 Vol 2.2: Spring/Summer 1997 |
In Newsline 2.2EDINA forms strategic partnerships with OCLC and ISSN-ICFocus on SALSER EDINA BIOSIS improvements demonstrated Access arrangements for ESRC database For your diary: EDINA training workshops Frequently Asked Questions EDINA Login statistics What is EDINA? |
The launch of PCI-Web was officially celebrated on April 24, 1997 at the National Library of Scotland. This event was timed to coincide with a meeting of chief librarians at the Scottish Confederation of University and Research Libraries (SCURL). It was also the occasion to announce strategic partnerships with OCLC (On-line Computer Library Center) and with ISSN-IC (the ISSN International Centre).
OCLC (see http://www.oclc.org), which is widely known throughout the library world as a non-profit library service and research organisation, has licensed EDINA to use OCLC SiteSearch for its national services, starting with PCI-Web.
Many staff and students now want to search the national bibliographic databases using the point-and-click user interface provided by their desktop Web browsers. EDINA has decided to link its databases to the Web using the Z39.50 protocol. This is in order to provide maximum linkage ('interoperability') with other parts of the UK 'virtual' library. (For information on the eLib Programme, see http://ukoln.bath.ac.uk/elib/.) OCLC SiteSearch provides a key component in this strategy: WebZ. This is a Web server with a full range of searching facilities which also has the capability to search a range of databases via the Z39.50 protocol. In the case of PCI-Web, WebZ opens up a session with ZSS, the database component in SiteSearch. WebZ can be used to provide access to other databases that have a Z39.50 server: we are investigating how we can use WebZ to offer Web access to BIOSIS Previews.
EDINA is also moving SALSER into SiteSearch. SALSER, a 'virtual' union serials catalogue, currently searches on WAIS-indexed lists of the serials held in each of Scotland's university and research libraries. In SiteSearch, those holdings lists would become searchable via Z39.50. This opens up the option for users of PCI-Web to discover an article of interest and then search SALSER to locate which library has the journal in question. We would be interested in hearing from libraries who would like to make their holdings lists available to be searched in this way. See page 2 of this issue of Newsline for more about SALSER.
EDINA has another partner, the ISSN International Centre in Paris, through the CASA Project, which is led by the University of Bologna and forms part of the EU Telematics for Libraries Programme. This may lead to an arrangement whereby participating SALSER libraries can have access to the ISSN World Serials Register. The ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) provides the linchpin connecting the on-line discovery facilities, such as PCI-Web, EDINA BIOSIS, BIDS ISI, etc., with location facilities such as SALSER, and document delivery services. However, we estimate that, at present, only about half the records in university serials lists actually contain the ISSN. The CASA Project is investigating how to assist libraries in adding this information to their serial catalogue records economically.
These strategic partnerships will improve the services that EDINA can offer UK higher education. Our link with OCLC is particularly welcome, as is the coincidence that Ian Mowat, who has recently become the University Librarian at the University of Edinburgh, and a member of the EDINA Management Board, is also the European representative on the OCLC User Council.
SALSER is a service giving information about serials held in Scottish academic and research libraries. It was initiated in 1992 by members of SCURL, the Scottish Confederation of University and Research Libraries. The SALSER partner libraries comprise the thirteen Scottish Universities, the National Library of Scotland and the two major civic libraries in Edinburgh and Glasgow. The inclusion of two Union Lists, the Scottish Colleges of Education and the Edinburgh Libraries Federation (ELF) gives users access to important specialist serials collections.
The service has been available since 1994, first as a Gopher and then, as network information discovery tools developed, as a World Wide Web service. Through SALSER, users can search for the title or International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) of a serial, locate which Scottish library holds it, view the holdings details, then consult information about the library's address, opening hours and inter-library loan policy. Users can view the library's own Web pages (if they exist) and connect to their local catalogue for up-to-date status information on the particular issue. A single search query can be matched against one, more or all of the SALSER libraries. A hitlist of matching titles is displayed, indicating which libraries hold which serials. The user can then choose the holding library most convenient to approach.
SALSER has succeeded in meeting its original aim of facilitating resource sharing amongst the members of SCURL, and thereby improving access to serials for their users. When SALSER was first mooted in 1990, it was recognised that serials were handled less well than monographs by many library systems.
Although the original aims have been met, it is essential that we at EDINA look for ways to improve the service. Although we don't want to follow every new IT fad, we do need to experiment with developments which potentially offer not only a better service to users, but also provide easier ways for the SALSER libraries to publish their information, and perhaps thereby encourage other libraries to join.
The Z39.50 protocol is an area we have been investigating. Z39.50 is important because it offers the potential to solve the main problem confronting information seekers --- that of having to learn different interfaces for each information service.
Whilst there are dedicated Z39.50 clients available, most attention is being paid to developing Web-to-Z gateways, recognising that the Web is currently where many users expect to find information. EDINA is using OCLC's WebZ to provide Web access to Chadwyck-Healey's Periodicals Contents Index, in addition to our existing Telnet interface. Our experience has encouraged us to consider how we might upgrade SALSER (improve its search facilities), enable it to connect to other distributed Z39.50 databases and allow connectivity with PCI-Web. Our aim is to provide a more unified service to our users, enabling them first, to discover an article of interest in PCI-Web, then use SALSER to locate which library holds the journal in which the article appeared.
The step beyond this, of course, is to gain access to the article itself. Achieving this goal involves cooperation between a number of organisations, minimally those providing article-level information, library catalogues of serials holdings and document delivery services.
EDINA is currently working with a JISC-funded consortium called EDDIS, which is led by the University of East Anglia. The acronym EDDIS stands for 'Electronic Document Delivery, the Integrated Solution' and its aim is to provide facilities to search for a document, locate where there are holdings, then request and finally deliver the document. SALSER could, if moved to a Z39.50 environment, provide a serials locate facility for EDDIS.
Watch Newsline for news on our progress.
| i | You don't need to register to use SALSER; it is freely available on the Web at http://edina.ac.uk/salser. |
As was announced in the last issue of Newsline, EDINA released a new test version of BIOSIS in March (available to all BIOSIS subscribers by typing '1test' at the EDINA Gateway menu). This new version contained a number of changes in the overall appearance of the system, as well as several important new features.
In order to obtain feedback on the new BIOSIS, EDINA sent a request for comments to the mailbase discussion list, lis-jibs-users, and to many of the individuals from the old group of BIOSIS field testers. We also organised a small demonstration at the end of March, involving a handful of site representatives from the south of Scotland. This demo was attended by Clare Allan and Lisa Haddow (Stirling University), Alison Faichney (Glasgow University) and Ursula McKean (Scottish Crop Research Institute).
Feedback received since the meeting has indicated a convergence of opinion on a number of important issues. The result is that further improvements and adjustments to the interface will be made before the new BIOSIS is put into official service. Since EDINA has received requests from users in the past not to introduce major changes to any interface in the middle of term, this means that the test version will be made the service version at the end of June.
Nevertheless, it is our goal to make a revised test version available in time for the BIOSIS training session being held in Manchester in mid-May. The revised version will incorporate most of the suggestions discussed at the meeting and received subsequently.
If you haven't had a chance to look at the new BIOSIS test version yet, give it a try, and let us know what you think.
The new service, which will be known as REGARD --- the REsearch Grants ARchive & Database --- will build upon the pioneering work by the Data Library at the University of Edinburgh which established RAPID in 1990 as the first system in the UK to provide on-line access to a resource linking research activity and outputs. RAPID was also unique in adopting a wider concept of research output, including in the database not only conventional publications in monographs and journals, but also details on a wide range of non-print research 'products' such as software, course material, datasets and 'grey literature'.
ILRT at Bristol has been providing a specialist service for social scientists for three years through its Social Sciences Information Gateway (SOSIG). REGARD will be integrated within that framework of resources geared specifically to the social science community and to those who wish to access and use the outcomes of research funded by the ESRC. The Bristol team will be exploring a range of innovative approaches to enhance the utility of this valuable resource.
| Jun 6: | EDINA BIOSIS Training Workshop, | Edinburgh University |
| Jun 11: | EDINA PCI/Palmer's Index Demonstration, | Edinburgh University |
| Jun 13: | EDINA BIOSIS Training Workshop, | King's College London |
| Jun 18: | EDINA PCI/Palmer's Index Demonstration, | Oxford University |
| Oct 2: | EDINA BIOSIS Training Workshop, | Durham University |
| Oct 3: | EDINA PCI/Palmer's Index Demonstration, | Durham University |
The PCI/Palmer's Index days will include a demonstration of the English Poetry full-text database, presented by a representative from Chadwyck-Healey.
The BIOSIS training sessions will be held jointly with a representative from BIOSIS, UK.
How do I transfer records from EDINA BIOSIS into Reference Manager on my desktop PC?
A: The recommended approach is as follows: (1) In BIOSIS, produce a result set and mark the records within it which you want to transfer to Reference Manager. (2) Use the P command to email the marked records to yourself. (3) When the BIOSIS email message arrives, save it as a text file. (4) Import the file into Reference Manager using a suitable import format.
Back to top.EDINA services are:
Email: edina@ed.ac.uk, Tel: 0131 650 3302, Fax: 0131 650 3308.
For BIOSIS, the Periodicals Contents Index and Palmer's Index to The Times, licence agreements must be obtained from Eduserv Chest (email chest@chest.ac.uk) and a subscription fee must be paid. Individual users must also register locally at their library.
For UKBORDERS™, there is no fee for academic institutions within the UK, but a licence agreement must be signed (email edina@ed.ac.uk) and individual users must sign an End User Licence.
SALSER is a completely free service, with no subscription fee. No licence or prior registration is required.
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at edina@ed.ac.uk. Editor: Dawn Griesbach The next issue of Newsline will appear in mid-August 1997. |