Cover Letter PDF

Introduction
NISO Z39.50-2001 is proposed as a maintenance revision of Z39.50-1995. This memorandum is
intended as a cover letter to the draft ballot; its primary purpose is to describe how this new version
differs from Z39.50-1995, and the reasons for these changes. If you’re familiar with Z39.50 and its
historical development, please feel free to skip the following historical background (skip to
ACollaborative Work of The ZIG and Maintenance Agency since 1995@).

Historical Background
Momentum to standardize an information retrieval protocol heightened in the early >80s with the
Linked Systems Project. LSP implementation began in >82 and it became operational in >85. Its
primary application was a nationwide database of name authority records; searching of authority
records was a subsidiary application. Two application protocols, Record Transfer and Information
Retrieval, were developed to support these two applications, record exchange and search, specifically
to support authority record exchange and search, but with sufficient generality to support the two
functions regardless of record type.

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