The EDINA Xgrain Project has now become the GetRef service. For further details and information on how to request trial access to GetRef, please visit the GetRef site.

• Introductory presentation given at the JISC End of Programme (5/99) meeting on 4 July 2003.
• Presentation given at the JISC Creating Environments for Learning conference on 3 December 2002.
• If you have any further queries, please email Sandy.Shaw@ed.ac.uk (project manager) or Ben.Soares@ed.ac.uk (lead engineer).

The EDINA Xgrain Project (pronounced "cross grain") is part of the JOIN-UP Programme, and is funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee of the higher and further education funding councils, as part of its programme to develop the Distributed National Electronic Resource (DNER).

Project Aim

To enhance and promote the use and usability of specialist Abstracting and Indexing, and electronic Tables of Contents, services across the DNER in learning and teaching, as well as research.

Project Objectives

• To provide a broker for use by DNER portals and local institutions that will enable cross-searching between Z39.50-compliant abstracting and indexing, and tables of contents, services;
• To provide a cross-search portal to enable the end-user to carry out 'shallow' cross-searching of specialist abstracting and indexing and electronic tables of contents services, with the option of linking to the native interfaces, for 'in-depth' searching;
• To work with 10 Learning and Teaching Associate Sites to undertake a user requirements analysis for development of a cross-search portal that meets the needs of learning and teaching, and to promote its use in learning and teaching;
• To develop the cross-searching portal that meets the needs of learning and teaching, by providing contents-level descriptions of the services, and adding appropriate content for learning and teaching purposes.