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Standards and Protocols

Improved access for end users through the use of standards / Andrew Braid [*]

Two recent international standards, the Search and Retrieve Protocol (ISO 29350) and the Interlibrary Loan Protocol (ISO 10160/1), will have a great impact in the area of inter-library loan and document delivery. In combination the two standards will allow end-users to search for items, find a location for the item, order it, and deliver the item electronically, without the intervention of an intermediary. In certain implementations users will be able to search their own local database and one or more remote databases in the same parallel search. They will also be able to pick suitable supply locations using choices such as speed or cost of delivery.

This paper gives a brief overview of the history and development of the two standards. Both protocols were developed in North America in the late 1980's. Z39.50 gained immediate acceptance, but take up of the ILL protocol has been much slower. The reasons for this and the important role played by two implementation groups, the ZIG and the IPIG, are discussed.

The paper concludes with a description of several trial projects of which the British Library is a member, that are looking at the integration of all aspects of searching and delivery using both these protocols. The projects include, UNIverse and PRIDE funded by the European Commission and RIDING and Agora funded as part of the UK electronic libraries programme.