The M25 group of libraries is undertaking a project to enable searches to be made across separate university library catalogues by selectable category (e.g. subject, location) such as those you can find at present on the M25 page . Middlesex University is participating in this to test Horizon's capabilities in this area.

The project may be aimed at serials and be something like what SALSER provides.

The difference is in the technology: SALSER actually consists of a database on one computer which contains data which is copied at regular intervals from the source databases.

This enables serial data to be retrieved and has a link to more detailed data or to data on the library itself. It does not have any link to the library catalogue itself. Incidentally the M25 does have such a link (via telnet) at the moment.

The M25 Link project will actually allow a search of data across a selection of catalogues using the Z39.50 interface which allows parallel searching of different databases.

If you want to see something of the kind of development this would be, go to the Clumps database list. Here you can try out some of this kind of search.

To do this at serials holdings requires more standards to be set up and these are being developed within the UKOLN MODELS programme. This is part of the eLib programme. To see the kind of thing they are doing, you can try their Toy Box.

More information can be obtained from Alan Hopkinson who is coordinating Middlesex University's role in this and also doing a study for UKOLN MODELS on standards needed for access to serial holdings data in the distributed library.

Last updated: 12 April 99