An issue that the Belgian government is trying to solve on both the local and national level is how to standardize the different library systems in use. The libraries are divided by regions which are also sub divided by provinces which has resulted in most of the libraries having their own cataloging system. In order to remedy the situation and have interoperability between libraries some libraries are trying to integrate the International ISO into their catalogs. The goal is to have one interface while searching multiple databases mounted on different systems (Gilson, Jacobs, Mazur, Nyns, and Vandepitte, 2000, p. 2). Currently the Belgian Union catalogue is maintained by the CCB(Collectieve Catalogue van Belgie or Catalogue Collectif de Belgique) in Antwerp which is maintained by the Antwerp University. Antwerp University updates changes reported by participating libraries which are published on CDRom. Having the interface switched to Z39.50 would make virtual digital publication possible. The ULB (Unicorn, UCL-Virtua, RUGent-Aleph, KULeaven(LIBIS-NET), and Armicus are libraries that are supporting Z39.50 library access protocol. Coming to an agreement is a slow process and is a barrier to integrating the library. Decisions have to be made on a “bilateral basis” (Gilson et al., 2000, p. 1). New libraries can’t install a new standardized system because there isn’t a set system yet as the guidelines are still in the development stage. BeZIG is the organization that is working on creating the system. Their strategy for implementing the system is as follows:
- Enquiry among the Belgian libraries
- Establishing reference information for I-I Z39.50 bilateral consultation
- Establishing 1-to-N Z39.50 consultation for catalogs
- Shared cataloging through the “deduplication of search results from different databases and the organization of record exchange between different systems” (Gilson et al., 2000, p. 2)
- Link with existing services
I hope that the libraries find the resources to integrate their systems as it would make the easier to be accessible on a global level. It could mean the Belgian libraries could have their collections searchable not only on a national scale but on a global scale as well. Perhaps Google and the Bibliotheque Royale will take a more active role and another nation will be soon connected to the global information infrastructure.
Gilson, G., Jacobs, K., Mazur, E., Nyns, C., and Vandepitte, F. (2000, January 20) Concerted action for the implementation of the Z39.50 library access protocol in Belgium. Retrieved from http://www.kbr.be/bezig/intro.pdf
No comments:
Post a Comment