CD‐CAT: catalogue output on CD‐ROM
| Date | 01 March 1988 |
| Pages | 3-7 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb040392 |
| Published date | 01 March 1988 |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
3
CD-CAT: catalogue output on CD-
ROM
Introduction
M
any libraries have expressed an interest in
the possibility of using CD-ROM to
provide an interactive public access catalogue,
as an alternative to fiche-based products and to
providing online access to the networked library
system. Similarly, many systems suppliers
have included CD-ROM in their list of future
developments. However, to date in the UK,
there have been few moves to introduce CD-
ROM-based library catalogues. One of the first
library systems' suppliers to provide a CD-
ROM product is CLSI; as with all CD-ROM
products, it has found its first users in the US
market, though it is available to all CLSI cus-
tomers. In the US, libraries have turned to CD-
ROM sometimes as an interim solution between
manual or fiche catalogues and an integrated on-
line public catalogue or, sometimes, when the
multi-site nature of the organisation or coopera-
tion between library organisations made
a
union
catalogue necessary. In these cases, the en-
hanced and interactive searching available on
CD-ROM made it a preferable option to fiche or
other passive catalogue forms. This article does
not discuss the feasibility of CD-ROM for
library catalogues; these arguments have been
covered elsewhere, for example in the report by
John Akeroyd et al to the British Library
Research & Development Department This
article is a purely descriptive account of one
commercial product which happens to be the
first available in the UK aimed specifically at
providing an interface similar to that available
on an
OPAC.
In this instance the OPAC in ques-
tion is CL-CAT; CD-CAT emulates the
facilities and searching available on CLSI's on-
line CL-CAT, but takes advantage of the power
of the CD workstation (the PC) to make greater
use of features such as windows, colour and out-
put to print files.
Technicalities
The system has been developed using software
from Online Computer Systems of Maryland,
whose software is also used for Bowkers and for
the prototype British Library/Bibliothèque Na-
tionale disc. Online has developed a range of
retrieval software or tools for the development
of CD-ROM search systems which are both
flexible and machine independent CD-CAT
runs on DOS machines on any CD-ROM drive
which conforms to ISO 9660 (the High Sierra
standard). Part of the installation program per-
mits the user
to
identify the make of drive being
used. The search software and installation
programs are supplied on floppy disk.
Pre-mastering and mastering the disk is under-
taken by a bureau. The library simply supplies
a tape copy of its database, typically created
during a normal back-up run. The tape takes
records from the library's MARC file on the
database, plus holdings data. The bureau then
processes the tape, indexing it according to
parameters agreed with the library; normally,
these would be set to permit similar access
points to those available on the online system.
Because library catalogue data
is
held in a struc-
tured form, the transition to CD-ROM is often
simpler than with full text or less rigidly struc-
tured files.
Local options
During system set up, the user is given a num-
ber of set-up options which permit additional
local tailoring. These cover the default display
1.
J.
Akeroyd,
D.
Brimage &
C.Royle.
Using
CD-ROM as
a
Public Access
Catalogue.
London:
British
Library,
1988.
(British
Library Research
Paper,
41).
ISBN 0 71233163
8.
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