Setting Up a Z39.50 Library Connection for Broadcast Searching

Your library may want to let your users search other libraries’ databases (or broadcast search) using the Z39.50 protocol. Your users can access as many remote Z39.50 library databases as you want to add connections and indexes for.

To set up a connection to a Z39.50 library, you must set up these things in Information Portal:

Library connection. This contains the information you need to connect to a Z39.50 library.
Indexes. These are all of the indexes for the Z39.50 library. You cannot search a Z39.50 library without adding each index that you want Information Portal to search.

If you want to, you can also customize these things for a Z39.50 library:

Search result displays. These determine how the results of a search look on an Information Portal searching page for a Z39.50 library (for example, how many elements of information is on a browse display and what the list of authors is labeled). Your library may not want to use the default Z39.50 displays delivered with Information Portal. You can change how browse, summary, full bib, item, and other search results should display in Information Portal
Result types. These determine which search result displays Information Portal uses for each type of Z39.50 search (or index). (For example, you may have a call number search to which you want to assign a special full bib display that you created.) If you want to use any of the displays that you have created, you must add them to a result type.
Redirected searches. These determine which data elements inside a Z39.50 search result display can be made a hyperlink or “redirected” on a search page. When users click the redirected element, Information Portal performs a new search on the Z39.50 library database. You choose which elements are hyperlinked and what kind of new search Information Portal performs when users click the hyperlink. (For example, your library may want to let users click the author’s name on a full bib page to see a browse list of authors on the Z39.50 library database.)

Similar concepts and tasks are explained elsewhere in this guide, but these tasks are specific to Z39.50 libraries.

As you add an index, you may find that there is no universal ID available for the index. You can add the universal ID that you need. Also, you can change any universal ID to fit your library’s needs. (Universal IDs let you match your search indexes with Z39.50 search indexes so that Information Portal can perform searches.) You can also add secondary or “alternate” universal IDs so that you can search your local Horizon library and any Z39.50 libraries for titles in a power search (or at the same time).

When you set up your broadcast libraries, compare the universal IDs in the searching library with those in the library being searched. If the IDs do not match, you need to add secondary universal IDs to the libraries being searched so they match the universal IDs for the searching library.

Also, when you add a display, you can choose which Z39.50 lookup code to use for a specific element in an item display. If the Z39.50 lookup code you want is not available, you can add it. Also, you can change any Z39.50 MARC map to fit your library’s needs.

If you want to, you can set up your library to be searched as a Z39.50 library. (For more information, see Setting Up a Horizon Index Limit.)

This section explains these topics:

 


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