5: Testbed Study—Recommendations for Testing

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Recommendation 1
Recommendation 2
Recommendation 3
Recommendation 4

An extensive review of related projects (see IDA web site http://www.ida.unisa. edu.au/) has highlighted the following components of a test-bed study (pilot project/feasibility study) that will ultimately result in robust integrated retrieval systems.

The components include the:

1. development of a subject-based virtual library of print and electronic resources;
2. involvement in Global Information Locator Technology development;
3. development/adoption of interfaces to integrated indexing project; and
4. establishment of a resource discovery information program.

Within each of these projects the following features should be present:

• searching—capable of searching beyond the web—other online and
  CD-ROM systems;
  
• document delivery;
  
• search results that reflect some filtering preferences (e.g. the geographically closest materials are rated most highly);
  
• search interfaces that can be modified according to the profile of the user; and
  
• national training issues/strategies incorporated into the system and systems that provide a range of document delivery options.

Recommendation 1: Development of a Subject-based Virtual Library of Print and Electronic Resources

This includes a proof of concept to determine that such a virtual library can actually be constructed and a proof of implementation which would ideally be a collaborative development to stimulate a process whereby various organisations would come together to undertake new ventures in this area. It is therefore recommended:

1.1  One or two subject areas be chosen as the basis of a project which attempts to construct a comprehensive interface to print and electronic resources and which provides a delivery mechanism for the chosen resources; and

1.2  Appropriate institutions be funded through the Federal Government for a trial period to undertake the project on behalf of Australia’s research libraries.

Any proposed project should encourage the concept of a lead institution having a focus on specific subject-based Australian materials, which therefore supplements the subject-based work being undertaken internationally. Such a project would provide an Australian-wide resource, precluding the need for multiple smaller versions of the project being undertaken. Appropriate test examples could be law or Australian/Asian studies which should be based in one or two institutions which already have holdings and content in that area. Other possible subject areas are environmental issues, gender, Aboriginal issues or health. The only subject area that should be clearly avoided is education, where similar Australian information services already exist. Final choice of subject area is dependent on the strengths of the host institution.

Some of the major characteristics that need to be addressed in prototype subject-based services, and subsequently evaluated, include:

• coverage (of subject, discipline, types of sources, language, country, consistency of coverage);
• criteria for selection of coverage;
• interface with general interface service(s);
• quality control—definitions;
• value added aspects (if any);
• indexing;
• searching strategies possible, navigational aids;
• searching strategies preferred by users;
• charges (if any);
• copyright issues;
• facilities for hard copy delivery;
• user feedback;
• education and training at point of use, etc;
• relationship(s) to other gateway services; and
• availability. and access to the service.

The outcomes would include:

• development and evaluation of a methodology for the design and evaluation of virtual library/gateway services, which can be applied to other such services, and possibly with modification, to general interface services;
  
• an evaluation of the quality and cost effectiveness of virtual library services designed for priority Australian issues in Research and Development, and other social and political issues; and
  
• a generic platform upon which further virtual library services can be relatively easily developed, and evaluated.

The attraction of designing, piloting and evaluating a series of virtual library services is that the outcomes will provide services that a majority of users require. Currently it appears that the development of a Global Information Locator Service (GILS) will be based around subject access. However, as an international initiative, implementation of GILS is likely to be a slow process. If GILS does prove to be the way of the future, Australian implementation will be far more effective built upon a strong base of subject based systems.

Recommendation 2: Best-practice Global Information Locator Service, and GILS Leadership Role

The G7 group of countries have an initiative called the Global Information Society. Seven of its 11 themes involve a GILS implementation as the only scalable way of locating print, electronic and other resources within vast global repositories and across disparate storage mechanisms. Through the process of the IDA report, the Australian Council of University Librarians have been formally invited to take a leadership role in GILS development. GILS is in an analogous position to World Wide Web technology about three years ago.

The information retrieval community is enthusiastic about it and working on the implications and there has been funding allocated to projects which are directly relevant to GILS. It has great potential as an enabling technology, but to realise this potential implementing organisations must have a common forum to share best practices and other real-world experiences. The country leading the GILS effort in the G7 countries is the United States. The United States coordinator for the G7 Global Information Society Project (Tom Kalil is the United States Executive Office of the President) supports the comments of Eliot Christian of the United States Geological Survey in saying:

We are very enthusiastic about your idea to organise a cross-cutting initiative focused on progress toward a Global Information Locator. This is exactly the kind of creative and strategic proposal that the G7 Global Information Society hoped to catalyse.

(Eliott Christian e-mail Dan Shearer 7/4/96)

The recommendation is that a project be established to provide focus and continuity for GILS development. This internationally prestigious project would be relatively inexpensive and would:

1. facilitate development of the GILS specification;
   
2. build on existing Australian expertise to improve existing Web interfaces to the important underlying standards including LDAP, X.500, CD-ROMs, Web indexers and Z39.50;
   
3. provide vital administrative services and publicity for GILS (web, mailing lists, ftp site, position papers, conference) in ways accessible to even small potential users; and
   
4. demonstrate how the current collection of Web crawlers and index engines could be replaced by a network of Z39.50 servers.

Note that GILS refers to Global Information Locator Service, not the Government Information Locator Service

Recommendation 3: Development/Adoption of Interfaces to Indexing Projects

The library community is only now overcoming its legacy of mutually incompatible searching interfaces. The World Wide Web community has yet to address this problem. The common theme to solutions in both areas is the Z39.50 protocol. Please refer to ‘Analysis of Projects’ (p. 21) section of this report.

3.1   Universities be encouraged to install free and/or commercial Z39.50 service software in their integrated library management systems (ILMS). The library and commercial information retrieval community have developed free products which may be utilised in some situations.

3.2   The Federal Government provide funding support to deploy Z39.50 capability across all universities.

3.3   Implement a Z39.50 web interface project which examines the development and effectiveness of a single search interface layered across distributed databases such as library OPACS. This will mean implementing existing interface technology, and making use of free server-side toolkits. Project to compare interface use linking databases with a high degree of commonality, such as the South Australian academic libraries, all of which use Dynix, with another state based around disparate systems. A specific focus of the project would be to investigate potential for scaleability of such a system.

3.4   Provide the focus and leadership for a Java implementation of Z39.50. The suggestion has generated considerable interest and excitement in the search interface community. Given that there are:

• extensive source code for Z39.50 targets and origins available;
  
• exhaustive documentation for the Z39.50 protocol; and
  
• a very active Z39.50 implementors group, which has already formed a volunteer effort to look at a Java implementation.

Coordination, documentation and planning support are required in order for a open Internet development project to proceed. Estimates from the Australian university and commercial sectors agree that the effort required to produce a quality product is of the order of one person working for between 6 and 12 months. Members of the international Z39.50 implementors group have expressed support for such a project. There is a small window of opportunity to seize the initiative for this high profile project; the outlay required is too small for it to go unaddressed much longer.

Recommendation 4: Establishment of a Resource Discovery Information Program

There is clearly a need for an organised national strategic approach to the monitoring analysis and dissemination of information about resource discovery projects and tools. There is also a need for advice on potential collaborative developments in this area. There exist localised pockets of expertise in this area (e.g. the Australian National University’s Centre for Networked Information and Publishing, and the Distributed Systems Technology Centre—a Queensland University-based Cooperative Research Centre).

4.1  A National Electronic Resource Discovery and Analysis Centre be established and that this centre be under the aegis of some established national body to safeguard its longer term maintenance; and

4.2   In order to establish this national collaborative centre, federal government funds be sought to support its establishment phase (up to three years).