Re: IESG Information Architecture

[[e-mail]]

>From: [e-mail]

>MARC is a format for exchanging bibliograhic records. If you don't need to
>know, you don't want to know! Z39.58 (CCL) is something I only know of by
>repute (there's a CCL query type in Z39.50 (wais). Nobody uses it, and 
>I'm told that it's a complete waste of time, as it doesn't actually do anything
>useful). 

I've replied to Eric personally but I really can't let this go
unanswered on the list.  It is not my intent to start any flame 
wars.

Yes MARC is a format for exchanging bibliographic records and 
it is complex but it is not incomprehensible and it has served 
the library community well for many years.

I don't know who told you CCL is a complete waste of time and that
nobody uses it.  What CCL does (and I am by no means an expert on
this or any other standard) is specify the commands and syntax used 
to search a database.  For example FIND is the CCL command to initiate
a search, HELP is the command to get help and so on.  It is in fact
used by several library systems (Data Research Associates for one)
and is implicit in the search engines of many CD-ROM products.
Granted it was developed before many of the whiz-bang capabilities
of the MAC and windows were available and can seem archaic.
Nevertheless, it is a standard that works and that does not
unecessarily tie the hands of developers.  It also does a good
job of serving the VT100 community, which will surely go away
some day but which just as surely will be here for 3-5 more years.


     Michael Lynch			Systems Librarian, Bertrand Library
     [phone]			Bucknell University
     [e-mail]		Lewisburg, PA.  17837