Concertation day in the UK Discussion and feedback world–wide See http: //www. ukoln. ac. uk/interop–focus/ activities/z 3950/int_profile/bath/
Doing the work Makx Dekkers Pricewaterhouse. Coopers/ EC Janifer Gatenby GEAC Juha Hakala National Library of Finland Poul Henrik Joergensen Danish Library Centre Carrol Lunau National Library of Canada Paul Miller UKOLN Slavko Manojlovich SIRSI/ Memorial University of Newfoundland Bill Moen University of North Texas Judith Pearce National Library of Australia Joe Zeeman CGI. 14 See http: //www. ukoln. ac. uk/interop–focus/ activities/z 3950/int_profile/bath/
What we proposed • Minimisation of ‘defaults’ • Where possible, every attribute is defined in the Profile (Use, Relation, Position, Structure, Truncation, Completeness) • Three Functional Areas • Basic Bibliographic Search & Retrieval • Bibliographic Holdings Search & Retrieval • Cross–Domain Search & Retrieval • Three Levels of Conformance in each Area. 15 See http: //www. ukoln. ac. uk/interop–focus/ activities/z 3950/int_profile/bath/
What we proposed • SUTRS or XML and UNIMARC or MARC 21 for Bibliographic Search results • SUTRS and Dublin Core (in XML) for Cross –Domain results • Other record syntaxes also permitted, but conformant tools must support at least these. 16 See http: //www. ukoln. ac. uk/interop–focus/ activities/z 3950/int_profile/bath/
Finishing it off… • Consolidate comments, and revise where necessary • Direct approaches to international vendors • User testing in Canada and Texas • ISO Internationally Recognised Profile status during Q 1/Q 2 2000 • Addition of Functional Areas and Levels of Conformance as required • Community Information? 17 See http: //lcweb. loc. gov/z 3950/agency/ texas/texas. html
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