Welcome to the May bulletin - just missed the end of the month this time, due to the bank holiday getting in the way :-)

The library associates have been providing information about their existing database suppliers and methods of access. Only a very small number of services are currently accessed using Z39.50; most are via CD-ROM or the web. Since Release 1 relies on Z39.50 as the search protocol, this limits the pool of resources available.

David Palmer has been on annual leave during the latter part of May (back 2 June).

As indicated above, UKOLN has been continuing to collect information about current suppliers and investigate additional possibilities. I am pleased to announce that OCLC have agreed to allow Agora to access a subset of FirstSearch databases; this will initially be for a limited period, subject to review. The specific databases that OCLC will make available is currently under discussion. The library associates subscribe to a number of databases which FirstSearch also provides, eg ABI/Inform, CINAHL, Dissertation Abstracts, EconLit, Geobase, Medline. There may be scope for negotiating alternative access to some of these via FirstSearch.

UKOLN is also exploring possible access to other services such as Ebsco and Bell and Howell (formerly UMI), both of whom are currently developing Z39.50 targets for full text journal access.

A meeting to demonstrate FDI’s current collection level description/landscaping development is planned for 8 June in Sheffield. This will be followed by discussion amongst the eLib phase 3 projects using VDX, with a view to agreeing on a common approach.

As a further development of the MODELS Information Architecture (MIA), UKOLN is undertaking a requirements analysis for hybrid library environments. The requirements for a MIA-like hybrid library environment will be developed together with a set of interoperability requirements for such systems. The MIA logical architecture will be developed further to provide the high-level framework within which these requirements must be met. The MIA architecture has already proved to be a useful tool for understanding the behaviour of hybrid library systems. A set of ‘scenarios’ will also be developed to capture the basic functionality of hybrid library systems. Having developed a set of generic scenarios a number of providers, or potential providers, of hybrid library services will be approached in order to elicit requirements for particular hybrid library environments. This work will initially be presented at MODELS 10 in October 1999. A further task that may be approached if time permits is the comparison of existing digital library system architectures (Agora, BUILDER, MALIBU etc) against the generic architecture.

A short tutorial covering the basic BSCW features is now available at:

<URL:http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/bscw/bscw.cgi/0/27997>

This is based on the training session held in April. Any feedback is very welcome, including suggestions for any additional areas which it would be useful to cover.

Tracy Gardner, Greg Newton-Ingham and Rosemary Russell participated in an IMS concertation day organised by eLib on 4 May. The IMS (Instructional Management Systems) project is developing a series of technical specifications which provide guidelines and requirements for developers to create interoperable content and management systems in learning environments. It allows learning materials to be broken down into components, so that relevant parts can be shared more easily between institutions. A draft metadata specification has been developed, but the metadata element set does not directly include Dublin Core. A number of the issues to be decided are similar to those being faced in library and information environments eg mandatory fields, controlled vocabularies, extensibility etc. A number of IMS specs are due to be launched later in the year. It would be interesting for Agora to investigate accessing learning materials using the metadata spec; however this may be difficult within current project timescales and resources. The user profile spec could also be of interest to Agora.

UKOLN participated in a second international teleconference on 11 May, to discuss issues related to the latest draft of the Texas Profile, upon which the proposed International Profile will be based.

The major outstanding issue is interoperability beyond the library domain; the Profile currently recommends MARC as a result set format, rather than GRS-1 which would be required by non-bibliographic resources. The reason for this is that the majority of library-based systems cannot currently handle GRS-1, and the immediate aim is to develop a simple solution. The consensus was that the door to cross-domain searching and retrieval should be left open and perhaps a new functional area identified but that this area would not be developed within the timeframe for the basic profile (completion by the end of the year).

The Texas Profile draft is available at:

<URL:http://www.tsl.texas.gov/LD/z3950/TZIGProfile99Apr20.htm>

For info, I will be on leave from 16 to 25 June inclusive (back 28th).

Rosemary Russell, UKOLN

1 June 1999