[WEB4LIB] Z39.50

[Walt_Crawford at notes.rlg.org]

I'm a little taken aback by that too. Let's see. ProCite and EndNote both
embed Z39.50 clients. Unless I'm mistaken (quite possible), most good
online catalogs can serve as Z39.50 clients or Z39.50 servers. Z39.50
searching is fundamental to ISO-standard ILL. I know UC's statewide system
makes heavy use of Z39.50, as do quite a few other systems. Zephyr, RLG's
Z39.50 server, does hundreds of thousands of Z39.50 searches each month
(including 200,000 or more to our own Z39.50 clients, since Eureka is
entirely based on Z39.50). I'd bet that OCLC serves millions of Z39.50
searches each month, to its own licensed clients and others.

What has changed, at least hereabouts, is the former assumption that Z39.50
would replace everything else--that, for example, we shouldn't bother
improving our Web-based search clients because every institution would
design its own interface using Z39.50. In that sense, Z39.50 has rolled
back from the Universal Heir Presumptive to one strong player.

If there are emerging "standards" that will complement Z39.50 (or, equally
well, act as part of Z39.50), they'll be metadata "standards" (e.g. Dublin
Core).
-walt crawford, RLG (but of course not speaking on RLG's behalf)-


                                                                                                                        
                    "Kitty Au"                                                                                          
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                    02/09/2001 05:50                                                                                    
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I heard one comment today --- "Z39.50, as a search and retrieval protocol
used widely among library OPACs, is dying".  I was taken aback.  But, to
keep my mind open, I would like to ask for your comments on this.  If you
do
agree to this, what is the emerging standard?

Thanks in advance.

Kitty Au






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