Name of Institution
European Laboratory for Particle Physics
(CERN)
Library Contact Person:
Corrado Pettenati, Head of SI-Group (Library)
CERN-SI, CH-1211 Geneva 23
Switzerland
tel: +41-22-767-2473
fax: +41-22-782-8611
e-mail: Corrado.Pettenati@cern.ch
Automation Contact Person:
Mick Draper, Head of DH Group
CERN-DH, CH-1211 Geneva 23
Switzerland
tel: +41-22-767-3348
fax: +41-22-767-8142
e-mail: Mick.Draper@cern.ch
Aleph Configuration:
- Version: 3.2_6
- Functions implemented & used:
OPAC,
- Cataloging,Serials,Acquisition,Circulation,Web
- Operating system: UNIX (Solaris
2.4)
- Server type: SUN SPARC 1000
- RAM: 256 Mbytes
- Disk space size: 8 Gbytes
- Network configurations: Ethernet
(TCP/IP)
- Type of workstations: X-terminal,
PC, Macintosh,
- CITOH.
Major Developments since last ICAU-meeting:
Aleph APIs (Application Programs Interface
subroutine library) have been used to develop the
new Web interface to the Library Database.
Here are the main features of this interface.
They are divided in two parts, the features
before searching and the ones after searching.
Within each part, we distinguish the
"classical" features to the
"modern" ones.
A. Options before searching:
"classical" options are:
- Two versions supported: text-only and
Java.
- Hypertext navigation through the
different catalogues.
- Scope for searching flexible according to
subjects, periods, institutes...
- Simple search available.
- Complex search available (richer than the
OPAC).
"modern" options are:
- Formatting the ouput: any user can
define the way he wants the search output
to be displayed. He can select the fields
(title, author, etc.) and the character
type (bold, italic, etc.). It allows to
generate reports or bibliography. The
user can save its configuration to use it
in future sessions.
- Displaying personal shelf: any
user can keep a shelf of virtual
documents which he can look at and share
with other users as long as he wants.
B. Options after searching:
"classical" options are:
- Refine a search.
- Ask for next records: the user can move
directly to any position in the list of
records and can display at once as many
records as he wants.
- Show more information.
- Look at the holding status and possibly
ask for a loan.
"modern" options are:
- Show published version of a preprint: a
link is created to the publisher volume
URL if it can be derived from the
information in the database.
- Access to fulltext documents.
- Put a document in a personal shelf.
Major Developments planned:
Browse function in the CERN Web interface.
Open Problems:
We have had a fair amount of problems with
ALEPH, since the installation of the UNIX version
in July 1996. Most of them have been solved, some
are fixed in the new version 3.2_6.6.
Since CERN has developed a new interface, we
have decided to drop our problems concerning the
Web, except those dealing with loans and
holdings, since no API is available for the
corresponding module.
There are a couple of remaining problems like:
Batch queues are still shaky, when the queue
has been running for a long time, some submitted
jobs disappear and the information in UTIL 10/3
is missing or incomplete.
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