ENDORSEMENT OF THE BATH PROFILE
(December 2001)
The International Coalition
of Library Consortia (ICOLC) endorses the Bath Profile as a promising avenue
for achieving true interoperability between networked information systems. In an effort to foster improvement in the reliability and
usefulness of results from a search of one or more Z39.50-compliant databases,
ICOLC member consortia endorse the use of the Bath Profile by the integrated library system vendor community,
e-resource publishers, aggregators, and vendors, libraries, and library
consortia. Across all functional areas of the Bath Profile, ICOLC looks
for compliance at both Levels 0 and 1.
Because the Bath Profile continues to evolve, ICOLC strongly encourages
compliance at higher levels when those levels are defined.
The Bath Profile is an
international Z39.50 specification supporting library applications and resource
discovery. It describes and specifies a
subset of ANSI/NISO
Z39.50-1995, Information Retrieval (Z39.50): Application Service Definition and
Protocol Specification (ISO 23950)
(http://lcweb.loc.gov/z3950/agency/document.html). Version 1.1 of the Profile, released in June
2000, with minor clarifications in February 2001,is endorsed as an ISO
Internationally Recognised Profile (IRP).
Z39.50 is a communications
standard describing the rules and procedures by which two or more computer
systems communicate whilst searching and retrieving information from
databases. The Bath Profile articulates
the features of the Z39.50 standard that support effective and consistent use
of Z39.50-compliant software for a range of library-related functions. The National Library of Canada (http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/bath/) serves as
the maintenance agency for the Bath Profile.
In endorsing the Bath Profile, the ICOLC notes that especially Area A (bibliographic records)
and Area B (holdings) will have immediate benefit. ICOLC has long appreciated the value of interoperability,
broadcast searching, virtual union catalogs, and cross-domain searching. ICOLC
realizes that standards organizations, libraries, consortia, database vendors,
and integrated library system vendors will need to work together to realize the
potential of Z39.50 and the international Bath Profile. Furthermore, the functionality and
specifications identified in the Bath Profile are intended to be incorporated
into more detailed national, regional, provincial, and state agreements. ICOLC supports the development and
deployment of these complementary profiles of more focused application and
geographic scope.
In a world of multiple
systems, communication protocols, data formats, metadata schemes, controlled
vocabularies, character sets, and other essential elements of networked
communication and information transfer, at times the goal of true
interoperability seems elusive and unattainable. Although the Bath Profile is not the single solution to all
interoperability challenges, if broadly adopted within the information
community it would become a valuable part of the solution.
Library
consortia foster collaboration, and interoperability is one of many necessary
conditions that make collaboration possible.
Because the Bath Profile promotes a specific type of interoperability,
ICOLC strongly supports the multitude of research and deployment efforts
associated with the Bath Profile. ICOLC
is pleased to see that a variety of organizations and vendors (e.g., the M25
Consortium of Higher Education Libraries, the National Library of Canada, and
the SIRSI Corporation) have endorsed and implemented the Bath Profile.
Adopters of
This Statement
This
endorsement was adopted in principle by representatives of the ICOLC member
consortia listed below. This statement
does not necessarily represent the official views of each consortium listed.
Consortia
whose member representatives have adopted this statement:
As
of February 4, 2002
The Alberta Library
ALICE (Appalachian Library Information Cooperative Endeavors)
Amigos Library Services
ANKOS (Anatolian University Library Consortium)
AULC (Arizona Universities Library Consortium)
ARKLink
ASERL (Association of Southeastern Research Libraries)
New England Law Library Consortium (NELLCO)
Bibliographical Center for Research (BCR)
BIBSAM Sweden: Consortium of Research Libraries
British Columbia Electronic Library Network (Canada)
California Digital Library
California State University - SEIR (Systemwide Electronic Information
Resources)
Canadian National Site Licensing Project
CAUL (Council of Australian University Librarians)
CBUC-Consorci de Biblioteques Universitāries de Catalunya / Consortium
of Academic Libraries of Catalonia
Chesapeake Information & Research Library Alliance (CIRLA)
CIC Center for Library Initiatives
College Center for Library Automation (CCLA)
Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries
Colorado State Library
Council of Atlantic University Libraries
Council of Federal Libraries Consortium (Canada)
Council of Prairie and Pacific University Libraries (COPPUL)
CREPUQ (Sub-Committee on Libraries of the Conference of Rectors and
Principals of Universities of Quebec)
Danish Electronic Research Library (DEF)
Fenway Library Consortium
FinELib
Florida Center for Library Automation
GALILEO
Greater Western Library Alliance
HEAL-Link (HEllenic Academic Libraries Link)
Illinois Cooperative Collection Management Program (ICCMP)
Illinois Digital Academic Library (IDAL)
JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee)
Kentucky Virtual Library
KLN (Keystone Library Network)
LOUIS
Maine Info Net Consortium
MALMAD - Israel Center for Digital Information Services
Michigan Library Consortium
MINITEX Library Information Network
MOBIUS:Linking Missouri's Academic Libraries
NAAL (Network of Alabama Academic Libraries)
Nashville Area Library Alliance (NALA)
NC LIVE (North Carolina Libraries for Virtual Education)
NEFLIN
NELINET, Inc.
NEOS Library Consortium
NERL (NorthEast Research Libraries Consortium)
Network of Alabama Academic Libraries
Nevada Council of Academic Libraries
New England Law Library Consortium (NELLCO)
Novanet
NYLINK
OhioLINK
Ontario Colleges Bibliocentre
Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL)
PALCI
PALINET
Pioneer, Utah's Online Library
QULOC (Queensland University Libraries Office of Cooperation)
SCELC
SCONUL
SOLINET (Southeastern Library Network)
Southeastern Wisconsin Information Technology Exchange (SWITCH)
SUNYConnect
TENN-SHARE
TexShare
Triangle Research Libraries Network
UKB (Dutch Association of University Libraries, Royal Library and
Library of the Royal Academy of Science)
University System of Maryland
University of Texas System Digital Library
Utah Academic Library Consortium
Virtual Academic Library Environment in NJ (VALE)
VIVA (The Virtual Library of Virginia)
VOWB (Vlaams Overlegorgaan Wetenschappelijk bibliotheekwerk vzw)
WiLS (Wisconsin Library Services)
WRLC (Washington Research Library Consortium)
About
the International Coalition of Library Consortia (icolc)
The International Coalition
of Library Consortia (ICOLC) has been in existence since 1996. The Coalition is an international, informal
group currently comprising over 160 library consortia in North America, Europe,
Australia, Asia, and Africa. The member
consortia serve all types and sizes of libraries. ICOLC facilitates discussion among consortia on issues of common
interest, and conducts two meetings per year in North America and one meeting
per year in Europe. The organization is
dedicated to keeping its members informed about electronic information
resources, pricing practices of electronic publishers and vendors, and other issues
of importance to consortium directors and governing boards. The Coalition also meets with the
information provider community to discuss product offerings and issues of
mutual concern.
More information about ICOLC
can be found at http://www.library.yale.edu/consortia
or contact Tom Sanville, Executive Director, OhioLINK, Columbus OH. Phone: 614-728-3600 ext. 322; tom@ohiolink.edu
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT, PLEASE CONTACT:
Tom
Peters, Director, Center for Library Initiatives,
Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), 302
East John Street, Suite 1705, Champaign,
IL 61820-5698 Phone: 217-244-9239 ; tpeters@cic.uiuc.edu