Z39.50 and the Open Content Alliance

Right now we have a unique opportunity to bridge the ongoing disconnect between Web search technologies and Z39.50 search technologies (including especially the new SRW and SRU Profiles). The opportunity is in two major initiatives to bring the content of books in the world's libraries to the Web: the Open Content Alliance (OCA) and the Google Library Project.  

As noted in the article at http://www.internetnews.com/xSP/article.php/3559121  "Web search started as just that: a look at what was available on the Web. Now, the major search providers seem to believe that everything should be available on the Web." 

This news in this article is that Microsoft's MSN joined OCA (Open Content Alliance http://www.opencontentalliance.org/ ). OCA is scanning and digitizing books, as is the Google Library Project. (OCA content under copyright would be made available only with the copyright holders' authorization. The Google Library Project asserts that they are allowed under "fair use principles" to show a snippet of text in search results without the copyright holder's authorization.)

In addition to MSN, OCA includes Yahoo, the Internet Archive, the European Archive, the National Archives of the UK, the Biodiversity Heritage Library, Smithsonian Institution Libraries, Adobe, HP Labs, O'Reilly Media, the Prelinger Archives, the University of California, and the University of Toronto (for current list, see http://www.opencontentalliance.org/contributors.html ).

I have made overtures to Google about supporting search interoperability with Z39.50 (using SRU), but those appeals seem to have been fruitless. Hopefully, more success is likely with OCA, given that many of the OCA contributors are institutions that would know and respect bibliographic cataloging. 

OCA search interoperability with Z39.50 should be an easy sell, but it cannot be taken for granted. If you know anyone who may have influence with a current or potential partner in the OCA, please make the case that Z39.50 interoperability should be a basic requirement of any search service associated with OCA.

Also, please post to all relevant distribution lists a note about this opportunity.

Thanks,

Eliot

Received on Thursday, 27 October 2005 10:39:13 UTC