New SUNCAT z39.50 server hostname

The SUNCAT z39.50 targets are now available at z.suncat.ac.uk. You may want to change your z39.50 configuration to point to z.suncat.ac.uk rather than newcat.edina.ac.uk to ensure continual access throughout the downtime tomorrow. See 'Downloading facility of MARC Records' and 'Free z39.50 connection details' for full details on how to connect.

Z39.50 Access on Thursday 30th June

This is a notification of some scheduled downtime on the SUNCAT Z39.50 service on Thursday 30th June. This downtime will only affect Z39.50 access to SUNCAT, not the web OPAC.

We hope to switch from newcat.edina.ac.uk to z.suncat.ac.uk shortly before the downtime so you may want to change your Z39.50 configuration to point to z.suncat.ac.uk, ensuring continual Z39.50 access throughout the downtime.

Please check the SUNCAT blog on Thursday for confirmation and details of the change.

Please contact the EDINA helpdesk at edina@ed.ac.uk if you have any queries

SUNCAT updated

SUNCAT has been updated. Updates from the following libraries were loaded into the catalogue in the last week. The dates displayed indicate when the files were received by SUNCAT.

• Cardiff University (15 Jun 11)
• Directory of Open Access Journals (10 Jun 11)
• Liverpool University (20 Jun 11)
• Newcastle University (16 Jun 11)
• Oxford University (23 May 11)
• Royal Society of Medicine (17 Jun 11)
• Southampton University (19 Jun 11)
• Swansea University (15 Jun 11)

To check on the currency of other libraries on SUNCAT please check the updates page for further details.

SUNCAT updated

SUNCAT has been updated. Updates from the following libraries were loaded into the catalogue in the last week. The dates displayed indicate when the files were received by SUNCAT.

• Aberystwyth University (03 Jun 11)
• CONSER (15 Jun 11)
• Edinburgh Napier University (09 Jun 11)
• Glasgow University (03 Jun 11)
• Hull University (06 Jun 11)
• ISSN (11 Jun 11)
• Kingston University (11 Jun 11)
• Leicester University (09 Jun 11)
• London School of Economics and Political Science (13 Jun 11)
• National Art Library (08 Jun 11)
• Royal College of Music (16 Jun 11)
• Sheffield University (14 Jun 11)
• Southampton University (12 Jun 11)
• York University (09 Jun 11)

To check on the currency of other libraries on SUNCAT please check the updates page for further details.

SUNCAT and Open / Linked Data

EDINA and SUNCAT in particular are starting to explore Open and Linked Data, and would like to ask for your help!

SUNCAT is funded by JISC (http://www.jisc.ac.uk/). JISC has been actively involved in Open Data, which has resulted in the Discovery Open Metadata Principles (http://discovery.ac.uk/businesscase/principles/). As a result of this, SUNCAT would like to be able to open up the data that is sent by Contributing Libraries. The Resource Discovery Task Force (http://rdtf.jiscinvolve.org/wp/) was instrumental in linking the opening up of data and SUNCAT involvement. Open bibliographic data offers the chance for librarians and, indeed, anyone, to reuse the data to build innovative services for researches, teachers, students and librarians.

A major first step in the process of making metadata fully open is obtaining the consent of the Contributing Libraries to allow EDINA to make the supplied serials data open, under an Open Data Commons Public Domain Dedication and Licence
(URL: http://www.opendatacommons.org/licenses/pddl/ ) with reference to the ODC Attribution Share Alike Community Norms (the set of norms are published at: http://www.opendatacommons.org/norms/odc-by-sa/ ). Please contact us for more details of the licence that we have drawn up. We would be expecting all Contributing Libraries who allow us to open up their serials data to sign this.

Once the data has been made open, we may be able to transform it into a set of triples, and release it as Linked Data. This is dependent on the time scale of the project, and the work that we are able to complete in that time.

We understand that there may be licensing issues with allowing EDINA to use all of the metadata that is supplied to us through regular updates to SUNCAT. However, it would be very useful to be permitted to use some or all of this data, such as letting us use records that you created originally, and did not download from an external bibliographic resource.

It must be stressed that this is exploratory project work. As we are working to a tight timescale, we would like to work with a limited number of Contributing Libraries in the first instance.

We would like to hear from you if you would be happy for us to publish some or all of your serials metadata under an Open Data Commons PDD Licence. Please contact us through the SUNCAT email (suncat@staffmail.ed.ac.uk).

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Natasha.

Natasha Aburrow-Jones
SUNCAT Project Officer

SUNCAT updated

SUNCAT has been updated. Updates from the following libraries were loaded into the catalogue in the last week. The dates displayed indicate when the files were received by SUNCAT.

• Dundee University (06 Jun 11)
• Exeter University (03 Jun 11)
• Imperial College, London (01 Jun 11)
• King's College London (01 Jun 11)
• National Library of Scotland (01 Jun 11)
• Nottingham University (01 Jun 11)
• St Andrews University (01 Jun 11)
• School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London (03 Jun 11)
• Southampton University (05 Jun 11)
• Warwick University (09 Jun 11)

To check on the currency of other libraries on SUNCAT please check the updates page for further details.

SUNCAT updated

SUNCAT has been updated. Updates from the following libraries were loaded into the catalogue in the last week. The dates displayed indicate when the files were received by SUNCAT.

• British Library (28 May 11)
• Cambridge University (01 Jun 11)
• Cardiff University (17 May 11)
• CONSER (01 Jun 11)
• Kent University (01 Jun 11)
• Liverpool University (25 May 11)
• London Business School (01 Jun 11)
• Newcastle University (23 May 11)
• Queen's University Belfast (01 Jun 11)
• Royal College of Nursing (01 Jun 11)
• Southampton University (29 May 11)
• Swansea University (16 May 11)

To check on the currency of other libraries on SUNCAT please check the updates page for further details.