31 Aug 2003 Talking Systems Janice Sim Technical Services Manager University of Wales College, Newport

31 Aug 2003 Talking Systems One of the JISC funded DiVLE projects Linking Digital Libraries with VLEs October 2002 – July 2003

31 Aug 2003 Talking Systems To investigate the setting up of links between the VLE - Lotus Learning Space and the Sirsi Unicorn Library Management System

31 Aug 2003 Dan Noyes - Project Manager Centre for Learning Development Project website:

31 Aug 2003 Partners Sirsi UK IBM – Lotus Software Percussion Software UK Lancaster University, Library and Information Systems

31 Aug 2003 Aims To create SCORM learning objects and transfer metadata from these objects to a Bath Profile compliant Z39.50 server

31 Aug 2003 Why? To find content across multiple Virtual Learning Environments e.g. Lotus Learning Space, Blackboard, WebCT To standardise search behaviour across disparate e-learning resource bases To open access to learning content metadata beyond our institution

31 Aug 2003 SCORM Shareable Content Object Reference Model Funded by the US Department of Defense. Emerging specification combining a number of existing standards

31 Aug 2003 SCORM Specifies a standard way to describe sequenced content that is to be used by a single learner –The learner can identify a specific learning requirement and have a bespoke tutorial created from distributed content to answer this requirement

31 Aug 2003 SCO SCOs represent a collection of one or more shareable resources that include a specific launchable asset that uses the SCORM run- time environment to communicate with a learning management system.

31 Aug 2003 SCORM learning objects The SCORM had not previously been used at UWCN Stored using a Windows 2000 development server running an IBM Lotus Domino platform.

31 Aug 2003 SCORM learning objects Data is stored in Domino in forms and a single form was created for SCO input to automate the production of metadata

31 Aug 2003 SCO Form Three sections: 1.The basic metadata provided by the content author 2.The SCO content itself 3. Automatically created metadata matched to MARC fields using the Dublin Core crosswalk on the Library of Congress website

31 Aug 2003 Source data A Lotus Domino database of 500 pieces of mainly HTML formatted text each of about 300 words making up a fledgling study skills database. This was copied to the mini VLE on the development server

31 Aug 2003 SCORM content Next steps: Stringing the individual documents together to make SCOs and content structure Macromedia Authorware used to aggregate and sequence the elements making up tutorials

31 Aug 2003 Percussion Notrix Originally planned to use ODBC scripting to push data to the Unicorn server but this was not supported. The live Unicorn library system was used in this project, not a test server.

31 Aug 2003 Unicorn Library System Importing records Linking to the VLE (s) Searching

31 Aug 2003 Unicorn – Importing records ODBC scripting not supported Bibload –Perfectly successful and capable of being automated using FTP and reports –Definitely not new

31 Aug 2003 Unicorn – Linking to the VLE Searching the catalogue to find items Using the 856 field to link to objects in the VLE

31 Aug 2003 Unicorn - Searching Using the Webcat or a Z39.50 client to find a MARC record with a URL pointing to a Domino document or an Authorware tutorial

31 Aug 2003

What Is Z39.50 A search and retrieval protocol which enables clients and servers from different vendors to communicate with each other Searches are mapped from Z39.50 to the local search protocol and can be run against more than one target at a time

31 Aug 2003 Z39.50 Not the easiest feature of Unicorn to use Not understood by network staff - Frequently firewall issues When access is achieved - Often error messages

31 Aug 2003 Z39.50 search Should have 6 attributes each given a numerical value e.g. Use- such as title, author or ISSN Relation- equal, greater than, less than Position- any position in field, first Structure- word, word list or phrase Truncation - right hand truncation or do not truncate Completeness - complete field, incomplete subfield

31 Aug 2003 Unicorn Bath Z Server Behaviour FIND TITLE KEYWORD = “FISH” Attribute Value Name use 4title (keyword indexing policy) relation 3equal position 3any position in field (keyword) structure 2word truncation100do not truncate completeness 1incomplete subfield

31 Aug 2003 Where does it go wrong? Most vendors do not document their Z39.50 servers capabilities Some vendor documentation is inaccurate Many exhibit default behaviour when they receive attribute combinations they don’t support giving unreliable search results All six attributes are not compulsory

31 Aug 2003 Current State Of Z Implementations

31 Aug 2003 Current State Of Z Implementations

31 Aug 2003 Z Answers A recent development in Sirsi is the delivery of preconfigured search name maps for each vendor’s server U2003 clients can send all 6 attribute values for a Z search Use the Bath profile to fully define searches and make Z39.50 work

31 Aug 2003 Bath Profile Bath profile defines which of the combinations of attributes a Bath compliant server should be able to handle and the nature of the response. A core set of requirements. University of North Texas is able to test a Z39.50 server for compliance

31 Aug 2003 Z39.50 and Talking Systems To meet our aim of searching across disparate sources standardisation was needed. For this reason it was decided that our server should be made Bath profile compliant. A consultant was needed!

31 Aug 2003 Our consultant Slavko Manojlovich Memorial University of Newfoundland Sirsi’s Z39.50 guru!

31 Aug 2003 Changes to Unicorn A new format for Dublin Core records A new Library policy (ELECTRONIC! A godsend for E-books, journals and databases and the best bit of the whole project) New keyword indexes, name, title, subject and number for each format

31 Aug 2003 Keyword Indexes The changes to the keyword indexes for each MARC field took about 4 days work, following the specification from Texas. The result was a Bath Profile compliant server, one of the first if not the first in the UK.

31 Aug 2003 The end of the project Work will continue to make links between the systems The project showed that the SCORM approach is complex and difficult to apply across the institution Bath profile provides a good basis for e- learning content discovery.

31 Aug 2003 Slavko Manojlovich Z39.50 clients and servers : the current state of affairs. Peter Gethin Why the Bath profile makes Z39.50 work Liber Quarterly 11(4), pp

31 Aug 2003 Useful links Dr Ed’s SCORM course Paul Miller Z39.50 for all