Participants' Information: Matthew Dovey

Mr. Dovey has worked for Oxford University L.A.S for several years (currently on part-time secondment to a research fellowship at Kings College London), and has developed numerous software applications, including cataloguing tools, and Z39.50 client and server applications. He has advised several eLib Phase III, JISC and EU projects and given a number of presentations and workshops on various library-related technologies including Z39.50. He has published papers on: Metadata; Object Orientation Metadata; Agent Orientated Digital Library Systems, The Philosophy of information Science and Music Information Retrieval. (e-mail: matthew.dovey@las.ox.ac.uk)

JAFER Toolkit Project

The JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee) has funded a two year project, JAFER (Java Access For Electronic Resources), under the DNER (Distributed Network for Electronic Resources) development programme. This project began on 4th January 2001.

JAFER's goal is to address the problems highlighted in the JISC Circular 5/99 "Z39.50 is currently seen as the key for linking portals to dataset in a flexible way (it is a rich and versatile standard), but suffers from a stigma that it is difficult or a heavy weight protocol (limited by the existence of relatively few powerful Z39.50 based tools and servers)". To achieve this JAFER will produce a lightweight Z39.50 toolkit with the key objective being "easy to use". The team will produce a visual toolkit to protect those building portals and information sources from the intricate technical details of the protocols involved and allow users to concentrate on the actual content. The toolkit is aimed at non-technical staff for building Internet based teaching and learning packages (including document ordering facilities) consistent with the (DNER) vision.

Although the technology involved will allow the programmers to create a versatile and scalable toolkit (written in Java, it will be modular and Open-Source), the intended audience of librarians, academics and information providers will find that the technology will be incorporated within the infrastructure, enabling them to achieve their objectives more effectively without learning the complex technical details.

We have already deployed some early versions of the software within Oxford. With the assistance of the Oxford Libraries Automation Service webmaster (Katherine Ferguson) we have added a reading list generation option to Oxford's web OPAC. This generates HTML snippets that can be cut and pasted into web pages to produce reading lists. These reading lists include hyperlinks back into the catalogue via a servlet component based on JAFER. We are making the servlet available to other Geac customers and will be making this more widely available from the website. Also, since it did not prove difficult, we have developed a WAP interface to the OLIS (Oxford Libraries Information Service).

JAFER is also working with the Z39.50 community to develop an implementers' agreement for operating Z39.50 over XML and SOAP rather than the current BER (Basic Encoding Rules) implementations. This also involves the development of gateways between Z39.50 over XML and Z39.50 over BER and looking at how to incorporate this version of Z39.50 in the forthcoming next generation of development tools.

JAFER has also established strong working relationships with the following projects and information services:

• Oxford University Refugee Studies Centre - is using the JAFER prototype to provide Z39.50 access to their catalogue, which allows it to be included in the user testing of the e-Lib MALIBU Project.
• RSLP Book History and Design Project - collaboration with Crossnet PLC is developing a portal to the collections involved in the project using the JAFER software.
• RSLP Mapping Asia project - we are looking at the collection level records that this project is producing in order to modify JAFER to cope with collection level searching as well as item level searching.
• The IUFRO Task Force on Global Forest Information Service - we are working with this project to provide access to Z39.50 services in their portal development plans.
• US Geological Survey - we are working with Eliot Christian by providing UDDI to Z39.50 gateways in establishing the feasibility of UDDI for GILS.
• The EU ONE-2 Project - ONE-2 are planning to use the JAFER prototype to provide access to the various targets during some of the trial phases.

These prototypes and liaisons will ensure a suitable and useable quality product for a global audience. This will also be backed up by a number of workshops in future months, and the establishment of a web presence and our established mailing list.