NLC HOMESEARCHSITE INDEXCOMMENTSFRANÇAIS
Publications*

Federal Identifier for the National Library of Canada

Z39.50 Information Resources

by Fay Turner
Network Notes #43
ISSN 1201-4338
Information Technology Services
National Library of Canada

February 21, 1997
Updated July 1997

1. Introduction

With the growing availability of Z39.50 products, librarians and library systems staff have become more aware of the Z39.50 standard and are interested in learning more about what it is, how it works and who has implemented it. Z39.50 is an internationally recognized standard for information retrieval that specifies the rules and procedures for the behaviour of two systems communicating to search databases and retrieve information. From a searcher's perspective, it enables the searching of different systems through the use of a single user interface. For an overview of the standard, see "An Overview of the Z39.50 Information Retrieval Standard", IFLA UDT Occasional Paper #3, URL: http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/ifla/VI/5/op/udtop3.htm.

This Network Notes, which lists and describes Z39.50 information resources, has been prepared to provide assistance in learning more about the standard and its implementations. The resources included are selective rather than exhaustive but will enable the user to find a broad range of information concerning Z39.50 including the official documentation for the standard, a list of implementors, public domain software, product evaluations, international projects, etc.

2. Web Resources

Z39.50 Implementors Group (ZIG) Discussion List

This discussion list is used by Z39.50 developers and implementors to discuss protocol enhancements and interoperability issues, and to seek clarifications on the subtleties of the standard. The discussions tend to be very technical.

    To subscribe to the Z3950iw discussion list, send the message:
    subscribe z3950iw YourFirstName YourLastName

    to the address:
    listserv@lists.ufl.edu

    To post messages to the list, use the address:
    z3950iw@lists.ufl.edu

Z39.50 Maintenance Agency

The Z39.50 Maintenance Agency housed at the Library of Congress is the source for primary information on Z39.50. The Maintenance Agency's home page includes documentation and information related to the development and ongoing maintenance of the Z39.50 standard as well as information related to the implementation and use of the Z39.50 protocol.

Information on the following topics is available:

  • The ANSI/NISO Z39.50-1992 Document
  • The ANSI/NISO Z39.50-1995 Document
  • Z39.50 Register of Implementors
  • Z39.50 Profiles
  • Object Identifiers (public)
  • Registered Objects and other Definitions
  • Changes to Z39.50-1995 (defects reported, enhancements proposed)
  • Extensions
  • Clarifications and Interpretations
  • Implementor Agreements
  • Version 3 Baseline Requirements
  • Z39.50 Implementors Group (ZIG)
  • Interoperability Testing
  • Papers, Tutorials, etc., and Bibliography
  • Version 4 Development

Z39.50 Resources -- A Pointer Page

This page is maintained by Robert Waldstein (wald@lucent.com), a long-standing and active member of the Z39.50 Implementors Group. His page provides a brief history of the standard and links to public domain Z39.50 implementations, introductory articles on the standard, Z39.50/Web gateways, and online views of Z39.50 related products.

Internet Searching with Z39.50

Like Waldstein's page, this site, by Mark Kelly of the US Defense Intelligence Agency, provides links to numerous Z39.50 information resources. However, it is more international in scope and contains links to US, Canadian, European, Asian and Australian Z39.50 related projects, services and electronic publications. It also has links for Z39.50/Java activities.

Z39.50 Client and Web Gateway Surveys

    URL: http://www.dstc.edu.au/RDU/repors/zreviews/

The Resource Discovery Unit of the University of Queensland, Australia, has prepared surveys comparing several freely available and commercial Z39.50 clients and Web/Z39.50 gateways. The survey analyzes 12 stand-alone Z39.50 clients for querying, presentation, administration, Access and Resource Control, Extended Services and other features. A small sample of five Web/Z39.50 gateway products are also analyzed for similar features.

Z39.50 Library Sites

Sea Change Corporation, producers of the BookWhere? Z39.50 client, provides a fairly comprehensive list of library systems and databases which are accessible via Z39.50. For each system, the list includes the system's server name, IP address, domain name, IP port number and databases available. This is the same information that is pre-configured in the BookWhere? host file and can be used to configure your own Z39.50 client.

Web/Z39.50 Gateways

This North Carolina State University Libraries page provides links to various Z39.50/Web gateway software products and gateway services, such as those provided by the Library of Congress and Michigan State University.

The Library of Congress provides a Web/Z39.50 gateway service to Z39.50 systems for users who do not have Z39.50 clients. Both simple and advanced queries can be sent to over 150 Z39.50 servers.

European Projects Involving Z39.50

This page provides pointers to European projects with a substantial Z39.50 element. Most are funded by the European Commission's DG XIII Telematics Applications Programme, Telematics for Libraries Sector, and promote partnerships between publishers, distributors, software developers and libraries.

3. Printed Resources

In addition to electronically available publications on Z39.50, a considerable amount of both technical and general printed material on Z39.50 exists. The following is a very selective list of print publications which, with a few exceptions, provide a technical understanding of the standard. For introductory information on Z39.50, consult the articles included at the Web sites described above or Moen's publication listed here.

  • ANSI/NISO Z39.50-1995, Information Retrieval (Z39.50): Application Service Definition and Protocol Specification. Bethesda, MD: NISO Press, 1995.

  • Hinnebusch, Mark (1992, February - October). Integrated Library Systems: A Primer on Z39.50, Parts 1-8. Academic and Library Computing, 9(2-9).

  • Hinnebusch, Mark (1992, November/December). Integrated Library Systems: The Z39.50 Explain Service. Academic and Library Computing, 9(10), 12-14.

  • Hinnebusch, Mark (1993, January/February). Integrated Library Systems: The Z39.50 Scan Service. Campus-Wide Information Systems, 10(1), 46-49.

  • Lynch, Clifford A. (1990)). Information Retrieval as a Network Application. Library Hi Tech, 8(4), Issue 32, 59-74.

  • Lynch, Clifford A. (1991, January). The Z39.50 Information Retrieval Protocol: an Overview and Status Report. Computer Communications Review, 21(1), 58-70.

  • Lynch, Clifford A. (1994, April). Using the Z39.50 Information Retrieval Protocol in the Internet Environment. Information Standards Quarterly, 6(2), 1-5.

  • Michael, James A and Hinnebusch, Mark. (1995). From A to Z39.50: a Networking Primer. Westport, CT: Mecklermedia.

  • Moen, William E. (1995). A Guide to the ANSI/NISO Z39.50 Protocol: Information Retrieval in the Information Infrastructure. NISO Press.

  • Turner, Fay (1995). Document Ordering Standards: the ILL Protocol and Z39.50 Item Order. Library Hi Tech, 13(3), Issue 51, 25-38.

  • Z39.50 Implementation Experiences. NIST Special Publication 500-229. Washington, DC: GPO, 1995.

Canada Copyright. The National Library of Canada. (Revised: 1997-07-31).