[WEB4LIB] Z39.50

[Matthew Dovey]

"The various implementation options by different z servers that lead to 
interesting search results can be quite "annoying". Some WEB4LIB'ers 
rightly pointed out limitations. To me, these are areas for improvements, 
rather than negative qualifers for its dying. And, Dublin core, XML, etc. 
are more on / related to metadata. (Correct me if I am wrong.)"

The flexibility of Z39.50 tends to be both one of its powerful features but also one of its most annoying (the almost unavoidable lose-lose situation). Agreements between vendors as to a base set of options such as the Bath Profile and the emerging US National Profile address this.

However, some of the problems of variation when searching multiple catalogues are not Z39.50 issues but really the use of Z39.50 is exposing limitations in the cataloguing practices. For example different libraries may employ different transliteration schemes. Most US libraries I believe use AACR2 and LCSH. Over in the UK not many currently use LCSH since UK English and US english aren't the same and LCSH's view of the political and historical geography of the UK is interesting to say the least! However, enough use AACR2 and LCSH to make life confusing. And how many libraries manage to use AACR2 without local modifications or variance in the interpretations? (one UK library disobeys the rule for music titles which dictates titles such as "Beethoven Symponies No. 1" and "Gershwin Piano Concerto" and just uses the singular because that is what all their users expects).

XML, Dublin Core et al. are concerned with metadata. They began under a belief that practices such as AACR2 were too complicated and too slow to adapt to newer technologies. However, they soon realise that just saying "we put an author here" with no further qualifications doesn't work (especially when cross-searching)

Matthew Dovey
Oxford University  


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