The ANSI/NISO Z39.50 Protocol: Information Retrieval in the Information Infrastructure

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON Z39.50

The range of pertinent material for understanding Z39.50 is broad, but the following contain basic, useful information related to the standard, its implementation, and visions of its uses.

Selected Electronic Resources

Addyman, A.M. (1994, January). Facilitating the Creation of Z39.50 Origins in the UK. Available from the Z39.50 Information Page (see below).
An Application Profile for the Government Information Service (GILS) (1994, May 7). Available via anonymous FTP at <FTP.CNI.ORG> as pub/gils/profile/gils-profile.ps (Postscript) and as /pub/gils/profile/gils-profile.txt (ASCII).
Kunze, J. A. (1992). Nonbibliographic Applications of Z39.50. The Public-Access Computer Systems Review 3(5), 4-30. To retrieve article, send the following email message to listserv@uhupvm1.uh.edu: GET KUNZE PRV3N5 F=MAIL.
Lynch, C. A. (1994, August 23). Using the Z39.50 Information Retrieval Protocol in the Internet Environment [Draft RFC]. Available via anonymous FTP at <ds.internic.net> as /internet-drafts/draft-ietf-iiir-z3950-00.txt.
McClure, C. R. & Moen, W. E. (1994, May 7). Using Z39.50 in an Application for the Government Information Locator Service (GILS): A Background Paper. Available via anonymous FTP at <FTP.CNI.ORG> as /pub/gils/profile/background.doc.ps (Postscript) and as pub/gils/profile/background.doc.txt (ASCII).
St. Pierre, Margaret, et al. (1994, June). RFC 1625, WAIS over Z39.50-1988. Available from the InterNIC gopher. Connect to <ds.internic.net> and select: 4. InterNIC Directory and Database Services/ 6. Internet Documentation (RFC's, FYI's, etc.)/ 7. RFC's (Request For Comments).
Z39.50 Targets Available. Provides a list of Z39.50 servers and available databases currently accessible. This document is available from the Z39.50 Information Page.
Z39.50 Information Page. A WWW information page that is an up-to-date resource about activities concerned with developing the protocol, ongoing implementation activities, and related information resources. Maintained by Robert Waldstein <wald@library.att.com>. The URL for the Z39.50 Information Page is: http://ds.internic.net/z3950/z3950.html
Z39.50 Implementors Group (ZIG) Discussion List <z3950iw@nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu>. To subscribe send the following message: SUB Z3950IW FIRSTNAME LASTNAME to: <listserv@nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu>
Z39.50 Register of Implementors. Available through the Library of Congress gopher. Connect to <marvel.loc.gov> and select: 4. Libraries and Publishers (Technical Services)/ 7. Z39.50. Also available via FTP from <ftp.loc.gov> as /pub/z3950/register.
ANSI/NISO Z39.50-199X Version 3 (Draft). Available electronically through the Library of Congress gopher. Connect to: <marvel.loc.gov> and select: 4. Libraries and Publishers (Technical Services)/ 7. Z39.50. Also available via FTP from <ftp.loc.gov> in directory /pub/z3950. It is available in various formats. Click here to see an HTML document of version 2 (1992).

Selected Documents and Articles in Print:

ANSI/NISO Z39.50-1992, American National Standard Information Retrieval Application Service Definition and Protocol Specification for Open Systems Interconnection. (1992). Bethesda, MD: NISO Press.
Carson, S.M. & Freivalds, D.I. (1993, June). Z39.50 and LIAS: Penn State's experience. Information Technology and Libraries, 12(2), 230-237.
Hinnebusch, M. (1992, February - October). Integrated library systems: Primer on Z39.50, Parts 1-8. Academic and Library Computing 9(2-9).
Hinnebusch, M. (1992, November/December). Integrated library systems: The Z39.50 explain service. Academic and Library Computing 9(10), 12-14.
Hinnebusch, M. (1993, January/February). Integrated library systems: The Z39.50 scan service. Campus-Wide Information Systems 10(1),46-49.
Fenly, J. G. & Wiggins, B. (1988). The Linked Systems Project: A Networking Tool for Libraries. Dublin, OH: OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc.
Lynch, C.A. (1994, April). Using the Z39.50 Information Retrieval Protocol in the Internet Environment. Information Standards Quarterly 6(2), 1-5.
Lynch, C. A. (1993, March). Interoperability: The Standards Challenge for the 1990s. Wilson Library Bulletin 67(7), 38-42.
Lynch, C. A. (1991, January). The Z39.50 information retrieval protocol: An overview and status report. Computer Communications Review 21(1), 58-70.
Lynch, C.A. (1991). The client-server model in information retrieval. In M. Dillon (Ed.), Interfaces for Information Retrieval and Online Systems: The State of the Art (pp. 301-318). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Lynch, C. A. (1990). Information retrieval as a network application. Library Hi Tech 8(4), Issue 32, 59-74.
Lynch, D. (1993, May/June). Integrated library systems: Z39.50 extended services. Campus-Wide Information Systems 10(3), 31-37.
McCallum, S. H. (1994). Information technology standards: Implementation, maintenance, and coordination. In William E. Moen (Ed.), Scholarly Information and Standardization (pp. 13-20). Bethesda, MD: NISO Press.
Needleman, M. H. (1992). The Z39.50 protocol: An implementor's perspective. Resource Sharing and Information Networks 8(1), 89.
Stovel, L., Fuchs, R. & Chang, J. (1993, June). RLG's Z39.50 server: Development and implementation issues. Information Technology and Libraries, 12(2), 227-230.
Tomer, Christinger. (1992, September). Information Technology Standards for Libraries. JASIS: Journal of the American Society for Information Science 43(8), pp. 566- 570.
WAIS Profile of Z39.50 Version 2, Revision 1.4, (April 26, 1994) available from WAIS, Inc.

Contacts for Specific Z39.50 Initiatives and Activities:

Z39.50 Implementors Group

Mark Hinnebusch <fclmth@nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu>
tel: 904-392-9020
Florida Center for Library Automation, Suite 320
2002 NW 13th Street
Gainesville, FL 32609
Z39.50 Maintenance Agency

Ray Denenberg <ray@rden.loc.gov>
tel: 202-707-5795
Network Development and MARC Standards Office
Library of Congress
Washington, DC 20540
Coalition for Networked Information/Architecture and Standards Working Group
Clifford A. Lynch <calur@uccmvsa.ucop.edu>
tel: 510-987-0522
Division of Library Automation, Office of the President
300 Lakeside Drive
Oakland, CA 94612-3550
Consortium for the Computer Interchange of Museum Information (CIMI)
John Perkins <jperkins@fox.nstn.ns.ca>
tel: 902-26-2824
CIMI Project Manager
16 Schooner Drive
Head of St. Margarets
Nova Scotia B0J 1G0 Canada
Government Information Locator Service (GILS)
Eliot Christian <echristi@usgs.gov>
tel:703-648-7245
United States Geological Survey
National Center
Reston, VA 22092
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)/Integration of Internet Information Resources Working Group (IIIR)

This is the IETF working group that is concerned with the integration of Z39.50 with Internet information retrieval tools. For information contact: Chris Weider <clw@bunyip.com>
National Information Standards Organization
Pat Harris, Executive Director <nisohq@cni.org>
tel: 301-654-2512 fax: 301-654-1721
4733 Bethesda Avenue
Suite 300
Bethesda, MD 20814
National Spatial Data Infrastructure
Douglas Nebert <ddnebert@wrdmail.er.usgs.gov>
tel: 703-648-5691
United States Geological Survey
National Center
Reston, VA 22092

Go Backward
Go Back To Index

nisohq@cni.org