Testing and Improving Interoperability The Z39.50 Interoperability Testbed William E. Moen School of Library and Information Sciences Texas Center for Digital Knowledge University of North Texas Denton, TX Illinois Statewide Cataloging Standards Committee Springfield, Illinois June 2002

Moen -- June 2002 Illinois Statewide Cataloging Standards Commitee -- Springfield, IL 2 Overview The Interoperability Challenge Key Factors to Address The Z39.50 Interoperability Testbed

Moen -- June 2002 Illinois Statewide Cataloging Standards Commitee -- Springfield, IL 3 Factors affecting interoperability Multiple and disparate systems operating systems, information retrieval systems, etc. Multiple protocols Z39.50, SOAP, HTTP, etc Multiple data formats and syntax MARC 21, UNIMARC, XML, etc. Multiple metadata schemes ISBD/AACR2-based, Dublin Core, VRA, etc. Multiple vocabularies, ontologies, disciplines LCSH, MESH, AAT Multiple languages, Multiple character sets

Moen -- June 2002 Illinois Statewide Cataloging Standards Commitee -- Springfield, IL 4 Factors reduced … Within the library community’s catalogs Bibliographic records relatively homogeneous Common metadata scheme Common syntax for exchanging records Commonly accepted access points Common controlled vocabularies, authorities, etc. Common protocol for IR, namely Z39.50

Moen -- June 2002 Illinois Statewide Cataloging Standards Commitee -- Springfield, IL 5 Z39.50 Virtual Catalog

Moen -- June 2002 Illinois Statewide Cataloging Standards Commitee -- Springfield, IL 6 Key factors to address Quality of data in records (cataloging quality) Setting standards for consistent quality Encouraging adherence to standards Functionality of online catalog for searches Keyword, phrase, and exact match searches Truncation Proximity searches Indexing policies on local catalogs Z39.50 server configuration

Moen -- June 2002 Illinois Statewide Cataloging Standards Commitee -- Springfield, IL 7 Indexing policies Common access points (generally) but…. Why have agreement on indexing policies? Which fields and subfields to index? How easy is it to configure indexing policies?

Moen -- June 2002 Illinois Statewide Cataloging Standards Commitee -- Springfield, IL 8 Z39.50 server specifications Use of national and international Z39.50 profiles Bath Profile, U.S. National Z39.50 Profile Profiles can: Identify searching requirements (tasks) Define the searches (semantics and behavior) Specify Z39.50 query to represent the search Profiles are a solution path for improving interoperability Represent community consensus on requirements Identify Z39.50 specifications to support those requirements Aid in purchasing decisions Provide specifications for vendors

Moen -- June 2002 Illinois Statewide Cataloging Standards Commitee -- Springfield, IL 9 Interoperability testing Realizing the Vision of Networked Access to Library Resources: An Applied Research and Demonstration Project to Establish and Operate a Z39.50 Interoperability Testbed A Institute of Museum and Library Services National Leadership Grant Goal: Improve Z39.50 semantic interoperability among libraries for information access and resource sharing

Moen -- June 2002 Illinois Statewide Cataloging Standards Commitee -- Springfield, IL 10 Vision Provide a technically and organizationally trusted environment for vendors and consumers to demonstrate and evaluate Z39.50 products Develop rigorous methodologies, test scenarios & procedures to measure and assess the extent of interoperability Demonstrate and operate a Z39.50 interoperability testbed

Moen -- June 2002 Illinois Statewide Cataloging Standards Commitee -- Springfield, IL 11 Outcomes Improved interoperability Best practices to identify implementation strategies Improvements in information retrieval system implementations and Z39.50 products Interoperability testbed model for others to utilize FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE PROJECT WEBSITE…

Moen -- June 2002 Illinois Statewide Cataloging Standards Commitee -- Springfield, IL 12 Testbed components Test dataset 400,000 MARC 21 records from OCLC 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

Moen -- June 2002 Illinois Statewide Cataloging Standards Commitee -- Springfield, IL 13 Analysis logic Test Dataset 1. Examine for occurrence of word “river” Candidate Record Group 2. Yields Aggregate Record Group for word “river” 3. Examine for occurrence of word “river” in selected fields/subfields 4. Yields Candidate Record Group for word “river” in selected fields/subfields Aggregate Record Group

Moen -- June 2002 Illinois Statewide Cataloging Standards Commitee -- Springfield, IL 14 A central question What are the appropriate Author, Title, and Subject fields to look in for the word? Guidelines for indexing to support profile searches

Moen -- June 2002 Illinois Statewide Cataloging Standards Commitee -- Springfield, IL 15 Reference implementations Online Catalog Software Phase 1 testing will use SIRSI’s UNICORN system Test dataset loaded on the system Indexing policies based on guidelines Z39.50 Server SIRSI Z39.50 Module Configured according to Bath/NISO Profile Z39.50 Client Bookwhere 2000 Configured according to Bath/NISO Profile

Moen -- June 2002 Illinois Statewide Cataloging Standards Commitee -- Springfield, IL 16 Establishing benchmarks Reference Z39.50 Client Reference Z39.50 Server Configured to Support Profile Specifications Indexed per agreements to support Profile searches Test Dataset Test searches using words selected in analysis of dataset Retrieval Benchmarks Candidate Record Group Compared to

Moen -- June 2002 Illinois Statewide Cataloging Standards Commitee -- Springfield, IL 17 Interoperability testing Test dataset loaded by participants on their systems Configured and indexed to conform with Bath/NISO Profiles For participants with Z-servers Z-Interop will send test searches from reference Z-client Report results compared with benchmarks Analyze results to assist implementor to improve interop For participants with Z-clients Test searches sent to reference Z-server

Moen -- June 2002 Illinois Statewide Cataloging Standards Commitee -- Springfield, IL 18 Testing and assessment Reference Z39.50 Client Vendor Z39.50 Server Configured to Support Profile Specifications Configured by Vendor for Conformance to Profile Indexed by Vendor According to Vendor’s Specifications Test Dataset Loaded by Vendor or Library Test Searches Retrieval Results Retrieval Benchmarks Compared to

Moen -- June 2002 Illinois Statewide Cataloging Standards Commitee -- Springfield, IL 19 Will you participate? Would your organization be interested? Could you load a 400,000 record test dataset? How long would it take you to index and configure prior to testing? How does your system handle data in the 001/003? What would you like to learn from this testbed? Once the testbed is operational and proven, would you add to your RFPs, “must demonstrate interoperability through UNT’s Z-Interop Testbed?”