USEMARCON Plus

Description: USEMARCON is a software application that allows users to convert bibliographic records from one MAchine-Readable Cataloguing (MARC) format to another.

Special Features: The British Library has since further developed the USEMARCON application. This work was carried out on behalf of the Library by Crossnet Systems Limited. The program has been enhanced in the following ways:

• The redevelopment of the application removing all proprietary XVT components and substituting public domain equivalents.

• The removal of the graphical user interface in order that the program can function as part of a batch process from the system command line.

• The re-design of the application for 32bit MS Windows and Linux operating systems.

• The optimization of the program to allow the conversion of large files.

• The integration of new rule functions to enable the creation of more complex conversions.

History: In 1995, a project funded by the European Union was set up to address this issue. The project was successfully completed in 1997 with the development of the USEMARCON (User Controlled Generic MARC Converter) software.

Project Sponsors/Administrators: The British Library, Crossnet Systems Dependency: C++ Compiler, XVT C++ Toolkit

Supported Platforms: Windows, Solaris, UNIX License: Unknown: Unsupported freeware

Availability: ftp://ftp.bl.uk/pub/nbs/ec/usemarcon Further Information: Project Home Page:

3.7 Marc2Opac

Description: Marc2Opac is a PHP4 script for searching and displaying MARC files. It supports a good range of searching techniques and it is fast (searches more than 1,00,000 entries in a second).

Special Features: The features added to this PHP module include • Advanced search

• Subscriber logon • Reservations system

History: Bundaberg City Council, Australia, developed Marc2Opac to put their library catalogue online. Other features were added later.

Project Sponsors/Administrators: IT Services, Bundaberg City Council (Australia)

Dependency: Apache, PHP, Grep Supported Platforms: Linux License: Unknown

Availability: http://www.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/library/catalog/about.php4 Further Information: Project Home Page:

http://www.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/library/catalog/about.php4

3.8 Medlane XMLMARC

Description: Medlane XMLMARC is a computer program that converts MARC records into XML. It can also update MARC records, based on plain text processing instructions, and write records to a file in the MARC format.

Special Features: Unknown History: Unknown

Dependency: Java

Supported Platforms: Platform Independent License: GNU GPL, LGPL

Availability: http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=48203 Further Information: Project Home Page: http://medlane.stanford.edu/

3.9 MARCUTL

Description: MARCUTL (the MARC Update and Transformation Language) is a mapping language that converts MARC into XML or MARC into "updated MARC" based on the instructions in a MARCUTL file. These files are expressed in XML and must conform to the MARCUTL schema.

Special Features: MARCUTL provides for several built in methods of updating or transforming MARC records, but it also provides for the creation of special MARC processing classes. These classes implement a particular interface, described in the MARCUTL API (application programming interface), and accept a MedMARC Record as input. MedMARC is a Java API for handling MARC records that was developed by the Medlane project.

History: Unknown

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Kevin S. Clarke Dependency: Java

Supported Platforms: Platform Independent License: GNU GPL, LGPL

Availability: To be available

4

Z39.50 Tools

The Z39.50 standard specifies a client/server-based protocol for searching and retrieving information from remote databases. The protocol is sponsored by American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and US National Information Standards Organization (NISO). The first version of the protocol was published in 1988. The second version came out in 1992 and the latest version (version 3) is dated 1995. However, the Z39.50 revision (Z39.50-2001) is still in progress!

The use of Z39.50 protocol in library is either to get bibliographic data from other libraries or provide bibliographic services to other libraries. The library may choose to be either client (for downloading/search records) or server (allowing others to download/search local records). There are tools available to implement both the activities.

Z39.50 might prove beneficial in identifying resources through its powerful broadcast search functions where a user can send a query to a large number of servers to search bibliographic records. This way the protocol can be seen as an alternative to union catalogues, though it still does not support holdings records to be displayed in the search results. It can also be combined with other activities, such as inter-library loan (ILL), to speed up the process.

4.1 YAZ Toolkit

Description: YAZ (Yet Another Z39.50 Toolkit) is a toolkit for implementing the Z39.50-1995 standard and protocol. Both the Origin (client) and Target (server) roles of the protocol are supported. The toolkit is written in C.

Special Features: Its ability to provide an open, well-defined, and structured framework to information retrieval tasks within any application domain makes it an obvious candidate for use in many different roles.

History: Unknown

Dependency: None

Supported Platforms: UNIX, Linux, Windows

License: Index Data Copyright (Based on BSD License)

Availability: http://www.indexdata.dk/yaz/

Further Information: Project Home Page: http://www.indexdata.dk/yaz/

4.2 ZContent

Description: ZContent is a Perl script and module that provides a Z39.50 target for the CONTENTdm server. CONTENTdm (http://contentdm.com/) is a commercial digital collection management software.

ZContent is based on the open source SimpleServer Perl module which is provided by Index Data (http://www.indexdata.com/simpleserver/). SimpleServer is based on the YAZ toolkit, which is also provided by Index Data. (http://www.indexdata.com/yaz/). USMARC Records are created using the MARC::Record Perl module.

Special Features: Unknown

History: The University of Utah Marriott Library has developed software that adds Z39.50 compatibility to any CONTENTdm digital collections server.

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Aaron DeMille, Kenning Arlitsch (University of Utah)

Dependency: Perl, YAZ Toolkit, SimpleServer Supported Platforms: Windows

License: GNU General Public License

Availability: http://sourceforge.net/projects/zcontent

Further Information: Project Home Page: http://www.lib.utah.edu/digital/ZContent.html

4.3 SimpleServer

Description: SimpleServer is a Perl module which is intended to make it as simple as possible to develop new Z39.50 servers over any type of database imaginable. All you have to do is implement a function for initializing your database (optional), searching the database, and returning "database records" on request. The module takes care of everything else and automatically starts a server for you, listens to incoming connections, and implements the Z39.50 protocol.

Special Features: Use SimpleServer together with other Perl modules to provide gateways to relational databases, local file stores, SOAP/RDF-servers, etc.

SimpleServer currently supports the Init, Search, Present, Scan and Close services. If you are interested in other functionality, get in touch and we'll help if we can.

History: Unknown

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Index Data Dependency: YAZ 1.8 or later

Supported Platforms: UNIX, Linux, Windows License: Index Data Copyright

Availability: http://www.indexdata.dk/simpleserver/

Further Information: Project Home Page: http://www.indexdata.dk/simpleserver/

4.4 VB Zoom

Description: VB ZOOM is a collection of ActiveX COMponents, written in Visual Basic, which implement the ZOOM 1.2 (Z39.50 Object-Orientation Model) Abstract API. The current VB ZOOM is a wrapper for the YAZ Toolkit from Index Data, plus a helper component for doing MARC-8 to Unicode character conversions.

History: The original VB ZOOM was developed for a project called ZMARCO as part of the Open Archives Initiative Metadata Harvesting Project at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, funded by the Andrew Mellon Foundation. Continuing work on this and the ZMARCO project is being funded by a Library Services and Technology Act grant from the Illinois State Library.

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Index Data, Denmark Dependency: Yaz.dll V 2.0.1 (YAZ Toolkit)

Supported Platforms: Windows

License: University of Illinois/NCSA Open Source License (http://vb- zoom.sourceforge.net/License.html)

Availability: http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=53790 Further Information: Project Home Page: http://vb-zoom.sourceforge.net/

4.5 JZkit

Description: A pure Java toolkit to assist in the development of information retrieval systems using the Z39.50 standard.

Special Features: The toolkit is presented in three distinct levels: Encoders/Decoders, Protocol Endpoint and IR-Services. A number of example origin and target implementations are available.

History: Unknown

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Ian Ibbotson Dependency: Java VM

Supported Platforms: Platform Independent License: GNU General Public License

Availability: http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=16429 Further Information: Project Home Page: http://www.k-int.com/jzkit

4.6 Zeta Perl

Description: ZETA Perl defines a set of functions, variables and conventions that provide a consistent interface to the Z39.50 services and protocol for Perl applications. It was mainly designed and implemented to be usable by web developers. However, it would be of help as well in writing a Z3950 client with very little effort.

Special Features: The current version of the ZETA Perl (0.059) supports the following APDUs: Init, Search, Present, Close, Delete, Scan and Sort

History: Unknown

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Unknown Dependency: Perl 5.003 or better

Supported Platforms: Linux, Solaris, AIX License: Perl Artistic License, GNU GPL Availability: ftp://zeta.tlcpi.finsiel.it/pub/zeta/ Further Information: Project Home Page:

http://lcweb.loc.gov/z3950/agency/resources/software.html

4.7 ZedKit for Unix

Description: The Z39.50 Application Development Libraries for UNIX developed for the German Library Project DBV OSI II and also the ONE project co-funded by the European Commission Libraries Programme.

Special Features: Unknown History: Unknown

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Crossnet Systems, UK (http://www.crxnet.com/)

Dependency: None

Supported Platforms: UNIX, Linux

License: Unknown (ftp://ftp.ddb.de/pub/dbvosi/dbvosiII-2.1.README)

Availability: http://www.crxnet.com/ZedKit_download.php

Further Information: Project Home Page: http://www.crxnet.com/zedkit.php

4.8 IrTcl Toolkit

Description: IrTcl is an extension to the Tcl/Tk (http://www.tcl.tk/) language environments. IrTcl allows you to rapidly develop platform-independent, graphical clients to the Z39.50 protocol supporting both the X Window and MS-Windows environments.

Special Features: Unknown History: Unknown

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Index Data Dependency: Tcl/Tk, YAZ Toolkit

Supported Platforms: UNIX, Linux, Windows License: Unknown

Availability: http://www.indexdata.dk/irtcl/

Further Information: Project Home Page: http://www.indexdata.dk/irtcl/

4.9 Net::Z3950

Description: The Net::Z3950 module provides a Perl interface to the Z39.50 information retrieval protocol (ISO 23950), a mature and powerful protocol used in application domains as diverse as bibliographic information, geo-spatial mapping, museums and other cultural heritage information, and structured vocabulary navigation.

Special Features: Unknown History: Unknown

Project Sponsors/Administrators: Mike Taylor Dependency: Perl, YAZ Toolkit

Supported Platforms: UNIX, Linux, Windows (under Cygwin environment) License: Perl Artistic License

Availability: http://perl.z3950.org/download/, http://www.cpan.org/modules/by- module/Net/MIRK/

Further Information: Project Home Page: http://perl.z3950.org/