European projects involving Z39.50

Most of the following European projects are funded by the European Commission's DG XIII/E-4 under the Telematics for Libraries programme (exceptions include Aquarelle, NESSTAR and DBV-OSI II). Only those with a substantial Z39.50 element are included.

A comprehensive list of projects funded under Telematics for Libraries is available.

Projects with UK involvement are indicated with an asterisk.

• Aquarelle* - developing a resource discovery system for cultural heritage information. Funded by the EC Telematics Applications Programme.
  
  
• ARCA - development of a software tool which allows existing OPACs to act as Z39.50 targets.
  
  
• CANDLE* - producing low-cost library management software for rights control and fee management. Builds on the software developed in the earlier CaseLibrary* project (produced ZNavigator client and software tools).
  
  
• CASA* - creating a serials authority list based on the ISSN system, allowing users to search distributed catalogues of national serials holdings.
  
  
• DALI* - development, piloting and evaluation of a service for multimedia document delivery in a distributed environment using SR/Z39.50.
  
  
• DECOMATE II* - developing an end-user service providing access to heterogeneous information resources distributed over different libraries in Europe using a uniform interface.
  
  
• DBV-OSI II - a German national project, with federal funding. It provides access to a distributed library and A&I resource; searching and requesting of materials are based on Z39.50.
  
  
• ESMI (European Spatial Metadata Infrastructure) - developing a framework for the distribution of geographic information by creating a universal metadata service; using an Isite Z39.50 server.
  
  
• EULER - providing access to heterogeneous mathematical resources via a common user interface using HTTP, Z39.50 and Dublin Core; results aim to be portable to other subject domains.
  
  
• EURILIA* - development of a standard interface based on SR/Z39.50 which will provide common access to the OPACs of aerospace library collections
  
  
• EUROPAGATE - built a pilot gateway service through which different clients can access Z39.50 servers.
  A useful EUROPAGATE workshop and SR concertation meeting organised by DG XIII was held in Luxembourg in February 1996.
  
  
• IRIS - although IRIS as a project is now completed, it continues as a commercial service. It provides a document awareness and supply service aimed at businesses, libraries and others in the Republic of Ireland. It is important as one of the first operational Z39.50 based services. An overview of IRIS is included in 'Towards distributed library systems: Z39.50 in a European context', published in Program The project was funded under the EC's Telematique Programme.
  
  
• MIRO* - European Space Agency project (now a product), to develop a network architecture for distributed searching of large information servers.
  
  
• NESSTAR* - developing a resource enabling academics and researchers across Europe to identify, browse and acquire relevant national data sets. Funded under the Information Engineering sector of the EC Telematics Applications programme.
  
  
• NRW Digital Library - German (Nordrhein-Westfalen) project which plans to integrate distributed heterogeneous resources via http and Z39.50; includes document delivery based on Jason and SUBITO services.
  
  
• ONE* - interconnecting the OPACs of participating European national libraries, with access via a single entry point. Being taken forward by ONE II.
  
  
• PARAGON* - developing Z39.50 access to sound archives.
  
  
• SESAM* - development of a prototype client server application which will connect distributed university resources using Z39.50, to improve the flow of information between academics, libraries and students.
  
  
• SOCKER* - completed in November 1996, the central part of the project was to produce an SR/Z39.50 client toolkit.
  
  
• UNIverse* - developing large scale demonstrators for global, open distributed library services. Based on the work of the earlier DALI* project which developed a service for multimedia document delivery.

UK-based projects

• eLib (Electronic Libraries Programme) Phase 3 'Clump' projects - providing integrated access to groups of distributed OPACs using a Z39.50-based broker architecture:
  • CAIRNS
  • M25 Link
  • Music Libraries Online
  • RIDING
• eLib Hybrid Library projects:
  • Agora
  • BUILDER
• eLib Electronic Document Delivery projects:
  • EDDIS
  • SEREN
• MODELS - developing technical and strategic frameworks to manage distributed library and information services, with funding from eLib.
• Bradford OPAC 2 - a British Library Research and Innovation Centre funded project to explore the manipulation of large consolidated Z39.50 retrieval sets and develop prototype Z39.50-based OPAC software.
• AHDS gateway - Arts and Humanities Data Service Z39.50 gateway to provide integrated access to the distributed holdings of five service providers.

[UKOLN Z39.50 homepage]