Adding a Z39.50 connection

Biblioscape comes with 2,000 plus Z39.50 connection files. Most of these are university and college library catalogs. The rest are public library catalogs and commercial citation databases. If there is a Z39.50 source you need to use that is not included, you can add it to Biblioscape easily. You need to know a few key parameters. The most important ones are: server address, database code, and port number. You are most likely to find these on provider's web site. Or, you can ask your librarian to find this information for you.

1.	Select the "Online Search" tab in Biblioscape, and click the "Z39.50" tab at the top. To add a new Z39.50 connection, click the right mouse button and select "New Connection".

2.	On the "General" tab, you have to enter many parameters. The most important one is the "Import Filter".

o	Connection name: Enter a name for your Z39.50 connection. This name used for you to remember a connection, so you can use any name. Most connections in Biblioscape use a library's abbreviated name.

Based On: If the new connection you want to click shares many properties with an existing one, you can select the existing connection and click the "Base On" button to create a duplicate. You can then modify the different parts to make the new one. In such cases, the "Based On" field will be filled with the original connection name.

o	Provider: Enter the database provider's name. If it is for a university library catalog, enter the name "Library Catalogs". If the connection is for a commercial citation database, enter the company's name.

o	Favorite: Check this box if you want the connection to appear in the "Z39.50" tab. Since it is not necessary to display all available connections, only the ones marked as a favorite will be displayed on "Z39.50" tab.

o	Last update: The date you last modified the connection. Use a 6 digit number starting with the year followed by the month and date.

o	Import Filter: This is the most important parameter on the "General" tab. Setting it wrong will cause reference importing not to work. In most cases, select the import filter "MARC 21 XML". If your database provider is from East Europe, select the import filter "UNIMARC XML".

o	Comments: You can add your comments here. If there are things such as searching tips and tricks about the connection, you should write it here for other users and future reference.

On the "Connection Settings" tab, you need to set 3 important parameters: server address, database code, and port number. You must get these 3 parameters correct. Otherwise, Biblioscape will not be able to connect to the Z39.50 server. You can get them from the database provider's web site. You can ask your librarian to help you find the information. Librarians are familiar with Z39.50 services that are available to your institution.

o	Server Address: Enter the domain name of the Z39.50 server. Domain name is a symbolic representation of the numerical IP address. If you don't know the domain name, you can enter the server's IP address instead.

o	Database Name: Enter a common name for the database you will be searching on the Z39.50 server. You can use any name.

o	Database Code: This is the code needed to tell the Z39.50 server which database to use. If this code is entered incorrectly, your search will not work.

o	Element Set: You can choose to return full results or brief results. Choose "F" in almost all cases.

o	Port Number: This is the port used for communication between Biblioscape and the Z39.50 server. You must get this number correct.

o	Record Syntax: This specifies the format in which the client wants to see the metadata. Choosing OPAC will work in most cases.

o	Text Format: Choose the format for the data returned by the Z39.50 server. If you chose to use "MARC 21 XML" as the import filter, you have to choose "xml" to match it.

o	Character Set: Choose the character set for the text returned by the Z39.50 server. If you leave it blank, ANSI will be used, and will work for most western languages.

o	Login Required: Most Z39.50 services are free, but some services for commercial citation databases are not free. Your institution may have purchased the access. You can get the login information from your librarian. Check this box if the connection is not free and requires login information.

o	Group ID: Some Z39.50 services require a Group ID. Get this information from your librarian.

On the "Search Attributes" tab, enter a list of search fields supported by your server. You can find this information on the provider's web site. Ask your librarian if you cannot find it. If it is not possible to find these parameters, leaving them blank. Biblioscape still can let you search the server, you just cannot limit a search term to a database field.