ANSI/NISO Z39.50-2003 (S2014)

248 Pages·2015·1.26 MB·English

ANSI/NISO Z39.50-2003 (S2014) ISSN: 1041-5653

Information Retrieval (Z39.50):
Application Service Definition and
Protocol Specification

Abstract: This standard defines a client/server based service and protocol for Information
Retrieval. It specifies procedures and formats for a client to search a database provided
by a server, retrieve database records, and perform related information retrieval functions.
The protocol addresses communication between information retrieval applications at the
client and server; it does not address interaction between the client and the end-user.

An American National Standard
developed by the
National Information Standards Organization

Approved November 27, 2002 by the
American National Standards Institute
Converted to stabilized maintenance January 5, 2015

Published by the National Information Standards Organization
Baltimore, Maryland
About NISO Standards

NISO standards are developed by the Working Groups and Standing Committees of the National
Information Standards Organization. The development process is a strenuous one that includes a
rigorous peer review of proposed standards open to each NISO Voting Member and any other
interested party. Final approval of the standard involves verification by the American National
Standards Institute that its requirements for due process, consensus, and other approval criteria have
been met by NISO. Once verified and approved, NISO Standards also become American National
Standards.
This standard may be revised or withdrawn at any time. For current information on the status of this
standard contact the NISO office or visit the NISO website at: www.niso.org.

Published by
NISO
3600 Clipper Mill Road
Suite 302
Baltimore, MD 21211-1948

Copyright © 2015 by the National Information Standards Organization
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. For noncommercial
purposes only, this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means
without prior permission in writing from the publisher, provided it is reproduced accurately, the source
of the material is identified, and the NISO copyright status is acknowledged. All inquiries regarding
translations into other languages or commercial reproduction or distribution should be addressed to:
NISO, 3600 Clipper Mill Road, Suite 302, Baltimore, MD 21211.

ISSN: 1041-5653 National Information Standards series
ISBN: 978-1-937522-42-1
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ANSI/NISO Z39.50-2003 (S2014)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword ............................................................................................................................................. vii
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Scope and Field of Application .................................................................................................. 1
1.2 Version ....................................................................................................................................... 1
1.3 References ................................................................................................................................ 1
2 Definitions 2
3 Information Retrieval Service 7
3.1 Model and Characteristics of the Information Retrieval Service ............................................... 7
3.1.1 Z39.50 Services ............................................................................................................ 7
3.1.2 Z39.50 Operations ........................................................................................................ 8
3.1.3 Model of a Database .................................................................................................... 8
3.1.4 Searching a Database .................................................................................................. 8
3.1.5 Retrieving Records from a Database ........................................................................... 9
3.1.6 Model of a Result Set ................................................................................................... 9
3.1.7 Model of Extended Services ....................................................................................... 10
3.1.8 Explain ........................................................................................................................ 11
3.2 Facilities of the Information Retrieval Service ......................................................................... 11
3.2.1 Initialization Facility ..................................................................................................... 12
3.2.2 Search Facility ............................................................................................................ 18
3.2.3 Retrieval Facility ......................................................................................................... 26
3.2.4 Result-set-delete Facility ............................................................................................ 30
3.2.5 Access Control Facility ............................................................................................... 32
3.2.6 Accounting/Resource Control Facility ........................................................................ 34
3.2.7 Sort Facility ................................................................................................................. 39
3.2.8 Browse Facility ........................................................................................................... 45
3.2.9 Extended Services Facility ......................................................................................... 47
3.2.10 Explain Facility ............................................................................................................ 54
3.2.11 Termination Facility .................................................................................................... 67
3.3 Message/Record Size and Segmentation ............................................................................... 69
3.3.1 Procedures When No Segmentation is in Effect ........................................................ 69
3.3.2 Level 1 Segmentation ................................................................................................. 70
3.3.3 Level 2 Segmentation ................................................................................................. 72
3.4 Operations and Reference-id .................................................................................................. 75
3.5 Concurrent Operations ............................................................................................................ 76
3.6 Composition Specification ....................................................................................................... 76
3.6.1 Comp-spec Specified ................................................................................................. 77
3.6.2 Comp-spec Omitted .................................................................................................... 77
3.6.3 Record Syntax ............................................................................................................ 78
3.7 Type-1 and Type-101 Queries ................................................................................................. 79
3.7.1 Representation and Evaluation of the Type-1 and Type-101 Queries ....................... 79
3.7.2 Proximity ..................................................................................................................... 81
3.7.3 Restriction and the Extended Result Set Mode l ........................................................ 82
4 Protocol Specification 82
4.1 Abstract Syntax and ASN.1 Specification of Z39.50 APDUs .................................................. 83
4.2 Protocol Errors ......................................................................................................................... 83
4.3 Encapsulation .......................................................................................................................... 83
4.4 Conformance ........................................................................................................................... 85
4.4.1 General Conformance Requirements ......................................................................... 85
4.4.2 Specific Conformance Requirements ......................................................................... 85
4.4.3 Z39.50 Version 3 Baseline Requirements .................................................................. 93
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APPENDIXES
APPENDIX 1 (normative) OID: Z39.50 OBJECT IDENTIFIERS 96
OID.1 Object Identifier Assigned to This Standard ........................................................................... 96
OID.2 Object Classes ........................................................................................................................ 96
OID.3 Object Identifiers for Z39.50 APDUs ...................................................................................... 96
OID.4 Object Identifiers Used by This Standard .............................................................................. 97
OID.5 Object Identifiers Assigned by the Z39.50 Maintenance Agency .......................................... 97
OID.6 Locally Registered Objects ..................................................................................................... 97
OID.7 Experimental Objects .............................................................................................................. 97

APPENDIX 2 (normative) ATR: ATTRIBUTE SETS 98
ATR.1 Attribute Set exp-1 ................................................................................................................. 98
ATR.2 Attribute Set ext-1 ................................................................................................................... 99

APPENDIX 3 (normative) DIAG: Z39.50 DIAGNOSTICS 101
DIAG.1 General Diagnostic Set ...................................................................................................... 101
DIAG.2 General Diagnostic Container ............................................................................................ 108
DIAG.3 Returning Diagnostics in an InitResponse ......................................................................... 109

APPENDIX 4 (normative) REC: RECORD SYNTAXES 110
REC.1 Explain Record Syntax ........................................................................................................ 110
REC.2 Simple Unstructured Text Record Syntax, SUTRS ............................................................ 110
REC.3 Generic Record Syntax 1 ..................................................................................................... 110
REC.4 Record Syntax For Extended Services Task Package ....................................................... 110

APPENDIX 5 (normative) RSC: RESOURCE REPORT FORMATS 111
Resource Report Format Resource-2 ............................................................................................ 111

APPENDIX 6 (normative) ACC: ACCESS CONTROL FORMATS 112

APPENDIX 7 (normative) EXT: EXTENDED SERVICES DEFINED BY THIS STANDARD 113
EXT.1 Service Definitions .............................................................................................................. 113
EXT.2 ASN.1 Definitions of Extended Services Parameter Package ........................................... 125

APPENDIX 8 (normative) USR: USER INFORMATION FORMATS 126
USR.1 SearchResult-1 .................................................................................................................. 126
USR.2 Use of Init Parameters for User Information ...................................................................... 126
USR.3 General User Information Format, UserInfo-1 ................................................................... 127

APPENDIX 9 (normative) ESP: ELEMENT SPECIFICATION FORMATS 128
ESP.1 Definition of Element Specification Format eSpec-2 ......................................................... 128
ESP.2 Definition of Element Specification Format eSpec-q ......................................................... 128

APPENDIX 10 (normative) VAR: VARIANT SETS 130

APPENDIX 11 (normative) TAG: TAGSET DEFINITIONS AND SCHEMAS 134
TAG.1 Definition of tagSet-M ........................................................................................................ 135
TAG.2 Definition of tagSet-G ......................................................................................................... 137
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APPENDIX 12 (informative) ERS: EXTENDED RESULT SET MODEL 141
ERS.1 Extended Result Set Model for ......................................................................................... 141
ERS.2 Extended Result Set Model for Restriction ........................................................................ 142

APPENDIX 13 (informative) RET: Z39.50 RETRIEVAL 143
RET.1 Overview of Z39.50 Retrieval ............................................................................................. 143
RET.2 Retrieval Object Classes .................................................................................................... 144
RET.3 Retrieval Objects Defined in this Standard ....................................................................... 151

APPENDIX 14 (normative) NEGO: Z39.50 NEGOTIATION MODEL 167
NEGO.1 Negotiation Records ...................................................................................................... 167
NEGO.2 Rules Pertaining to the Use of Negotiation Records ..................................................... 168
NEGO.3 Server-Mandated Negotiation ......................................................................................... 168
NEGO.4 Adherence to this Model ................................................................................................ 168

APPENDIX 15 (informative) NEGO2: DEVELOPMENT AND REGISTRATION OF NEGOTIATION
RECORDS 170
NEGO2.1 Negotiating Behavior .................................................................................................... 170

APPENDIX 16 (informative) PRO: Z39.50 PROFILES 172
Pro.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 172
Pro.2 Profiles Respond to Community Needs ............................................................................... 172
Pro.3 Applications Addressed By Profiles ...................................................................................... 173
Pro.4 Development and Approval of Profiles .................................................................................. 173
Pro.5 Examples of Profiling Z39.50 Standard Services and Specifications ................................. 174
Pro.6 Negotiation ............................................................................................................................. 175
Pro 7. Summary. .............................................................................................................................. 176

APPENDIX 17 (informative) Z39.50 ATTRIBUTE ARCHITECTURE 177
Arch.1 Introduction and Preliminary Notes ..................................................................................... 177
Arch.2 Attribute Set Class Definitions ............................................................................................. 179
Arch.3 Attribute Set Class 1 ............................................................................................................ 179
Arch.4 Lessons Learned: Recommendations for Future Enhancements to the Z39.50 Query .... 187

APPENDIX 18 (normative) ASN1: Z39.50 ASN.1 189

APPENDIX 19 MAINTENANCE AGENCY, ZIG, AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 234

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ANSI/NISO Z39.50-2003 (S2014)
Foreword
(This foreword is not part of ANSI/NISO Z39.50-2003 (S2014), Information Retrieval (Z39.50):
Application Service Definition and Protocol Specification. It is included for information only.)
About This Standard
This standard is a maintenance revision of Z39.50-1995. Appendix 19 describes how this version
differs from Z39.50-1995, and the reasons for these changes.
This standard was processed and approved for submittal to ANSI by the National Information
Standards Organization. It was balloted by the NISO Voting Members March 29, 2002 – May 13,
2002.
Reaffirmation
This standard underwent periodic review and was reaffirmed in 2009. The NISO Members approved
the reaffirmation on June 30, 2009. NISO was undergoing an ANSI audit at the time, followed by a
special audit, and ANSI would not accept any requests for approvals until the audit was completed.
The ANSI approval was, therefore, delayed until January 4, 2010; since the NISO approval was in
2009, that year was accepted as the reaffirmation date in the designation.
Stabilized Maintenance
At the time of this standard's periodic review in 2014, the NISO Discovery to Delivery Topic
Committee evaluated that standard and recommended that it be converted to stabilized maintenance.
Stabilized maintenance removes a standard from the requirement for five-year periodic reviews. It is
used for standards that address mature technology or practices and are not likely to require a
revision. The ANSI/NISO Z39.50-2003 (S201x) Review Voting Pool approved the conversion on
December 18, 2014. ANSI approved the conversion on January 5, 2015.
Suggestions for improving this standard are welcome. They should be sent to the National
Information Standards Organization, 3600 Clipper Mill Road, Suite 302, Baltimore, MD 21211.
NISO Voting Members
NISO approval of this standard does not necessarily imply that all Voting Members voted for its
approval. At the time it approved this standard (in 2003), NISO had the following members:

3M Armed Forces Medical Library
Jerry Karel, Susan Boettcher (Alt) Diane Zehnpfennig, Emily Court (Alt)
American Association of Law Libraries Art Libraries Society of North America
Robert L. Oakley, Mary Alice Baish (Alt) David L. Austin
American Chemical Society Association for Information and Image
Robert S. Tannehill, Jr. Management
Betsy A. Fanning
American Library Association
Paul J. Weiss Association of Jewish Libraries
Caroline R. Miller, Elizabeth Vernon (Alt)
American Society for Information Science and
Technology Association of Research Libraries
Mark H. Needleman Duane E. Webster, Julia Blixrud (Alt)
American Society of Indexers BiblioMondo Inc.
Judith Gibbs, Jacqueline Rodebaugh (Alt) Martin Sach
American Theological Library Association Book Industry Communication
Myron Chace Brian Green
ARMA International Broadcast Music Inc.
Diane Carlisle Edward Oshanani, Robert Barone (Alt)
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ANSI/NISO Z39.50-2003 (S2014)
NISO Voting Members (cont.) Medical Library Association
Nadine P. Ellero, Carla J. Funk (Alt)
Cambridge Information Group
Michael Cairns, Matthew Dunie (Alt) MINITEX
Cecelia Boone, William DeJohn (Alt)
Checkpoint Systems, Inc.
Modern Language Association
Daniel Bokser, Cameron Bardrick (Alt)
College Center for Library Automation
J. Richard Madaus, Ann Armbrister (Alt) Motion Picture Association of America
William M. Baker, Axel aus der Muhlen (Alt)
Congressional Information Service, Inc.
Robert Lester Music Library Association
Mark McKnight, Lenore Coral (Alt)
divine, inc.
Robert Boissy National Agricultural Library
Gary K. McCone
Elsevier Science Inc.
Anthony Ross, John Mancia (Alt) National Archives and Records Administration
Mary Ann Hadyka
Endeavor Information Systems, Inc.
Verne Coppi, Cindy Miller (Alt) National Federation of Abstracting and
Information Services
epixtech, inc.
Marion Harrell
John Bodfish, Ricc Ferante (Alt)
National Library of Medicine
Ex Libris
Betsy L. Humphreys
James Steenbergen, Carl Grant (Alt)
Nylink
Follett Corp.
Mary-Alice Lynch, Jane Neale (Alt)
D. Jeffrey Blumenthal, Don Rose (Alt)
OCLC, Inc.
Fretwell-Downing Informatics
Donald J. Muccino
Robin Murray
Openly Informatics
Gale Group
Eric Hellman (Alt)
Katherine Gruber, Justine Carson (Alt)
Proquest Information and Learning
Gaylord Information Systems
Todd Fegan, James Brei (Alt)
William Schickling, Linda Zaleski (Alt)
Recording Industry Assn. of America
GCA Research Institute
Linda R. Bocchi, Michael Williams (Alt)
Jane Harnad
Research Libraries Group
H.W. Wilson Company
Lennie Stovel, Joan Aliprand (Alt)
Ann Case
SIRS Mandarin, Inc.
IBM
Leonardo Lazo, Harry Kaplanian (Alt)
David M. Choy, Chuck Brink (Alt)
SIRSI Corporation
Information Use Management & Policy Institute
Greg Hathorn, Slavko Manojlovich (Alt)
Charles McClure, John Carlo Bertot (Alt)
Society for Technical Communication
Infotrieve
Annette Reilly, Kevin Burns (Alt)
Jan Peterson
Society of American Archivists
Innovative Interfaces, Inc.
Lisa Weber
Gerald M. Kline, Sandy Westall (Alt)
Special Libraries Association
Institute for Scientific Information
Marcia Lei Zeng

Triangle Research Libraries Network
The International DOI Foundation
Jordan M. Scepanski, Mona C. Couts (Alt)
Norman Paskin
U.S. Department of Commerce, National
Library Binding Institute
Donald Dunham Institute of Standards and Technology, Office of
Information Services
The Library Corporation

Mark Wilson, Joe Zeeman (Alt)
U.S. Department of Defense, Defense, Technical
Library of Congress
Information Center
Winston Tabb, Sally H. McCallum (Alt)
Gopalakrishnan Nair, Jane L. Cohen (Alt)
Los Alamos National Laboratory
U.S. National Commission on Libraries and
Richard E. Luce
Information Science
Lucent Technologies Denise Davis
M.E. Brennan
VTLS, Inc.
Vinod Chachra
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ANSI/NISO Z39.50-2003 (S201x) Review Voting Pool
At the time NISO approved the conversion of this standard to stabilized maintenance, the following
organizations were members of the ANSI/NISO Z39.50-2003 (S201x) Review Voting Pool:
American Library Association Minitex
Nancy Kraft Paul Swanson
American Psychological Association Music Library Association
Janice Fleming Nara Newcomer
American Theological Library Association National Archives and Records Administration
Brenda Bailey-Hainer (NARA)
Marilyn Redman
Associatioin for Information Science &
Technology (ASIS&T) National Federation of Advanced Information
Mark Needleman Services (NFAIS)
Marjorie Hlava
Auto-Graphics, Inc.
Ted Koppel National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
Trent Palmer
Cengage Learning
Marti Heyman National Library of Medicine
Barbara Rapp
EBSCO Information Services
Oliver Pesch OCLC
Tam Dalrymple
Ex Libris
Mike Dicus Public Library of Science (PLOS)
Cameron Neylon
IEEE
Gerry Grenier Recording Industry Association of America
David Hughes
ITHAKA/JSTOR/Portico
Amy Kirchoff The Library Corporation (TLC)
Juli Marsh
Library of Congress
John Zagas
Los Alamos National Library
Herbert Van de Sompel
Trademarks, Services Marks
Wherever used in this standard, all terms that are trademarks or service marks are and remain the
property of their respective owners.

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