CNI Report: Z39.50--Enabling the Client/Server Model for Information Services Copyright 1993 CAUSE From _CAUSE/EFFECT_ Volume 16, Number 3, Fall 1993. Permission to copy or disseminate all or part of this material is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for commercial advantage, the CAUSE copyright and its date appear,and notice is given that copying is by permission of CAUSE, the association for managing and using information resources in higher education. To disseminate otherwise, or to republish, requires written permission. For further information, contact CAUSE, 4840 Pearl East Circle, Suite 302E, Boulder, CO 80301, 303-449-4430, e-mail info@CAUSE.colorado.edu Z39.50 -- ENABLING THE CLIENT/SERVER MODEL FOR INFORMATION SERVICES ABSTRACT: This article is the first of a series of reports about the activities of the Coalition for Networked Information. These reports will focus on the relevance of CNI activities to information technology managers on campus. The central premise of the Coalition for Networked Information[1] is that cooperation between librarians and information technologists (as well as information creators and providers) is essential to exploit the benefits of modern data communications networks and the information resources implemented on our institutional and national networks. The program of the Coalition has been to demonstrate, explore, and build upon the potential of networked information through showcase projects and special meetings, as well as through programs at the semi-annual meetings of the Coalition's Task Force. In this first report, I would like to focus on a significant accomplishment of the Coalition--the advocacy and demonstration of client/server software implementation in the library and information services community. With a vision to link library resources across the country, the protocol designed for implementing the client/server model in information retrieval applications has the intimidating name of Z39.50. The Coalition, through two primary forums--its participation in the "ZIG" or the Z39.50 Implementor's Group and its creation and sponsorship of the "ZIT" or Z39.50 Interoperability Testbed--has communicated a very specific and achievable method of implementing the strategy of "any information resource, anywhere" to a wide audience. The Implementor's Group has brought together software vendors, information providers, and institutional representatives to discuss experiences and techniques in the implementation of client and server modules of the protocol, as well as to guide further development of the standard itself. One example of the capability created by these implementations is to allow users on a local campus online library catalog to search another campus's catalog using the local system's search commands without ever logging off the home system. When catalog systems have reasonably comparable functions for searching and retrieving, a successful Z39.50 implementation is a manifestation of the "single system image" concept expressed in the first CAUSE Professional Paper, authored by Robert Heterick. Another example is the ability of an institution to integrate national-level information resources such as those offered by the major library information sources (OCLC and RLIN) with local institutional resources within a single system image model. The Z39.50 Interoperability Testbed project was a Coalition- sponsored effort that encouraged developers of Z39.50 clients and servers to demonstrate their interoperability capability with established systems. For example, a library automation vendor would use the testbed to demonstrate a consistent implementation of the standard so that when a campus acquires the vendor's software there is a reasonable expectation that the vendor's package will interoperate with other Z39.50 clients and servers, for both the vendor's own software and other vendors' software. Similarly, information service providers used the testbed as a tool to ensure that the servers they developed would interoperate with a broad range of clients. These CNI initiatives have caused the client/server model for information access to be accepted and implemented quickly throughout the United States and have made networked resources that much easier to use on the national network. Indeed, CNI's work has also helped focus interest worldwide on the importance of Z39.50. CNI's work will continue in this area even though there has been considerable success to date with library catalog-type data. The Z39.50 protocol does allow for primary data or specific content to be exchanged across networks in a client/server model. In fact, a major objective for CNI this year is to begin to elaborate on implementation strategies that use images, full-text, and even multimedia information in the Z39.50 framework client/server mode. Future reports in this column will focus on CNI's objectives for the next few years that will help our institutions benefit from networked information resources. If you have questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me at west@rio.ucop.edu. ============================================================= Footnote: 1 The Coalition for Networked Information was formed in 1990 by CAUSE, EDUCOM, and the Association of Research Libraries to promote the creation of and access to information resources in networked environments to enrich scholarship and to enhance intellectual productivity. ============================================================= Richard P. West is Associate Vice President--Information Systems and Administrative Services for the nine-campus University of California system. He has chaired the steering committee of the Coalition for Networked Information since its establishment in 1990. ************************************************************************