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A distributed union catalog is a network of bibliographic systems that cooperate to enable their users to discover sites that hold copies of known items. Some participating systems will be traditional union catalogs, others will be single sites with comprehensive collections, and others will be local or regional resource sharing systems. A principal goal of the distributed union catalog is to allow the user to obtain a useful number of locations for an item with a minimal number of searches. Z39.50 (an information protocol standard) is a vital tool in enabling libraries and their patrons handle resource sharing in libraries and the computing environment. For Z39.50 to be used effectively for resource sharing, implementors, particularly library system vendors, must begin to support agreed-upon mechanisms transferring locations, holdings, and circulation information in a standardized way. Various approaches and issues surrounding the electronic transfer of library holdings information through union catalogs are discussed. Appendices include a definition of an OPAC record; and USMARC for "holdings" field list. (SWC)

The virtual Canadian union catalog (vCuc) project is a project among Canadian libraries to use Z39.50 (an information protocol standard) for searching distributed individual library catalogs and union catalogs. This paper summarizes the major technical, vendor, bibliographic data, and administrative issues that must be resolved before the distributed catalog environment will be able to provide the functionality which is available with a centralized union catalog. Solutions and the parties who are responsible for implementing them (librarians, vendors, national libraries and library organizations, library customers, or a combination) are identified. Issues discussed include: retrieval of locations and holdings information; the variety of attributes supported by vendors; inconsistency in vendor and library mapping of use attributes; ability to link from client system to other applications; merging result records of multiple systems; non-standardized use of library symbols; searches for specific serials issues; item level data and need for linkage of circulation and bibliographic records; incomplete cataloging; search terms supported by library; placement of location information and ease of user retrieval; description of Z39.50 features and options available in target system; and charging for the service. Vendors, technical developers, and librarians must continue to work together to find solutions which will assist libraries in providing service to their clients. (SWC)

This study shows strategies which can be used to plan and implement the Canadian National Library's bibliographic data base and the systems which it is to support. The data base would be a subset of a national bibliographic data base which can be brought together in the context of the projected Canadian Library and Information Retrieval Center. Requirements for computer hardware and software are analyzed, and a strategy is outlined for development of the bibliographic data base. (CH)

A summary of the final two-volume report of the Systems Development Project is contained in this document. The project was commissioned by the National Library of Canada to study and design an integrated information system for the library employing, where feasible, electronic data processing. Included are all of the recommendations of the final report, an analysis of the present situation, and activities of the National Library, a description and cost analysis of the proposed information system, implementation requirements, feasibility and advantages of the proposed system, and implications for other libraries and networks. Detailed supporting data, retrospective data, and data on internal problems contained in the final report have been omitted from the summary. (JG)

This preliminary report describes the work to date of the Task Group on Computer/Communication protocols for Bibliographic Data Interchange, which was formed in 1980 to develop a set of protocol standards to facilitate communication between heterogeneous library and information systems within the framework of Open Systems Interconnection (OSI). A brief account of how the group is fulfilling its mandate is provided, including the principal library applications and OSI application and the presentation layer services it considered (including a file transfer protocol, a common command language--CCL, a network directory system, and network virtual terminal), and its role in promoting OSI service and protocol specifications for library applications. In addition, it reflects the task group's current thinking on several issues of protocol design and implementation that are crucial to the realization of a nationwide bibliographic network in Canada and presents four interim recommendations. Four appendices list the terms of reference of the task group and the subcommittee, the members of the task group and CCL subcommittee, and tasks to be undertaken during the next 2-year period. The document includes both English and French-language versions of the report. (LMM)

A pilot project was conducted from May 1980 to November 1983 to test the application of iNet--a decentralized, packet-switched telecommunications network--to bibliographic data interchange in Canada. The principal components of the project were participation of the Bibliographic Common Interest Group (BCIP), a group of libraries with stand-alone, operational, and stable online systems, in seven technical subprojects involving the development and testing of value added network interfaces, online iNet directories, bibliographic data derivation, online interlibrary loan facilities, videotex services, file transfer facilities, and access to online database vendors and other information providers; development of computer/communications protocols for bibliographic data interchange; the addressing of network policy issues; the videography subproject which studied the feasibility of utilizing videodisc and computer/communications technology to further library service objectives; the development of network contract guidelines; and the study of Canadian interlibrary loan and document delivery policies and practices. It was found that it is possible to connect diverse stand-alone and incompatible systems through standard interfaces to a packet-switched data communications network and that iNet was a useful prototype of an open network. This publication (in English and French) describes project methodology and results and presents nine recommendations based on project findings. (ESR)

The Task Group advocates the development, with the guidance and support of the National Library of Canada, of a Canadian Library Network with the objectives of equalizing opportunity for access to information and making use of total Canadian library resources more cost-effective. This network would be composed of three interrelated components--a bibliographic network, a resource network, and a communications network. The bibliographic network would be based on a Canadian National Bibliographic Data Base compiled at the National Library of Canada. The resource network would be made up of the holdings of the National Library and other federal governmental libraries, designated resource libraries across the nation, and unique items held in other libraries. A communications network would consist of a delivery system for the actual transfer of items by such means as the postal service, interorganizational delivery, and information transmission systems. Costs of transmitting materials among libraries and of communications among libraries would be absorbed, alleviated, or, at the least, regionally equalized by the federal government. (Author/JD)

Conducted to review the present status of computerized bibliographic centers in Canada and to report on the most effective means of promoting computerized library network development in that country, this study summary of the findings of seven substudies (1) describes the salient features of 20 Canadian and United States centers; (2) reviews major options relating to the development of a computerized national location service system, as well as technological and cost trends bearing on library and information services networking in Canada; (3) summarizes the principal findings and conclusions of three studies dealing with more general aspects of network management and with the funding of network related research and development in Canada; and (4) summarizes the report compiled from externally submitted briefs concerning the role of the National Library of Canada. (FM)

The purpose of this document is to highlight the major technical issues of interconnection within a broad based, multi-function, multi-user bibliographic data interchange network in Canada, and to indicate specific areas where development work of a technical nature needs to be undertaken. Recent systems development in the U.S. and Canada is reviewed briefly and two basic alternative forms of bibliographic data systems are compared--open versus closed: the open system is advocated for the National Library. A framework is provided for isolating and defining technical issues through discussions of some basic concepts and components. Interconnection problems pertaining to standards and protocols are also discussed, to emphasize the crucial need for control even in an open system, and major areas of technical development are considered, including the identification of network participants, their roles, and resources; and the definition of network protocols at the application, presentation, and session levels of the model. Notes to clarify specialized terms and abbreviations are appended, as well as a list of nine references. (Author/RAA)

Initially undertaken as a review of the achievements of the National Library of Canada during its first 25 years of existence, this study submitted to the Canadian government by the National Librarian includes a set of 11 recommendations for the future development of National Library functions, resources, and services. A brief description of the contemporary Canadian library scene is followed by a review of the role of the National Library; an outline of the current status of research collections, Canadian Studies collections, and Canadian public archival collections, together with recommendations for practice and policy in each of these areas; discussion of the establishment of a national lending service to handle periodicals and government publications, the propects for the development of a Canadian bibliographic network, and actions to be taken toward these ends; and suggestions for the development of more extensive National Library accommodations. A list of recommendations, three figures, and eight appendices, including the text of the National Library Act, a National Library organization chart, and a 46-item bibliography accompany the text, which is printed in English and French. (JL)

This paper provides an update on the status of library systems development in Canada and describes the new initiatives which the National Library is undertaking cooperatively with other institutions to facilitate the development of a nationwide decentralized bibliographic communication network. In order to place current network initiatives and the leadership role of the National Library in perspective, the highlights of library automation in Canada over the last two decades are reviewed. The role of the National Library in network development is then recounted, with emphasis on the various task groups which have taken part in specific activities. The characteristics and differences between closed and open library/information networks are also discussed, and major steps which have been taken toward implementation of a decentralized Canadian library network are outlined, and the importance of specific committees and interest groups in network implementation is stressed. (Author/JL)

A survey of university department heads in selected social sciences and humanities departments of Canadian universities was undertaken to determine the extent to which bibliographic training formed a component of curriculum during the year 1982-1983. The questionnaire was administered to 407 department heads of whom 241 (59.2%) replied. For the purposes of the study, bibliographic instruction included training in bibliographic citation; procedures involved in bibliographic work as applied to critical studies; bibliographic compilation; and the use of resources to aid research. The first part of the report provides an introduction, an overview of the full text with selected statistics, and recommendations for the improvement of bibliographic tools and knowledge. The introductory material is followed by an analysis of the returned questionnaires and a review of the survey's results. Tables accompany the text. Appendices include: (1) a detailed presentation of the methodology and response levels by region, language of institution, discipline, and size of the university; (2) a selection of the separate courses described by the respondents; (3) lists of required and recommended texts; and (4) the questionnaire. (THC)