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Talking Systems

Talking Systems. Janice Sim Technical Services Manager University of Wales College, Newport. Talking Systems. One of the JISC funded DiVLE projects Linking Di gital Libraries with VLE s October 2002 – July 2003. Talking Systems.

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Talking Systems

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  1. Talking Systems Janice Sim Technical Services Manager University of Wales College, Newport

  2. Talking Systems • One of the JISC funded DiVLE projects • Linking Digital Libraries with VLEs • October 2002 – July 2003

  3. Talking Systems • To investigate the setting up of links between the VLE - Lotus Learning Space and the Sirsi Unicorn Library Management System

  4. Dan Noyes - Project Manager Centre for Learning Development Project website: www.newport.ac.uk/talkingsystems

  5. Partners • Sirsi UK • IBM – Lotus Software • Percussion Software UK • Lancaster University, Library and Information Systems

  6. Aims To create SCORM learning objects and transfer metadata from these objects to a Bath Profile compliant Z39.50 server

  7. Why? • To find content across multiple Virtual Learning Environments e.g. Lotus Learning Space, Blackboard, WebCT • To standardise search behaviour across disparate e-learning resource bases • To open access to learning content metadata beyond our institution

  8. SCORM • Shareable Content Object Reference Model • Funded by the US Department of Defense. • Emerging specification combining a number of existing standards

  9. SCORM • Specifies a standard way to describe sequenced content that is to be used by a single learner • The learner can identify a specific learning requirement and have a bespoke tutorial created from distributed content to answer this requirement

  10. SCO • SCOs represent a collection of one or more shareable resources that include a specific launchable asset that uses the SCORM run-time environment to communicate with a learning management system.

  11. SCORM learning objects • The SCORM had not previously been used at UWCN • Stored using a Windows 2000 development server running an IBM Lotus Domino platform.

  12. SCORM learning objects • Data is stored in Domino in forms and a single form was created for SCO input to automate the production of metadata

  13. SCO Form Three sections: 1. The basic metadata provided by the content author 2.The SCO content itself 3. Automatically created metadata matched to MARC fields using the Dublin Core crosswalk on the Library of Congress website

  14. Source data • A Lotus Domino database of 500 pieces of mainly HTML formatted text each of about 300 words making up a fledgling study skills database. • This was copied to the mini VLE on the development server

  15. SCORM content Next steps: • Stringing the individual documents together to make SCOs and content structure • Macromedia Authorware used to aggregate and sequence the elements making up tutorials

  16. Percussion Notrix Originally planned to use ODBC scripting to push data to the Unicorn server but this was not supported. The live Unicorn library system was used in this project, not a test server.

  17. Unicorn Library System • Importing records • Linking to the VLE (s) • Searching

  18. Unicorn – Importing records • ODBC scripting not supported • Bibload • Perfectly successful and capable of being automated using FTP and reports • Definitely not new

  19. Unicorn – Linking to the VLE • Searching the catalogue to find items • Using the 856 field to link to objects in the VLE

  20. Unicorn - Searching Using the Webcat or a Z39.50 client to find a MARC record with a URL pointing to a Domino document or an Authorware tutorial

  21. What Is Z39.50 • A search and retrieval protocol which enables clients and servers from different vendors to communicate with each other • Searches are mapped from Z39.50 to the local search protocol and can be run against more than one target at a time

  22. Z39.50 Not the easiest feature of Unicorn to use Not understood by network staff - Frequently firewall issues When access is achieved - Often error messages

  23. Z39.50 search Should have 6 attributes each given a numerical value e.g. • Use - such as title, author or ISSN • Relation - equal, greater than, less than • Position - any position in field, first • Structure - word, word list or phrase • Truncation - right hand truncation or do not truncate • Completeness - complete field, incomplete subfield

  24. Unicorn Bath Z Server Behaviour FIND TITLE KEYWORD = “FISH” Attribute Value Name use 4 title (keyword indexing policy) relation 3 equal position 3 any position in field (keyword) structure 2 word truncation 100 do not truncate completeness 1 incomplete subfield

  25. Where does it go wrong? • Most vendors do not document their Z39.50 servers capabilities • Some vendor documentation is inaccurate • Many exhibit default behaviour when they receive attribute combinations they don’t support giving unreliable search results • All six attributes are not compulsory

  26. Current State Of Z Implementations

  27. Current State Of Z Implementations

  28. Z Answers • A recent development in Sirsi is the delivery of preconfigured search name maps for each vendor’s server • U2003 clients can send all 6 attribute values for a Z search • Use the Bath profile to fully define searches and make Z39.50 work

  29. Bath Profile • Bath profile defines which of the combinations of attributes a Bath compliant server should be able to handle and the nature of the response. A core set of requirements. • University of North Texas is able to test a Z39.50 server for compliance

  30. Z39.50 and Talking Systems • To meet our aim of searching across disparate sources standardisation was needed. • For this reason it was decided that our server should be made Bath profile compliant. • A consultant was needed!

  31. Our consultant • Slavko Manojlovich • Memorial University of Newfoundland • Sirsi’s Z39.50 guru!

  32. Changes to Unicorn • A new format for Dublin Core records • A new Library policy (ELECTRONIC! A godsend for E-books, journals and databases and the best bit of the whole project) • New keyword indexes, name, title, subject and number for each format

  33. Keyword Indexes • The changes to the keyword indexes for each MARC field took about 4 days work, following the specification from Texas. • The result was a Bath Profile compliant server, one of the first if not the first in the UK.

  34. The end of the project • Work will continue to make links between the systems • The project showed that the SCORM approach is complex and difficult to apply across the institution • Bath profile provides a good basis for e-learning content discovery.

  35. Slavko Manojlovich Z39.50 clients and servers : the current state of affairs. http://nofish.library.mun.ca/stlouisu2003.ppt Peter Gethin Why the Bath profile makes Z39.50 work Liber Quarterly11(4), pp. 372- 381

  36. Useful links Dr Ed’s SCORM course www.jcasolutions.com/SC12/index.html Paul Miller Z39.50 for all www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue21/z3950/intro.html

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