Z39.50:
Selected List of Resources  

Compiled by
William E. Moen and Teresa Lepchenske
School of Library and Information Sciences, University of North Texas

There are literally hundreds of articles and reports on Z39.50. The following is not a comprehensive list. Rather, we have selected documents and resources--both electronic and print--to serve as a starting point for people interested in learning about Z39.50. We are currently compiling a major annotated bibliography of Z39.50 literature. In the meantime, the "Useful Z39.50 Websites" below provide pointers to a rich set of information for those wanting to go beyond the basic covered in the introductory overviews.

Introductory Overviews of Z39.50

Biblio Tech Review (2000). Z39.50: Part 1--An Overview.
<http://www.biblio-tech.com/html/z39.50.html>
Defines Z39.50 and examines its basic benefits and functionality. The document examines the implications of Z39.50 for libraries in the various areas (cataloging, ILL, Web Searching, etc) of information retrieval. Includes a check list for assessing products and links to product reviews. The article includes some well conceived diagrams of Z39.50 configurations.

Biblio Tech Review and Evans, Peter. (2000). Z39.50: Part 2--Technical Details
<http://www.biblio-tech.com/html/z39.50_part_2.html>
Continues from Part 1 (above) but gets into more specific detail and describes the different facilities of Z39.50. Author's aim is to identify the functionality available in Z39.50.

Finnigan, Sonya and Ward, Nigel (1997). Z39.50 Made Simple.
<http://www.dstc.edu.au/DDU/projects/ZINC/zsimple.htm>
Describes Z39.50's basic elements and introduces the Z39.50 vocabulary in nontechnical terms. Includes diagrams of client server model and both user and implementor perspective of baseline implementation. Appendices of baseline implementation, object registries, and summary of Version 3 facilities.

Hakala, Juha (1996). Z39.50-1995: Information Retrieval Protocol.
<http://renki.helsinki.fi/z3950/z3950pr.html>
Includes a brief glossary of Z39.50 related terms. Lists Bib-1 Attribute Types and selected Attribute Values and enumerates Z39.50 services. The document also explores some problems and current developments (rank list queries, ILL services, and projects) for the Z39.50 protocol.

Hammer, Sebastian and Favaro, John ( 1996). Z39.50 and the World Wide Web D-Lib Magazine.
<http://mirrored.ukoln.ac.uk/lis-journals/dlib/dlib/dlib/march96/briefings/03indexdata.html> 
Explores the versatility of the Z39.50 protocol with regard to its ability to provide structure and services beyond the standard bibliographic applications. Extols the strengths of the web and the potential for merging with structured searching and document discovery from Z39.50 to improve search and retrieval in the web environment.

Lynch, Clifford A. (1997). The Z39.50 Information Retrieval Standard - Part I: A Strategic View of Its Past, Present and Future.  D-Lib Mag.
<http://mirrored.ukoln.ac.uk/lis-journals/dlib/dlib/dlib/april97/04lynch.html>
Provides details of how Z39.50 was modeled, standardized, and implemented in a distributed systems environment. The paper includes a brief overview of Z39.50's history and development timeline.

Moen, William E. (1995). The ANSI/NISO Z39.50 Protocol: Information Retrieval in the Information Infrastructure.
<http://www.cni.org/pub/NISO/docs/Z39.50-brochure/>
Document in revision and to be republished 1998. Provides a basic overview of the standard, and includes a list of resources for further information and project information.

Turner, Fay (1995). An Overview of Z39.50. National Library of Canada UDT Occasional Paper National Library of Canada. Revised January 1997.
<http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/publications/netnotes/notes8.htm>
A brief, authoritative introduction to the background and functionality of Z39.50, as well as an introduction to the vocabulary and the ZIG. Includes a pointer to the National Library of Canada Z39.50 Toolkit Software.

Useful Z39.50 Websites

Z39.50 Resource Page <http://www.niso.org/z3950.html>
NISO provides this comprehensive resource page that provides current links to numerous Z39.50 resources. The Z39.50 related projects and publications listed have an international scope.

Library of Congress Z39.50 Maintenance Agency Site.  <http://lcweb.loc.gov/z3950/agency/>
The official source for Z39.50 information. Includes electronic version of the standard plus essential information related to implementors and implementation.  Links to various technical papers and standards documents.

Z39.50 Implementors Group (ZIG).  <http://lcweb.loc.gov/z3950/agency/zig/zig.html>
The ZIG is a group of developers and implementors striving to improve the standard. For technical issues and answers regarding interoperability, protocol enhancements, and glitches in the standard these are the people to consult.

Printed Works

ANSI/NISO Z39.50-1995, Information Retrieval (Z39.50): Application Service Definition and Protocol Specification. Bethesda, MD: NISO Press, 1995. Link to NISO Press <http://www.niso.org/publctns.htmll> for ordering information or get electronic version of the Z39.50 Standard from the Maintenance Agency.

Michael, James A and Hinnebusch, Mark. (1995). From A to Z39.50: a Networking Primer. Westport, CT: Mecklermedia. Just as the name suggests, this book examines Z39.50 in the network environment from technical issues to future projections. In addition to the primer material (chapter three), the book goes on to examine technical aspects of the standard. The index offers references to terms.

Turner, Fay. (1997). "Z39.50: The Basics." In Sara L. Randall (Ed.), Up and Running: Implementing Z39.50. Proceedings of a Symposium Sponsored by the State Library of Iowa, November 26, 1996, Ames, Iowa. Bethesday, MD: NISO Press.

Recent Evaluation Studies of Z39.50 Implementations and Projects

Blue Angel Technologies, Inc. (1998). An Evaluation of Z39.50 within the SILO Project. <http://server.silo.lib.ia.us/bluang.html>. Presents the results of a study evaluating the use of the Z39.50 within the State of Iowa Libraries Online (SILO) project.

Hinnebusch, Mark. (1998, August). Report to the CIC on the State of Z39.50 within the Consortium. <http://ntx2.cso.uiuc.edu/cic/cli/z39-50report.htm>. A large scale assessment of Z39.50 applications with the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) as part of the development of their Virtual Electronic Library initiative.

Compiled by William E. Moen wemoen@unt.edu and Teresa Lepchenske. School of Library and Information Sciences, University of North Texas. April 1998 with subsequent revisions. Reprint by permission only and copies should contain this credit line information.

Last update: May 2000

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