There are two realistic ways of doing this sort of thing. Note: this is what I do for a living – library automation – so I think I’m qualified to reply.
a.. Creating a physical Union catalog – that is, collecting the MARC records and holdings information, loading them into a single database, indexing them and then applying geographical limits to searches. This is what OCLC does in WorldCat, and to a lesser degree what certain statewide Union Catalogs – for example, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Michigan, and Wisconsin – do to make all library holdings in the state available. The main issue with this approach is upkeep and maintenance. Each of the individual libraries that is in the Union Catalog needs to output their records periodically (monthly, quarterly) and upload them to the host, and the host needs to load and index them. This means that the database being viewed is always a month or more out-of-date. a.. The second approach (virtual union catalog) is through the use of Z39.50 (remote searching). A local library needs to have a Z39.50 client capable of searching remote libraries that host Z39.50 servers. With Z39.50, you’re searching the real, live-up to the minute holdings of the remote library. You want to look for a book on Herzl that the library bought yesterday, and it shows up. There are a couple of downsides to this approach: - you or your system needs to have a Z39.50 client - the targets you want to search need to support Z39.50 servers – not all do, particularly smaller ones - Unless your system does federated searching (i.e. being able to broadcast a Z39.30 search to multiple Z39.50 servers at the same time), then you’ll be searching catalogs one-by-one So all the tools exist today. Both take work. Ted Ted Koppel tkop...@comcast.net From: Toby Harris Sent: Thursday, January 5, 2017 4:37 PM To: Martha McMahon ; hasaf...@lists.service.ohio-state.edu Cc: en...@aol.com Subject: Re: [ha-Safran] Questions for Jewish Librarians Dear Martha: I don’t know of one – other than Worldcat, which smaller Jewish libraries and maybe some academics aren’t members of. Sounds like a great idea! Toby Harris, Librarian Temple De Hirsch Sinai 206-693-3379 Seattle 425-559-2578 Bellevue http://lib.tdhs-nw.org for library hours, programs and CATALOG From: Hasafran [mailto:hasafran-boun...@lists.osu.edu] On Behalf Of Martha McMahon Sent: Thursday, January 5, 2017 11:00 AM To: hasaf...@lists.service.ohio-state.edu Cc: en...@aol.com Subject: [ha-Safran] Questions for Jewish Librarians A member of the board of the Jewish Virtual Library posed these questions if anyone can share their thoughts: I wanted to know if 1. there is a website which combines all digital catalogues from Jewish libraries around the world, which would allow complex searches, such as "show me all books on Theodore Herzl's childhood within a 50 mile radius of Los Angeles" 2. Would Jewish librarians want such a site constructed if not available? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- __ Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) ================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: hasaf...@lists.service.ohio-state.edu To join Ha-Safran, update or change your subscription, etc. - click here: https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran Questions, problems, complaints, compliments send to: galro...@osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.service.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html Earlier Listserver: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org -- Hasafran mailing list Hasafran@lists.osu.edu https://lists.osu.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran
__ Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) ================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: hasaf...@lists.service.ohio-state.edu To join Ha-Safran, update or change your subscription, etc. - click here: https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran Questions, problems, complaints, compliments send to: galro...@osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.service.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html Earlier Listserver: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org -- Hasafran mailing list Hasafran@lists.osu.edu https://lists.osu.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran