Institute of Information Science - IZUM
Service provider, software company
IZUM is an information infrastructure service for Slovene science, culture and education. The activities IZUM is mainly engaged in are the development and operation of:
IZUM is a public non-profit institution organised in 9 units: Management and Service Department, Computer Engineering, SICRIS Information Service, Documentation, Shared Cataloguing & COBIB Development, COBISS2 Software Development, COBISS3 Software Development, Database Management, COBISS Users' Service Group. At the end of 2000, the number of employees amounted to 82.3.
| COBISS/Cataloguing | COBISS3/Acquisition |
| COBISS/OPAC | COBISS3/Interlibrary Loan |
| COBISS/Circulation | COBISS3/Reports |
| COBISS/Reports | COBISS3/Administration |
COBISS3 V2.0 software with a new segment COBISS3/Acquisition and a new user interface was installed.
Within the framework of the project the following activities were carried out in 2000:
Participation in the preparation of the COBISS General List of Subject Headings.
Development of the download functionality of bibliographic records from WorldCat via OCLC Z39.50 server and the translation of The Concise AACR2 into Slovene.
Upgraded user interface, intermediate search mode, additional restriction by types of material, viewing list of terms in all search indexes, access to SwetScan databases via the local catalogue. Development of the prototype COBISS/OPAC for WWW - transition from CGI technology to Java Servlets.
The SICRIS information system was transferred to a new software and hardware platform. This new application is faster and more reliable allowing further development (online updating). A new graphic user interface and new web pages were also developed, whereby the international research database specifications (CERIF 2000) and the Slovene relevant regulations governing this area were followed.
Data on research work content were gathered jointly with the Ministry of Science and Technology, entries were done mostly by IZUM. About 8,000 messages and/or requests for updating were emailed by IZUM to research organizations, holders of research groups and researchers. At IZUM, more than 450 e-requests and more than 100 mailed or faxed requests for updating were processed.
At the end of 2000, SICRIS already contained data on:
In October 2000, an international conference of EUROCRIS Platform Group was held at IZUM. This conference is an annual meeting of the heads of the CRIS systems. The main topic of the conference were common activities and linking of CRIS systems, and the standards and rules for the presentation of the research activity in the world.
Within the OCLC CORC project, the IZUM library created 55 records for the Slovene electronic resources in WorldCat.
In 2000, IZUM organised and carried out 76 training courses for 777 participants from Slovenia and Bosnia, in a total amount of 162 days.
The IZUM staff paid 140 visits to the libraries offering them advice on and assistance in COBISS services implementation.
IZUM managed to answer 10,297 questions of the participating libraries directed to COBISSURGENT, COBISSERVIS, HWSERVIS or COBISS Help Desk by e-mail. The answers to 6,091 questions were done in writing. COBISS/OPAC end users mailed 1,975 messages to which 212 answers were made in writing.
The conversion of bibliographic records and holdings was made for one library, the conversion of telephone numbers for 67 libraries.
IZUM carried out inventories in 15 libraries, and implemented an option of renewal and reservation of material via COBISS/OPAC for WWW in 26 libraries.
Supplements to the COBISS user manuals were prepared and distributed. Adaptations of some software modules for the countries in the territory of the former Yugoslavia were made, and the manual COBISS/Cataloguing translated into Bosnian.
The maintenance of Alpha/VAX servers was performed by IZUM at libraries financed by the Ministry of Science and Technology, The Ministry of Education and Sport and the Ministry of Culture. Other maintenance work and repairs were carried out on the basis of reported defects. The functioning of the servers, routers and terminal servers is optimized on a regular basis.
COBISS3 V3.0 software with two new segments COBISS3/Serials and COBISS3/Loan, the authority control project, participation in the preparation of the COBISS General List of Subject Headings, interlinking bibliographic records and referential electronic resources, as well as the implementation of Z39.50 server, are the main priorities in the IZUM development activities.
Maribor, April 2001
Prepared by Marta Seljak (marta.seljak@izum.si) and Pero Šobot (pero.sobot@izum.si)