A Resource Discovery Service for the Library of Texas Requirements, Architecture, and Interoperability Testing

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A Resource Discovery Service for the Library of
TexasRequirements, Architecture, and
Interoperability Testing
CNI Fall Task Force Meeting December 5, 2002 San
Antonio, Texas

• William E. Moen, Ph.D.Principal Investigator
• ltwemoen_at_unt.edugt

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Library of Texas
A Virtual Library Reaching Across Boundaries to
Extend Access to A Range of Information
Resources

• Collection Boundaries
• Organizational Boundaries
• Format Boundaries

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ZLOT Project
TIF Board
TSLAC FY 2001 - 2005

• Library of Texas
• Resource discovery service
• Commercial online databases
• Preserving electronic government documents
• Training librarians

TXCDK FY 2002 -2003

• ZLOT Project
• Resource discovery service
• Search/retrieval interface
• Virtual catalog

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ZLOT Project

• Z Implementation Component of the Library of
  Texas
• Developing a standards-based approach for the
  virtual library
• Project Focus
• Identifying requirements for resource discovery
  across library catalogs and online databases
• Demonstrating feasibility and utility of resource
  discovery tools

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Resource Discovery
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Finding Exposing

• Finding Users can find only whats been exposed
• Exposing How content is exposed determines the
  how and if user can find it
• Goal Connect users to information
• Strategy Interoperability on multiple levels
• Tactic Common agreements for exposing and
  finding
• Protocols
• Syntaxes
• Semantics

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ZLOT Components
Functional Requirements
Service-Based Architecture
Technology InventoryAssessment
Proof of Concept
Technical Requirements Specifications
Evaluation
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Functional Requirements

• Key Players
• Advisory Group
• Focus Groups
• Requirements
• Virtual Catalog
• Search and Retrieval Interface
• Search Interface
• Retrieval Interface
• Priorities
• Must Have
• Should Have
• Nice to Have

Resource Discovery Service
Virtual Catalog
Search Retrieval Interface
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Common Interface Diverse Resources
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ZLOT Components
Functional Requirements
Service-Based Architecture
Technology Inventory Assessment
Proof of Concept
Technical Requirements Specifications
Evaluation
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Texas Library Landscape

• Libraries
• 165 academic libraries
• 550 public libraries
• Holdings
• Academic 33,458,000
• Public 27,466,300
• Technology
• ZLOT Technology Inventory and Assessment Survey
• 53 response rate

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Technology AssessmentZ39.50 Servers
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Technology AssessmentZ39.50 Clients
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Technology AssessmentLibrary Websites
Academic Public Sample
Have website 100 62 69
Hosted in library 45 40 42
Maintained by library 81 70 73
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Technology AssessmentInternet Access
Fastest Connection
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ZLOT Components
Functional Requirements
Service-Based Architecture
Technology InventoryAssessment
Proof of Concept
Technical Requirements Specifications
Evaluation
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Proof of Concept

• Assess feasibility of functional requirements
  through prototypes
• Examine capabilities of vendor products
• Identify challenges
• Z39.50 access to library catalogs
• Concurrent searching
• Interface design
• Participation by 11 library technology vendors

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Proof of Concept Resource Discovery Service
Resources
Middleware
Interface

1. 22 - Z39.50 Catalogs
2. 6 - Web Catalogs
3. 10 - TexShare Databases
4. Texas Records and Information Locator

• Broadcast Searching
• Similar Resources
• Dissimilar Resources
• Common Retrieval Display

1. Translates Searches
2. Formats Retrievals
3. Interacts with Multiple IR Systems

Information Retrieval Systems
10 Vendor Prototypes
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ZLOT Components
Functional Requirements
Service-Based Architecture
Technology InventoryAssessment
Proof of Concept
Technical Requirements Specifications
Evaluation
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Evaluation

• Evaluation plan for the Library of Texas
• Goals, objectives, outcomes, and indicators for 4
  LOT components
• Assessment of Proof of Concept prototypes
• Systematic evaluation of prototypes against
  functional requirements
• Inform Technical Requirements Specifications

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Sample Results
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ZLOT Components
Functional Requirements
Service-Based Architecture
Technology InventoryAssessment
Proof of Concept
Technical Requirements Specifications
Evaluation
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Service-CentricVirtual Library
Management
User Groups
SERVICES
Technology
Resources
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User-Driven Services
User Group
User Group
User Group
User Group
LIBRARY SERVICES
Library Resources
Library Technology
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Architecture
PROVIDER LAYER
Communication Protocols
SERVICES LAYER
Communication Protocols
USER LAYER
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Provider Layer
Provider Type Dependent on VL Service
PROVIDER LAYER
Digital Content
Librarian
Library
Supplier
ResourceDiscovery Service
Virtual Reference Service
Document Order/Delivery Service
ILL Service
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Services Layer
Resource Discovery
Resource Access
Reference
Financial
Personalization
Authentication
Standard Information Interchange Among Services
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Resource DiscoveryFunctional View
Content or Resource Collections

1. TexShare Databases
2. E-books
3. Electronic Archive of Government Information
4. Statewide Virtual Catalog

MIDDLEWARE
LOT Search Retrieval Interface

• Broadcast Searching
• Similar Resources
• Dissimilar Resources
• Common Retrieval Display

Middleware
Representations of Resources

1. Translates Searches
2. Formats Retrievals
3. Interacts with Multiple IR Systems

1. Proprietary Records
2. Indices of Full-text Files
3. Dublin Core Metadata Records
4. MARC Records

Information Retrieval Systems
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Resource Discovery Functions
Collection Selection
Query
Browse
Evaluation
Common User Interface
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Resource DiscoveryArchitecture
DIGITAL CONTENT
TexShare TRAIL VC Others
Z39.50
OTHER
Personalization
SERVICES LAYER
SOAP
Resource Discovery
Authentication
SOAP
HTTP
USER LAYER
Library Home Office Mobile
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ZLOT Components
Functional Requirements
Service-Based Architecture
Technology InventoryAssessment
Proof of Concept
Technical Requirements Specifications
Evaluation
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Technical Requirements Specifications

• Refinement of functional requirements
• Based on Proof of Concept experience
• Formal assessment of prototypes
• Vendor responses on functional requirements
• Evolving understanding of the requirements
• Specifications of standards to improve
  interoperability

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Interoperability Factors

• Multiple and disparate systems
• Multiple protocols
• Multiple data formats, syntax, metadata schemes
• Multiple vocabularies, ontologies, disciplines
• Multiple languages, Multiple character sets
• Indexing, word normalization, and word extraction
  policies

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Z-INTEROP Testbed

• Z39.50 Interoperability Testbed Project
• A Institute of Museum and Library Services
  National Leadership Grant
• Goal Improve Z39.50 semantic interoperability
  among libraries for information access and
  resource sharing

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Z-INTEROP Components

• Test dataset
• 400,000 MARC 21 records from OCLCs WorldCat
• Z39.50 reference implementations
• Z-client, Z-server, information retrieval system
• Test scenarios searches
• Searches with known result records from dataset
• Benchmarks
• Results of test searches against reference
  implementations

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ZLOT Z-INTEROP

• ZLOT resource discovery service specifies support
  for
• Z39.50
• Z39.50 profiles
• Z-INTEROP can be used to assist libraries and
  vendors in Z39.50 configuration and testing
• Improve user confidence in resource discovery
  service

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Issues

• Optimizing resource discovery
• Concurrent / Broadcast searching performance
• Z39.50 interoperability
• Non-Z39.50 information providers
• Static union v. dynamic virtual catalogs
• Users and usability
• Interface design for various target audiences
• Defining collection sets for searching

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Issues

• Standards and emerging technologies
• XML
• Web services
• OpenURL
• Z39.50 International Next Generation
• Search / Retrieve for the Web
• Access control, authorization, and
  authentication
• Management for collaborative services
• Governance
• Policy

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• William E. Moen
• wemoen_at_unt.edu

LOT lthttp//www.tsl.state.tx.us/lotgt ZLOT
Project lthttp//www.unt.edu/zlot/gt Z-INTEROP
Project lthttp//www.unt.edu/zinterop/gt Texas
Center for Digital Knowledge lthttp//www.txcdk.or
g/gt