Database of databases

[Kevin C. Marsh]

>Dear colleagues,
>
>perhaps this topic has been discussed before (I am a newcomer to the 
>list, so please forgive me), but we (a small group of Sinologists) are
planning 
>to compile a catalog (or database, if you want) of digitised resources 
>(mainly fulltext databases) concerning China, so we are looking for a suitable 
>format and medium to do just that. 
>The idea is not only to (gather and) supply information about the who, 
>how (much) and other technical specifications of such databases, but also
> to incorporate this information into a medium that allows to connect to 
>these sites right away. 

I have given this kind of problem a great deal of thought and research over
the past couple of years.  It seems to me that the best way to accomplish
your goal would be to create a database of GILS format records describing
the various information resources.  Load this data into a Z39.50 server and
then provide access through a Web-Z39.50 gateway.  If the individual
resources that you are cataloging are also Z39.50 compliant, it should be
possible to present a search results page that allows the user to select one
or more resources and then submit a detailed query agaist all desired
resources simultaneously.

Even if the individual databases are not Z39.50 compliant, using
MARC-compliant GILS records and a Z39.50 search engine should let you
accomplish your initial goals and make you as compatible as possible with
other projects.

>What we have is a flexible piece of library software (PC 
>and UNIX-version), allowing information to be accessed in  
>HTML form. We also have two SUN sparc servers. What we 
>don't have is the format and the experience.
>Any suggestions are welcome.

I would suggest that you contact Sebastian Hammer at Index Data in Denmark
(quinn at index.ping.dk).  He has the expertise to put this together.

>       Thomas H. Hahn
>  University of Heidelberg
>Institut for Chinese Studies
 

Kevin C. Marsh, Executive Director
Information Access Institute
KMarsh at Information.org     http://Information.org