WORLD 1 CONNECTIONS
all the news about WORLD 1, ABN and Ozline
Issue no. 4
July/August 1996
ISSN 1325-958X
WORLD 1 Connections is edited and designed by Leora Kirwan using desktop publishing software. The publication is issued bimonthly by the WORLD 1 Services Branch of the National Library of Australia. Single subscriptions will be available gratis on application to:
Editor, WORLD 1 Connections
WORLD 1 Services Branch
National Library of Australia
CANBERRA ACT 2600
email lkirwan@nla.gov.au
Unless otherwise specified, for further information contact the Help Desk on 1800 026 155 or (02) 6262 1531
- Back row, left to right: Lea Nelson, Margarita Moreno (Acting Manager, Training and Documentation), Kathleen Lazzari and Ruby Dutta (Training & Documentation); Ros McDonald and Christine Clay (Marketing); Front row, seated: Grant Cole (Finance Manager), Bryony De La Motte (Implementation Director), Rob Walls (Marketing Manager). David Toll, Assistant Director-General Corporate Services and WORLD 1, was in the United States at the time.
The Network Committee held its second meeting of the year on 7 and 8 August to review progress on the NDIS Project and to consider issues relating to current National Library online services. The third meeting of 1996 will be held as scheduled on 14 and 15 November.
The Committee received detailed reports on developments in the NDIS Project from Jan Rosi, Joint Project Director, and members of National Library of Australia staff. This included a briefing on the work being done to identify a substitute for the third party product which has proven unsatisfactory and an update on planning for Phase 2 of the project. Members were also given a demonstration of some features of the management functions of the NDIS software, and a brief overview of improvements being made to the Web Browser interface. These reports and presentation gave committee members confidence in the management and progress of the project, and as a result, members decided to issue a formal statement of support for the project.
![[Network
Committee]](http://www.nla.gov.au/2/pubs/world1/4/p02i01.jpg)
The committee also discussed the JEDDS Project and the CILLA feasibility study, both of which have implications for the NDIS Project: CILLA (CAUL Interlibrary Loan Administration) is aimed at providing a comprehensive ILL management system which would manage all local ILL information and support interactions between patrons, other libraries, bibliographic utilities and additional stakeholders.
Routine reports were also received on the ABN, Ozline
and CJK services.
Making
the connectionHaving consulted with our colleagues at the Network Committee
meeting on 7 and 8 August, we have agreed to convey to you the
following points relating to the NDIS Project and WORLD 1:
We hope you will accept that the Network Committee has considered the full range of issues relevant to the Project, in preparing this statement.
We trust also that you will support the recommendations in the knowledge that the necessary strategies are in place to minimise the current delays and to deliver the best possible outcomes.
Warren Horton, Director-General, National Library of Australia
Neil McLean, Chair, ABN Network Committee.
The ability to combine inquiry and updating across multiple databases using a single system may soon become a reality with the development in Australia of an innovative proposal for an international cataloguing protocol.
The proposal was presented during July to IT19, the joint committee of standards bodies for library and information science in Australia and New Zealand. The proposal was prepared by representatives of the NDIS Project and the IT19 Committee.
The proposal recommends the adaptation of Z39.50, the international information retrieval protocol, to support all cataloguing workflows in a cooperative resource-sharing environment. Judith Pearce (NDIS Project), Lesley Bezear (NDIS Project), Bronwyn Lee (NDIS Project), Jan Gatenby and Jack Smith, both members of the IT19 Committee, developed an initial outline that was workshopped at the National Library of Australia in July by representatives from library system vendors, users of major library systems and staff of the national libraries of Australia and New Zealand. The outcomes of that workshop were then included in a draft proposal presented to IT19.
The Z39.50 protocol allows two systems with different hardware and software to communicate for the purposes of database searching and information retrieval. There already exists a Z39.50 search standard that allows multiple databases on more than one system to be searched with a single search command, and the results integrated. When the Z39.50 search enhancement is made to the WORLD 1 Search Service, for example, cataloguers using the service will be able to obtain copy cataloguing data from an external system, such as OCLC or RLIN, without having to remember the logons or search commands of each different system.
The research currently being done explores the possibility of extending the Z39.50 protocol from inquiry to supporting all cataloguing workflows, including updating both local catalogues and the National Bibliographic Database (NBD), and checking authority files. The latest release of the Z39.50 standard, version 3, includes an 'update' function. It is this function that the proposal hopes to exploit to make the vision for a totally integrated library network system a reality.
The advantages of being able to perform all work - inquiry and updating - on a single system include users only having to master one interface, more efficient workflows and better maintenance of the NBD the end result. While the current system of maintaining the NBD is effective, it is not automatic. The development of a standard for the electronic transmission of cataloguing data would increase efficiencies while decreasing errors by eliminating the need for extra keyboard work.
While this is the vision for future services, the National Library recognises that all library systems are not yet Z39.50 compliant, and so it is producing a down line and up line loading specification to meet the needs of those effected users.
A copy of the cataloguing proposal will soon be made available on the National Library's web server, along with draft specifications for down line and upline loading.
A one-day workshop was hosted by the National Library of Australia on 18 July to explore the proposed Z39.50 Cataloguing Protocol currently being developed under the auspices of the joint Australian and New Zealand Standards IT/19. The workshop was attended by about 30 people and included representatives from local library system vendors, vendor user groups and the national libraries of Australia and New Zealand as well as several IT/19 Committee members.
Participants were briefed on a task undertaken by NDIS Project staff and two IT/19 Committee members to analyse the extent to which cataloguing workflows can be addressed within the existing Z39.50 standard and on the draft Cataloguing Protocol Proposal which was distributed at the Workshop. The protocol outlines proposed solutions for enabling a wide range of cataloguing transactions between client and server to be conducted using the extended services facility provided within Z39.50, version 3.
Two other papers were distributed and discussed at the meeting. The paper, Implementation Strategies for Cataloguing in a National Resource-Sharing Environment, also contains the range of cataloguing scenarios likely to be required and how these might be addressed either in a fully Z39.50 environment, or in circumstances where, for example, the local system is not compatible with Z39.50. These formed the basis for discussion during the afternoon session and a number of additional scenarios were identified for inclusion. The paper was tabled at the meeting. Comments from workshop participants to the second paper, Technical Specification for the NDIS Downline Loading (DLL) Service, will be provided over the coming week. All papers will be further refined as a result of the workshop and will be distributed more widely in early August.
The papers have been made available on the National Library of Australia's Web server at: http://www.nla.gov.au/2/NDIS/devproject.html
Following an announcement by the Director-General on 27 May, David Toll assumed responsibility for the National Library's new WORLD 1 Services Branch on 1 July.
The Director-General's announcement stated that 'this
is the first step in implementing the strategy to manage
WORLD 1 that I outlined to you during the WORLD 1
Roadshows earlier this year. The strategy included the
appointment of an Executive Director and the separation
of WORLD 1 from the NLA's Services to Libraries Division
by 1 July 1996. Recruitment for the position of Executive
Director has been deferred to a later stage.
The Services to Libraries Division will continue to manage the existing ABN and Ozline services and will take on the additional responsibility of Digital Projects.'
The following consequential changes to responsibilities took effect on 1 July 1996.
Members of the senior team supporting David Toll in the WORLD 1 Program, are Bryony De La Motte (Implementation Director), Rob Walls (Marketing Manager), Margarita Moreno (Acting Training and Documentation Manager), Grant Cole (Finance Manager), Judith Pearce and Debbie Campbell (NDIS)
Within the Services to Libraries Program, Julia Trainor has become Director, ABN/Ozline services. She is responsible for both the manage-ment of the National Bibliographic Database and the delivery of ABN/Ozline products, including help desk support and billing. Marion Newman (Manager, Products and Online Services), Sue Guelman (Financial Support) and Papiya Chakravarti (Acting Manager, NBD & Standards) all work to Julia.
Linda Groom (Manager, CJK Services) and Sandra Henderson (Manager, National Bibliographic Publications) now liaise directly with Warwick Cathro as Assistant Director-General, Services to Libraries, and Charu Sood (Director, Interlending Services) continues to do so.
The Library believes that these arrangements will ensure the maintenance of a high standard of service to its ABN, Ozline and CJK customers, while at the same time offering maximum support for the development of WORLD 1 services.
Security is a factor of life which for the most part is in the background but every now and again events focus our attention on it so that we are forced to review the way we see the world. Usually this is in the form of a disaster and from an Internet perspective the Internet Worm was possibly the most significant. This one event laid the foundation for Internet security to become a business in its own right.
[The Internet Worm was a virus which used the Internet to propagate connected hosts. This virus attack occurred in 1988 and exploited a weakness in some versions of email software so that it not only affected the target host but was also able to infect other hosts to which it sent mail. It is estimated that over 6,000 hosts in the USA were impacted in some way.]
With Internet access a prerequisite for access to WORLD 1, Internet security has been one of the main concerns of ABN customers planning an Internet connection. This article attempts to provide a general overview of Internet security and to cover some of the issues that have been raised. A technical bulletin on Internet security which covers these issues in depth should be available by the end of August.
In all populations there are always some who have a need to impose themselves on others through acts which range from thoughtless pranks to malicious destruction. Setting up a connection to the Internet creates an electronic doorway to your site which is accessible to the tens of millions of users around the world, which includes computer hackers.
Computer hackers exploit the limited security capabilities of the underlying network protocols of the Internet (e.g. TCP/IP), so additional layers of security are required to protect sites from intrusions. Internet security is about ensuring that the right level of access is available to those who need to get in (and out) across the Internet connection.
The issue is not the type of connection, but what services are running on the computer/device managing the dial-up connection. If a dial-up connection is made from your desktop computer (eg PC or Mac) it will, in nearly all cases, be quite safe as these devices don't usually run network services that make them or the internal network vulnerable.
If the dial-up connection is from a router or a computer running network services such as logins, email, routing or an FTP server, then it will be vulnerable to attack, and so will any other device connected to it via a LAN or WAN.
Internet security is achieved by implementing a firewall. Firewalls range from the very simple to the very complex which means that each site needs separate assessment.
The base level solution is to check the security capabilities of the router used to connect to the Internet. At many sites this will provide a relatively secure environment. Most routers implement security by filtering incoming and outgoing packets according to specified rules. These rules operate on the IP addresses contained in the packets and also on network protocols (types of services). An example of this would be a router configured to restrict outgoing access to WWW, email (SMTP) and Telnet services and restrict incoming access to only email and FTP from hosts with specified IP addresses.
More complex firewalls involve the use of proxy servers which act as a gateway between Internet traffic and internal traffic. These can be complex (and costly) to implement as well as to maintain and would generally be used only at sites with high risk factors. Where a proxy server has been implemented it will create connectivity problems for the WORLD 1 Client and for down line loading services which will need to be worked through.
As the Internet Worm incident demonstrates, a firewall on its own is not enough. Effective security requires a security policy that covers all aspects of a computing environment which includes physical security, the management of passwords, of backups and recovery procedures and of procedures for detecting breakdowns.
Unfortunately no. Any site which has high security requirements cannot trust a leased line to another network any more than it can a connection to the Internet. This is especially true when the network, in this case WORLD 1, is itself connected to the Internet.
Security for SNA leased lines was not an issue because the SNA architecture provided the security features needed to protect users' internal networks.
There is no satisfactory answer to this in the short term. Temporary arrangements could include using stand alone PCs with dial-up access to the Internet or setting up a stand alone PC LAN with its own Internet connection. These connections would most likely preclude the use of WORLD 1's real time DLL service and a batch option would have to be used until the corporate connection was established.
The problem is an issue that all organisations will encounter and need to resolve in time, with corp-orate connections to the Internet becoming as essential as a connect-ion to the telephone network.
The National Library has already announced that access to WORLD 1 will only be via the Internet.
To help you to secure an Internet connection, we have compiled information about a number of Australian Internet Service Providers. This information is available on request from the Help Desk.
An early changeover to Internet access will make it easier for us to help you to solve any difficulties you may encounter, ensuring that your Internet connection is functioning smoothly by the time WORLD 1 is launched.
It is particularly important that all libraries currently using leased line connections to access ABN/Ozline change their access method to the Internet as soon as possible. The full range of ABN/Ozline activities are now supported via the Internet through a range of easily obtainable software. Information on Internet access to ABN/Ozline is also available from the Help Desk.
The National Library has scheduled the closure of the leased line network for 1 August 1997. We have selected this date to make sure that all ABN catalogue service customers are using Internet access succesfully before the introduction of the WORLD 1 cataloguing service.
Sites which use ABN's interactive downline loading service will be given an extension until shortly after Phase 2 is implemented. Those customers who are likely to be affected should write to:
Bryony De La Motte, Implementation Manager, WORLD 1, National Library of Australia, Canberra, ACT 2600, with an indication of when migration to the Internet will be achieved.
One of the key aims of the NDIS Project is to meet the needs of the library community with innovative and creative solutions. The job of the people who make up the project's expert advisory groups is to ensure that the 'bright ideas' are also practical and can be effectively implemented in libraries around the country.
The largest expert advisory group (EAG) on the project, known as the NBD Standards and Authority Data, and Cataloguing EAG, consists of 16 people, including Australian and New Zealand standards experts, cataloguers and database producers. The cross fertilisation of ideas that has resulted from such a mixed group has been invaluable to the development project.
This EAG has worked with members of the NDIS Project to define standards for the WORLD 1 database and set requirements for cataloguing on WORLD 1. Most recently they helped review the proposed Z39.50 cataloguing protocol (see 'Cataloguing with Z39.50: the proposal').
The standards experts have also been consulted for advice on data standards and structures, especially for the NBD and authority data where policy needs to be altered or established for the library community.
The cataloguers have determined the cataloguing requirements for inquiry in Phase 1 of WORLD 1. They have also provided advice on issues affecting cataloguing workflows and are developing the requirements for the Phase 2 cataloguing module.
Representatives from database producers have been essential in providing guidance on the different structures and the loading and access requirements of their databases compared to the National Bibliographic Database.
Some of the highlights of the EAG's work so far includes defining access requirements for the NBD in Phase 1; resolving how to handle holdings information and institution specific data; and, making recommendations for matching and merging of data.
The EAG will continue to play a prominent role in the development project as Phase 2 comes online. They will be consulted on a wide range of issues from data validation to match and merging authority files.
There are currently eight different EAGs, comprising invited participants from the Australian and New Zealand library communities, which cover topics from strategic planning to document requesting and help services (see WORLD 1 Connections nos. 1, 2 and 3). This is the fourth in a series of updates on their activities.
Although many people have provided invaluable advice through this EAG, the following membership list reflects only those people who are currently involved:
Graham Blewett - Hurstville City Library
Leonie Bourke - Access
Dale Chatwin - Australian Bureau of Statistics
Kevin Dallow - National Library of New Zealand
Pam Dunlop - National Library of Australia
Robert Ho - CSIRO
Ann Huthwaitei - Queensland Uni. of Technology
Louise La Hatte - Auckland City Libraries
Philip Keane - University of Tasmania
Magdalen Lee - University of Sydney
Joan Moncrieff - Deakin University
Barbara Reif - Edith Cowan University
Karen Rollitt - National Library of New Zealand
Elizabeth Street - Victoria University, Wellington
Chris Todd - Wellington CAE
Julia Trainor - National Library of Australia
Deborah Whithear - Institute of Family Studies
Jenefer Wright - Auckland University
During June and July, the NDIS Project has focused on both Phase 1 and Phase 2 activities. This ensures that while the Phase 1 search service is being finalised, work is already underway on the design of the Phase 2 cataloguing service and planning is taking place for further enhancements to the search service.
Representatives from both national libraries have been working on Phase 1 functionality testing. This process ensures that the application meets all of the agreed business functionality. As a result, the national libraries' project team has been able to finalise such precise areas of the application as micro-help (for each menu line item), icons, and alternate short-cut keys (to allow operation of the application without the use of a mouse). They will also be testing Ozline and NBD data to ensure no corruption has occurred during the migration from the current systems and to ensure that the information has been correctly described in the new database.
Another component to be tested is the WORLD 1 help service which incorporates the online help text and a user reference manual. The user reference manual is currently being reviewed by an Expert Advisory Group of library computer system trainers. The help text has been completed with many hours of assistance from the WORLD 1 Training and Documentation Section (formerly the ABN/Ozline Training and Documentation Section).
Running in parallel with the functionality testing is the integration testing by systems integrators, CSC Australia. Integration testing ensures that each piece of the application works as it should and integrates with every other relevant part of the system to create a working whole.
Once the integration testing is complete, the national libraries' 'acceptance testing' team will receive those components of the application that have been finalised in order to conduct independent functional testing. Once the components meet all performance indicators and acceptance criteria, they will be accepted by the national libraries as complete for Phase 1.
While Phase 1 functionality is being finalised, Phase 2 planning is well underway, particularly in the area of planning cataloguing functionality and investigating the potential usage of the international communications standard, Z39.50. During July the project contributed to the development of an international cataloguing protocol (see 'Cataloguing with Z39.50; the proposal'), identifying key requirements for the cataloguing/indexing service, producing a template for bibliographic products, and developing a Z39.50 Client and server compliance profile.
The Internet is rapidly becoming the preferred method of access to the National Library's Australian Bibliographic Network (ABN) and Ozline services.
Almost half of all ABN and Ozline enquiries are now made via the Internet. This is significantly different to the scenario in July last year when enquiries via leased line and Austpac predominated.
ABN is Australia's largest bibliographic network. It gives access to more than 12 million bibliographic records and over 23 million attached holdings records in Australian libraries. Ozline hosts more than 35 Australian bibliographic, directory and research databases.
The Internet offers access to the full range of ABN and Ozline services including searching and document ordering, and data creation on ABN. In many cases, access via the Internet can also achieve greater cost savings than either leased line or Austpac access.
Libraries with Internet access can also take advantage of the National Library's recently released CJK Service. The CJK Service is a unique source for copy cataloguing and interlibrary loan locations for Chinese, Japanese and Korean material in Australian libraries.
See the National Library's home page on the World Wide Web at http://www.nla.gov.au/networks.html
The Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee (AVCC) * and the Research Libraries Group (RLG) ** have signed contracts in a joint project to develop electronic document delivery software. This software will give library users increased access to electronic information.
The joint project, which will work to enhance the document delivery product Ariel ***, is an initiative which grew out of the AVCC's National Priority (Reserve) Fund Library Projects Program 2(a), Improved Information Infrastructure (AVCC[III]).
The AVCC is acting on behalf of the Joint Electronic Document Delivery Software (JEDDS) partners. The commencement of the project follows a feasibility study conducted by the AVCC in 1995, and the completion of business cases by the funding partners which supported the project's viability.
The four partners in the project are the Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee (AVCC), the National Library of Australia (NLA), the National Library of New Zealand, and the Joint Information Systems Committee, Electronic Libraries Programme (United Kingdom) (eLib).
Project management on behalf of the four will be provided by an AVCC Cordinating Group, headed by Dr Brian Cook of Griffith University, Queensland.
'Each of the four partners will receive a site licence for the developed software and all new versions of the Ariel software released by RLG over the next five years, supported by a maintenance agreement for the same period', Dr Cook said.
'The software will be developed in three stages, with stage one completed by the end of 1996, and the whole project completed by the third quarter of 1997.'
Dr Cook said stage one would provide electronic document delivery between libraries via electronic mail, specifically using the Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) protocol.
'Stage two will enable JEDDS/Ariel to communicate with interlending and document management systems using a subset of the Inter-national Standards Organisation's Standardisation's Interlibrary Loan protocol (ISO 10160 and 10161).
Information can then be trans-ferred between such systems without rekeying and status information in the communicating systems automatically updated.'
The software will utilise the Windows environment so that when a JEDDS/Ariel system is used on a PC together with an interlending system, they will appear to be operating as a single system-minimizing keystrokes and rekeying and making workflow as efficient as possible.
Stage three will provide electronic document delivery via MIME to the desktops of academics, researchers and other library users. These users will be able to receive, view and print documents on a variety of platforms, provided they have an email service that is MIME compliant.
At a minimum, viewing software for the electronic documents should be available for PCs running Windows version 3 and above, Macintosh and Unix workstations.
Enhancements in Stage 3 will allow documents that are already in electronic form to be distributed using the same software.
Ariel for Windows is software which enables a PC with Internet connection, scanner, and printer to act as a document transmission station. Ariel currently uses the TCP/IP File Transfer Protocol (FTP).
RLG president James Michalko said that the joint project enables RLG to move quickly on one element of the organization's 'Strategy for 2000'.
'RLG and its members have embarked on an ambitious program to transform the nature of inform-ation access and research, to become a global resource for serving scholarly information needs, and to support the distinctive library service needs of research collections. The JEDDS partners share the same vision of improved resource sharing and information delivery straight to the student or scholar. Together we will get there faster.'
Dr Cook said that in parallel with the development, the partners will work with Australian and Inter-national Standards bodies to ensure that the enhanced JEDDS/Ariel complies with the developing standards in electronic document delivery. In addition, the project will adhere to the Group on Electronic Document Interchange (GEDI) agreements.
'The JEDDS/Ariel enhancements will have similar value for consortia in other countries, particularly in the US where Ariel is already widely used', said Dr Cook.
'This international project, with the involvement of major library organisations will have benefits for the world-wide library community. It will enable documents to be delivered more cheaply than using fax, with higher quality and with the potential to deliver an electronic copy of a document to the user's desktop.'
*The Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee is the peak organisation representing Australian higher education nationally and inter-nationally.
**The Research Libraries Group, Inc. (RLG) is a not-for-profit membership corporation of universities, archives, historical societies, national libraries, and other institutions devoted to improving access to information that supports research and learning. RLG owns and operates databases and software to serve the information access and management needs of both its members and non-member institutions and individuals worldwide.
***Ariel is a registered trade mark of the Research Libraries Group.
This article is reproduced with the permission of Ms Kerry Blinco, JEDDS Project Manager, Division of Information, Griffith University. For further information please contact Kerry at Griffith University, Nathan QLD 4111. Tel: (07) 3875 7231, fax: (07) 3875 7845 OR email: K.Blinco@gu.edu.au,/i> OR via the World Wide Web: http://www.gu.edu.au/alib/iii/docdel/jeddshom.htm
![[Keane]](http://www.nla.gov.au/2/pubs/world1/4/p12i01.jpg)
Philip is the Research & Development Librarian in the Division of Information Services at the University of Tasmania. Formerly, he was Associate Librarian (Technical Services) at the University of Tasmania, and has held other positions at the South Australian Department of TAFE, the National Library of Australia, the Commonwealth Department of Health and the Australian National University. Philip is also currently a member of the JEDDS Technical Group.
The Standards Committee election was called to replace Andrew Wells, who chaired the committee from 1993 to 1996.
Andrew has now joined the National Library staff as Technical Services Librarian.
The offer of reduced joining fees for new full members of the National CJK Service has been extended until 31 October 1996. Under the offer, libraries will be charged the following joining fees:
Base fee: 0-5000 CJK titles* $A150 5001-15000 CJK titles* $A600 15001 + CJK titles* $A1600 Plus, per port (= concurrent sessions) $A300 Plus, if MASS is required, per port $A920
To take advantage of the offer, libraries must send their application form to the National Library by 31st October. The offer is only available to libraries applying to join the 'full member' category of CJK Service users. Full member libraries may use the CJK Service for copy catalog-uing as well as for searching and for ILL locations.
The decision to extend the special offer was recommended by the CJK Steering Committee on 25 July, seven weeks after the system became operational. The joining fees will increase substantially at the close of the special offer. Applications received after 1st November 1996, will attract the following joining fees:
Base fee: 0-5000 CJK titles* $A373 5001-15000 CJK titles* $A1461 15001 + CJK titles* $A3214 Plus, per port (= con-current sessions) $A812 Plus, if MASS is required, per port $A920
Usage charges for new full members have been set at $A120 per port per month until 31 October, and $A160 per port per month from 1 November onwards. Usage charges cover all use of the CJK System-there is no additional connect time charge, per command charge or charge per MARC record. Usage charges are normally levied from the time a new member receives their password, which occurs within approximately two weeks of receipt of the new member's application.
Charges for search & holdings users have remained unchanged.
For further information please contact Yumiko Tsuji or CP Tang on the CJK Help Desk: (02) 6262 1682 or 1800 026155
* CJK titles = the number of Chinese, Japanese and Korean titles held in the library's collection at the time of joining
Family Thesaurus is a list of subject terms developed for indexing and retrieving information in the Australian Family & Society Abstracts (FAMILY) database. The database covers research, policy and practice literature about Australian families and the social issues that impact on them. Terms included in the thesaurus reflect the database's multidisciplinary approach to factors affecting life in Australian society.
The fifth edition of Family Thesaurus was published in July 1996. It includes new and changed terms, cross references and scope notes covering new concepts and terminology reflected in the literature since the 4th edition in 1993. The new edition introduces 61 new descriptors and 25 new cross references. More than 1700 terms are now listed.
Family Thesaurus is available from the Australian Institute of Family Studies for $35 plus $3 postage. Please address orders to:
Publications, AIFS,
300 Queen Street,
Melbourne Vic 3000
(Tel.: 03 9214 7888;
Fax: 03 9214 7839;
Email: publications@aifs.org.au)
ABN's RLIN gateway service has just finished its first year of operation. The service allows Australian libraries to search the RLIN database via a gateway from ABN, and to select cataloguing records for FTP to ABN. Passwords are issued by the ABN office, and charges are included in your ABN bills.
The service is based on a block of searches which are purchased by ABN at a special rate. The searches are charged to ABN users at $A1.00 each. As Australian libraries have been a little slow to take up the RLIN service, the charge for a search was reduced in July and August from $A1.00 to 50 cents per search. The special offer has encouraged many more libraries to take up the opportunity to obtain records from RLIN, including the users of the CJK system who are using the RLIN service to obtain CJK records. The CJK Project has purchased a special 'non-Roman access permit' for the CJK records.
The Network Committee has recommended that the RLIN service be continuted in 1996/97. The charge per search will be raised to $A1.10 to take effect from 1 October.
If your library would like to use the RLIN gateway service, contact the Help Desk on 1 800 026 155. The RLIN database is especially useful as a source of records which are less well covered in ABN, for example music, non-English language material, and older imprints. But remember to search ABN first, as your fastest and most economical source of records.
![[Book fair]](http://www.nla.gov.au/2/pubs/world1/4/p14i01.jpg)
Members of the new WORLD 1 Services Branch set off to the city, the surf and the bush during July to tell the library profession and the public more about the service-its current development and what it will ultimately be. The venues were the Australian Publishers' Book Fair at Sydney's Darling Harbour, Ausweb at Surfers Paradise and the Country Public Librarians Association (NSW) Annual Conference at Gilgandra.
Not surprisingly, WORLD 1 demonstrations and the National Library's home page and Web server were the focal points of interest but there were also questions about UnCover and Medline, two well-known services currently offered to ABN members.
At the Book Fair, the National Library was also able to promote its new IMAGE 1 database to publishers and authors. At the Gilgandra conference, which followed the theme 'Informing the Bush in the Future', country librarians with local history collections, many of them based on photographs, were pleased to hear about the Guidelines for Cataloguing Collections of Pictorial Materials, published by the library and available free (tel. Esther Tucker on 1800 026 155)
Basically, there are two key strategies for providing users with access to WORLD 1 in Phase 1. These strategies are aimed at different sections of the library and information services market.
Approaching the search
The first strategy involves a state-of-the-art, Windows-based, Graphical User Interface (GUI), which will meet the needs of medium to high-use customers, both novice and expert. This glamorous interface, with specially designed screens which resemble other Windows products, will be distributed to users in the form of custom-made software. The National Library of Australia will be supplying this software to customers as part of its WORLD 1 registration package.
The second strategy will cater more for the casual or infrequent user who doesn't begin WORLD 1 searching with breakfast. A World Wide Web gateway to the system will be accessible using standard Web browsers like Netscape and Mosaic. Due to the increasing popularity of web browsers and the tendency for these tools to become the primary means of accessing information services, the National Library of Australia realised that a Web interface to WORLD 1 was essential. It will therefore be possible to access WORLD 1, even from lower-powered terminals such as a 286 PC or a Macintosh, using a Web browser.
Designing the screen
Special consideration is being given to the design of the WORLD 1 WWW pages. Features will include toolbars at the top and bottom of each page, and footers. Toolbars will promote easy navigation through the system. Friendly footers will incorporate text describing where to send enquiries and comments, with the appropriate email links.
The usual features of a Web site-URLs and hypertext links-will be available. Icons used in the WWW pages will be identical to those used in the graphical user interface. Although the Web browser will not initially support the same range of features as the GUI, the NLA will be evaluating the need to expand services from the Web in the future. It will be possible eventually to use the Web access to WORLD 1 from home.
Overall, access via the Web browser will be convenient and will enable efficient services.
Now, meet the person with mountains of reference and research experience in the public domain, who has been instrumental in the development of the WORLD 1 interface: Rod Stroud
Having consulted with the Director-General and senior members of the ABN and WORLD 1 offices about the advice and recommendations from the ABN Network Committee meeting held on 7-8 August 1996, we have taken the difficult, but necessary, decision to postpone the Annual Users Meeting scheduled for 19-20 September 1996.
You will understand from the statement released by Warren Horton and Neil McLean [see Making the Connection] that the period of reassessment of project priorities will not be completed until September 1996.
Given the importance of the outcomes of this exercise to all users, it seemed more appropriate to reschedule the meeting to permit a full and frank discussion on the project and on the ways in which we wish to take advantage of WORLD 1 services. There are, of course, also a number of important matters affecting our current services which are not directly related to the NDIS Project and there will be ample opportunity to discuss these as part of the meeting.
We are pleased to advise you, therefore, that the Annual Users Meeting will be held on 14-15 NOVEMBER 1996 in Canberra at the National Convention Centre. The actual business will be scheduled over one-and-a-half days, ending with lunch on the 15th.
New registration forms for this meeting were distributed in the week commencing Monday, 19 August. If you did not complete a registration form for the September date, please wait to receive the new form. The National Library will write to those people who have already registered for September to ensure they are able to attend in November.
We will be calling for agenda items shortly and will welcome your input.
We look forward to your attendance and trust you will understand our reasons for rescheduling this important meeting.
Neil McLean Chairperson, ABN Network Committee
Helen Livingston Chairperson, WORLD 1 / ABN Annual Users Meeting
15 August 1996
Bibliographic File 11 969 992 Holdings statements 23 681 081 Authority file 1 406 899 Orig. cat. records 1 839 096
CATEGORIES OF BIB RECORDS ON 28 JULY 1996
Total bib records 11 946 759 Interims 537 455 Full bib records 11 409 304 Books (incl. interims) 9 780 984 Serials (incl. interims) 1 096 953 Nonbooks (incl. interims) 1 068 822 Dup. record removal 94 328
MARC RECORD TAPE LOADS ATJULY 1996
LC books 1968-24/6/96 LC serials 1973-12/6/96 LC films 1972-12/6/96 LC music 1984-12/6/96 LC maps 1973-12/6/96 LC CJK books 1988-12/6/96 LCCJK serials 1991-12/6/96 TOC 1994-22/4/96 USGPO 1976-30/6/96 US NLM books 1984-30/6/96 US NLM serials 1984-31/9/95 BNB 1971-24/6/96 Canadiana 1974-14/6/95 NZNB 1982-25/6/96 NZBN orig. cat. 1982-16/7/96 Singapore NB 1967-30/6/96
NONBOOK CATEGORIES ON 28 JULY 1996
Cartographic materials 242 978 Sound recordings 278 265 Motion pictures & videos 179 154 Music scores 182 976 Filmstrips 25 545 Pictorial materials 37 196 Slides 17 067 Manuscripts 26 347 Kits 6 954 Transparencies 2 834 Charts 1 794 Games 1 607 Other 7 678
WORLD 1 Services Branch - Fax: (02) 6273 1180