a) BLCMP announces new EDI Cataloguing Service
BLCMP has announced that the pilot project for Cataloguing Services which started in October 1997 has proved successful, and will now form the basis for a full service.
The service is designed to reduce the amount of staff time spent on the cataloguing of new acquisitions, with the bookseller delivering new stock at the same time as item and catalogue records are transmitted electronically to the library. The catalogue record is checked and matched against the BLCMP Database to ensure that a high quality record is delivered into the Talis system. In essence it is an extension to the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) services provided by BLCMP to member libraries, as all information is sent by EDI.
The participants in the original pilot were Bolton, Leeds and Northamptonshire Libraries, together with James Askew & Son Ltd, and the pilot was limited to adult fiction Talis orders. Other booksellers now participating in the service include Holt Jackson, Peters, Dawsons and Cypher. Close collaboration with the booksellers has been a feature of the project, which will extend to other types of materials as it progresses.
Michelle Button, Stock Supply Manager at Northamptonshire Libraries and Information Services, said “Initially we had a few problems sorting out the correct format for the records to suit our requirements. However we have now ironed out the problems and the service is delivering the anticipated benefits. I am keen to extend it to other areas of stock and to other suppliers.”
b) BLCMP developments
BLCMP has the following new customers:
and, subject to contract:
BLCMP's involvement as a partner in eLib (Electronic Libraries Programme) projects in both the `Clumps' and `Hybrid Libraries' groups, has stimulated much development, together with cross fertilisation from other initiatives in the eLib programme.
c) OPAC, Z39.50 and management information improvements for BLCMP's Talis software
BLCMP's new advanced OPAC Talis software was demonstrated at the Library and Information Show in June. A prototype was successfully installed at the University of Sheffield in 1997, and the university library has made the OPAC available to staff and students on campus as part of a trial service since October, inviting comments on the extensive additional functionality before the product is generally released.
Although it is referred to as advanced OPAC, its whole strength is its simplicity of use, made possible by the use of the sophisticated search engine, BRS/Search, which underlies the system. The Talis advanced OPAC has a range of advanced features, including searching for phrases and words near to or adjacent to each other. In addition, search results can be sorted according to user-defined criteria, and results sets can be manipulated.
The advanced search facility underpins BLCMP's Z39.50 developments. It also fully integrates with TalisWeb OPAC, which is being significantly improved in the version of Talis due for release during 1998. Both the interface and functionality of TalisWeb are being improved, and whilst the screens are configurable to suit individual libraries, the default interface contains new designs which library users should find particularly easy to follow. They have been developed in partnership with the University of North London.
New functionality in TalisWeb is focused on the delivery of more selfservice facilities to free the queues at the issue desk. For example, interlibrary loan requests and bookings can be made via the TalisWeb OPAC. In addition to TalisWeb, many other functional areas will be significantly enhanced in Talis version 8.
BLCMP has also implemented Version 3 of the Z39.50 search protocol which not only enables Talis libraries to participate in the worldwide exchange of information, through the interrogation of remote databases, but also leapfrogs earlier implementations of the protocol in terms of interface and additional facilities. The development covers not only target and origin for Talis, but also enables Z39.50 searching of the BLCMP Database of 16 million bibliographic records.
The Database is fully integrated with Talis and allows records in cataloguing to be sourced from those on file at BLCMP or from Z39.50 targets where agreements exist (for example CURL, RLIN or OCLC). The Z39.50 implementation was demonstrated at the Library and Information Show in June and is scheduled for release as part of Talis 8 during 1998.
Various elements of Version 3 of the Z39.50 protocol will be of particular value to BLCMP's library customers. For example, the SCAN command allows users to browse indexes to find the right form of terms such as author names and subject headings.
Another reason for choosing the Z39.50 route for the BLCMP Database at this stage was to exploit the advanced search facilities of the underlying software, BRS/Search. This allows full-text searching of the BLCMP Database in addition to the more traditional search options.
A new and different approach to management information is being implemented by BLCMP.
The development has been heavily in¯uenced by BLCMP's recent co-operation on the successful EC funded project, MINSTREL. Management information is an increasingly important element of the modern library service, and using the new approach service providers can base business decisions on sound analysis of statistics without an understanding of the underlying technology. This means that any senior manager will be able to locate the information required at the touch of a mouse, without knowledge of the Talis database or query languages.
Apart from the generation of management information from Talis itself, a key development objective has been to allow libraries to integrate management information of interest to the library from a variety of sources, e.g. finance and student record systems.
Underlying the new approach is database interrogation software from a world-leading supplier. It permits rapid development, maintains its own relationships between objects and provides a semantic layer for easy interpretation of results. In addition it supports all relevant standards, including ODBC (Open Database Connectivity), CORBA (Common Objects Requests Broker Architecture), and Java.
For further information please contact:
Frances Richardson, BLCMP Library Services Ltd, Birmingham Research Park, Vincent Drive, Birmingham B15 2SQ, UK. Tel: (0121) 471 1179. Fax: (0121) 472 0298. E-mail: f.d.richardson@blcmp.org.uk URL: http://www.blcmp.org.uk